communities<strong>Our</strong> assets have often been a part of many communities for decades, and likely will be for decades to come.Therefore, we take the opportunity to become part of the community. As neighbours, we share a <strong>responsibility</strong>for the well-being of the communities where we operate. As a responsible community member we need towork collaboratively with our neighbours to achieve success.Because communities give so much to <strong>ARC</strong> in terms of important infrastructure and access to resources, webelieve in contributing to these communities through direct involvement and charitable giving. <strong>ARC</strong> supportsthe communities we operate in through financial contributions to, and active partnerships with, variousorganizations. Responsible community citizenship also inspires us to communicate clearly and openly withour neighbours about our activities.<strong>Our</strong> Community CommitmentsGovernments might grant us permits to operate, but community members grant us permission. We realize that we must continue toremain a responsible citizen if we hope to retain our social license to operate. To ensure responsible community citizenship, we will:• Communicate fairly and openly with communities in which we operate• Engage community residents and landowners in operating decisions• Contribute 0.5 per cent of our rolling three year average net income to charitable organizationsBy the time of our next report we plan to:• Identify metrics and begin measuring other components of our interactions and relationships with communities<strong>Our</strong> Management ApproachWe focus our community interaction in two primary areas—stakeholder engagement and community investments. <strong>ARC</strong> follows adecentralized approach to community outreach because it puts decision making closest to the action.18 2 Corporate Responsibility
At a minimum, we solicit community input into our proposed or existing activities through publicconsultation as specified in industry and regulatory guidelines. We often expand our efforts toengage with nearby residents and landowners on an ongoing basis. Open communication with ourneighbors allows all involved to detect concerns, evolving problems or crises early, and to avoidmiscommunication. We engage stakeholders through open houses, public meetings, one-on-onemeetings, print and the web.<strong>Our</strong> vision for community investments is to focus on programs that address fundamental communityissues such as poverty, child hunger, family violence and homelessness to name a few. There aremany deserving programs in our communities and we receive many requests for support. <strong>ARC</strong>’sphilosophy is to support as many as possible but select strategic initiatives for financial commitmentson a multi-year basis. We focus our charitable investments in the following areas:• Health & Wellness• Social services• Arts & Culture• Community• EducationWe apply the following criteria when making a funding decision:• The extent of <strong>ARC</strong>’s presence in the area• The perceived need is compelling and does not duplicate existing services or facilities• The charity fits with our values and culture• The services or activities provided are without regard to race, religion, creed, sexor sexual orientation• The soliciting organization is financially viable and efficiently and ethically managed• The sponsoring organization is a tax-registered, non-profit group or its equivalentWe place high value on community participation and encourage our employees to contribute tothe communities in which they live and work. Between 20 and 25 per cent of our budget forcharitable donations is available to field offices in Grande Prairie, Drayton Valley, Red Deer, MedicineHat, Redwater and Estevan.Charitable Contributions$ Thousands20001500100050005 06 07Charitable Contributions200727%20%5% 2%HealthEducationCommunity3%43%Social ServicesArtsOtherInspiring ExcellenceIn 2003, <strong>ARC</strong> created a partnership with the Canadian Sport Centre of Calgary (CSCC), one of the topOlympic sports training environments in the world. The partnership embraces the relationshipbetween Olympic athletes and <strong>ARC</strong>’s culture of passion, commitment, balanced lifestyle, team effortand innovation. The partnership was developed to offer <strong>ARC</strong> employees opportunities to learn fromsuccesses, attitudes and behaviours of Canadian Olympic athletes and their support teams. Thefundamental goal of the Inspiring Excellence initiative is to enrich the lives of <strong>ARC</strong> employees andtheir families while providing funding to the CSCC through involvement with Olympic athletes eventsand facilities. We hope that Inspiring Excellence will be an enduring part of life at <strong>ARC</strong>; fostering adesire for personal excellence at work and at home. The initiative is still running strong.<strong>Our</strong> PerformanceCharitable ContributionsThanks to our continuing strong profits we have been able to increase our charitable contributionsover the years. Donations have increased 104 per cent since 2005.We have not designated specific proportions of our budget for the six focus areas. For 2007, thecategory receiving the largest proportion of our donations was Health & Wellness.Corporate Responsibility 19