CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
August 17, 2020
Cody Battershill
In this strange new pandemic era, our usual routines have been completely disrupted. Among those disrupted routines is our information gathering; with so much news flying at us every minute of every hour, it can be hard to find the time to read beyond the headlines.
But it’s really vital that we do. Here’s why.
Whether it’s Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Lush Cosmetics, Zurich Insurance Group or the giant HSBC banking conglomerate, companies are easy prey for activist groups that push for negative, kneejerk decisions against the Canadian oil and gas sector.
The formula, as many now recognize, is simple: Activists understand the value a bank or other large company places in its own brand. Banks will do virtually anything to protect that brand against organized public attack. So they easily cave to activist pressure to throw the Canadian energy sector under the bus.
While the headlines seldom capture it, the irony is just too stark to ignore.
When you consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) investor criteria, Canada sits comfortable atop the world’s largest ten oil exporters – on virtually every metric. The rankings, from reputable global institutions and organizations are remarkably consistent in their views that Canada is the single best supplier. We are also a leader in clean technology and renewables.
From the Sustainable Development Report published by Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project, to the Women, Peace, and Security Index, of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, we’re the envy of the free world.
Now, consider the International Energy Agency recently reported that oil demand will start growing again next year by about a million barrels a day after 2020’s demand fell for the first time in a decade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated issues.
The question is obvious. Once oil demand for 2021 surpasses 2019 figures and continues with its historic growth pattern, where does HSBC think the world should source its liquid energy? From democratically-challenged producers with weaker standards for environmental protection? Guess so.
In other words, when large banks, insurers or retailers cave in to activist campaigns that falsely paint Canadian oil and gas suppliers as villains, it’s not just the oil and gas sector that suffers. Consumers seeking to back up their own sustainable values with their dollars suffer. Consumers are being steered away from supporting progressive social and environmental policies such as those we practice in Canada.
The result of these ill-informed decisions by large banks, insurers and retailers is an energy future that’s less – not more – sustainable. That’s why they’re unworthy of your support. And that’s why, whenever I learn of a company that drops its business dealings with Canadian oil and gas while it claims to care about the environment or families or communities, it’s a valid point to consider avoiding that company.
When the globe’s energy market is denied product from Canada, the world’s strongest sustainability performer, you might expect a range of consequences.
First, the global environment will suffer as more oil and gas is obtained from bad environmental performers, and Canada and its world-leading commitments to sustainability are unfairly sidelined.
Second, I expect history will judge these banks, insurers and retailers poorly on environmental and social criteria as their role in shifting oil and gas markets away from sustainability leaders towards sustainability laggards becomes clear, and consumers express their frustration.
Meanwhile, Canada’s reductions in gas flaring lead the planet, as do our ESG rankings that I described earlier. And our innovations in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology mean that a typical SAGD oil sands project disturbs a fifth of the land that a comparable US tight oil project does.
The fact is we all need to do more to battle misinformation.
Consider reviewing your own commercial relationships with companies that have fallen prey to activist threats. Find an insurer, bank or retailer that’s supportive of the energy sector’s leadership in ESG policies. We must also thank and support the companies that refuse to cave to this pressure, they need our positive reinforcement.
And consider getting even more involved in the discussion. There’s a genuine informational vacuum that’s been filled with a false activist narrative. Let’s change that.
If banks, insurers and others wish to use climate action as part of their corporate branding, they have a responsibility to ensure that branding conforms to reality.
In short, they should promote Canadian energy, we have a record we should all be proud of and we never stop trying to get even better.
Cody Battershill is a Calgary realtor and founder / spokesperson for CanadaAction.ca, a volunteer built group that supports Canadian energy development and the environmental, social and economic benefits that come with it.
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