In 2012, ConocoPhillips took what some observers considered to be a risky step for a traditional large integrated by spinning off its downstream operations into Phillips 66. In the aftermath, the newly independent E&P—the world’s largest—refocused its operations, including charitable giving. Best practices and new trends in giving were influencing the shape of charitable programs for businesses of all kinds.

Senior leaders considered whether ConocoPhillips’ philanthropy was appropriate in size and structure when gauged against its peers, and whether it was aligned with the company’s brand and vision.

“We looked at the program not only in terms of what energy companies were doing, but also around best practices in charitable giving and philanthropy in general,” said Ed Burke, manager of brand and community relations for ConocoPhillips. “When we looked at the amount, we felt that we were well-positioned. So we went to our senior leadership and made recommendations for a new and improved program. We told them that our level of giving is appropriate, but we could do some things based on trends and best practices that could make the program much more impactful.”

Like many large businesses, Conoco­Phillips’s philanthropy encompassed a wide variety of charitable organizations supporting a broad range of initiatives—from education to health care to science to disaster recovery. The trend in giving, however, was to direct fewer but larger dollar amounts to several programs, as opposed to many.

Also of concern was the desire to “focus our giving on programs that supported our brand and business strategy,” said Burke. “We wanted to develop causes where we really thought we could make a difference and partner with organizations.”

The E&P built its new investment on three pillars: two “signature” programs, one focused on global water and biodiversity stewardship and one on math education in the Houston schools; local contributions by the company; and employee giving.

For this forward-looking approach addressing both human and environmental needs, Oil and Gas Investor has awarded ConocoPhillips its Excellence Award for Best Corporate Citizen for 2014.

Before choosing the causes, two steering committees engaged in a “rigorous” review process. “We assumed that we didn’t know it all,” Burke said. “We didn’t want to pick winners and losers out of the gate. We looked at a lot of programs and organizations and chose the ones that we believed had the most potential. Then we launched pilot tests, after which we would hope to expand or institutionalize the programs, tweak them, or switch to others, depending on outcomes.”

Vital ecosystems

The global program is working on solutions to water and biodiversity challenges. With nearly two-thirds of the world’s population estimated to be living in severe water and biodiversity stressed conditions by 2025, protecting and sustainably managing vital ecosystems are essential to human well-being. To address this, the company is partnering with four organizations to pilot three execution strategies: conservation, skills building and innovation.

Beginning with the conservation strategy, the company is partnering with Conservation International on an integrated conservation management plan in the Anambas Natuna region offshore Indonesia, where ConocoPhillips operates. The organization is conducting a marine rapid assessment, local outreach and monitoring and conservation management training to support “integrated ecosystem-based management across the Anambas and Natuna islands,” according to the company.

To help develop the next generation of new conservation professionals, ConocoPhillips has partnered with the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation to offer undergraduate scholarships and to launch a new water and biodiversity stewardship certificate program for conservation professionals. This unique integrative program brings together George Mason University’s academic excellence and the conservation expertise from the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Biology Institute.

ConocoPhillips has partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund a competitive grants program to advance new tools and technology to fast-track conservation solutions. This year, this program awarded grants to 12 organizations, including the Zoological Society of London, which is using new tracking technology to assist with protecting tigers in Indonesia, and to the Texas Rice Industry Coalition for the Environment, which is addressing freshwater supply and protection in Texas’ coastal wetlands.

In North America, ConocoPhillips is partnering with the Smithsonian Institution on a Migration Connectivity Project. This effort collects connectivity information for several bird species that follow a migratory flyway through areas where the company operates. Natalie Riley, senior advisor, community relations, said the Smithsonian was selected for its highly regarded reputation as a pioneer of wildlife conservation projects.

Why study migration? Bird behavior and patterns of travel can be harbingers of environmental changes and challenges. Further, research on migration has been hobbled by technology challenges such as the lack of tracking transmitters small and light enough to attach to smaller species. “Where are birds born, where do they live, where do they migrate to, and die? We don’t have the data,” Riley said. Birds can only carry a transmitter that represents 3% to 5% of their body weight. These are now available for smaller birds.

Beyond the conservation impact of migration patterns, there is the fact of animal movement as a predictor of the spread of invasive species, agricultural pests and pandemic disease and more, according to Riley.

“Migratory patterns of birds are a strong indicator of the health of an ecosystem, which is part of why we landed on that,” she said. “As soon as you see bird species start to decline, or other indicators, it’s a sign there is an issue. With larger animals, you notice these issues later. So the sooner you can figure out that there are challenges to bird populations, the sooner you can figure out possible solutions to ecosystem challenges.”

About 10 to 12 species in locations through North America are being tagged and tracked. “We are really excited about this project,” Riley said. In the past six months, two locations in the Gulf Coast have been studied, and this summer efforts will extend through Colorado to the North Slope of Alaska and into Alberta, Canada.

“The data is already helpful,” Riley said. “We’re seeing how a host of birds are flying, how they are managing weather patterns that affect them, the areas where they are feeding.” Initial data is coming in for the long-billed curlew. “You can see how they ultimately may end up in the same place, but their paths may vary dramatically,” Riley said.

“There’s been so much focus on conservation, but there is so much more to learn,” she added. “Just in the last year, the new discoveries and new ways to approach conservation, to apply technology, are very exciting. I’m optimistic about the ability to move conservation efforts forward in the next couple of decades.”

The algebra advantage

The Houston math education program has been in place for just over a year. The strategies are twofold—to develop math teachers’ skills to help students succeed, and to develop a supportive student environment in the classroom.

Known as the Applied Math Program, the teachers’ initiative is a partnership with Rice University. The Mastering Algebra Together Houston (MATH) student-centered project involves student peer-to-peer math tutoring and summer math camps in partnership with the United Way of Greater Houston.

“What led us to math is partly that in the city of Houston, the high school dropout rates are very high—20%,” Burke said. “And, passing ninth grade algebra has been found to be a key indicator of whether students graduate from high school and go on to college.”

ConocoPhillips funds a month of summer camp providing instructional activities to help prepare rising fourth and sixth graders for Algebra One, according to Ty Johnson, senior analyst, community relations. One hundred students attended the first camp. During the school year, a peer-to-peer student tutoring program reinforces skills. The pilot program for teachers paired 15 eighth grade math teachers with 15 peer science teachers.

Although it is too soon to gauge success, particularly for education initiatives whose full effect plays out over many years, early results are encouraging. “We’ve gotten a lot of early indicators in surveying students and teachers showing shifts in attitudes toward math. We want to show students they can be good at math and give them confidence,” said Johnson.

The peer approach is critical. Pairing science and math teachers expands teachers’ knowledge and sparks ideas about math applications in both disciplines. Similarly, the math students support one another, but in a less intimidating environment than if they were paired with teachers. And, the peer students, who are sixth and eighth graders, are not necessarily top students in math. Rather, they are students who display aptitude but may have struggled in math themselves.

“You take two students who are on the bubble—not failing, but who just need help,” said Johnson. “The older student tutors the younger student, and it is a double win. They both do better.”

Separately, ConocoPhillips sponsors a math teachers recognition program in partnership with the Houston Astros. A teacher from grades three through 12 in the greater Houston area is recognized each month during the baseball season in a pregame ceremony. Their name and face are on the Jumbotron, a ConocoPhillips employee accompanies them onto the field where they are honored, and during the game math skills and facts are tied into baseball. Recognition also extends to an in-game radio interview. The first winner, recognized at opening day this past April in a pregame ceremony, was accompanied by her two sons onto the field, who are both Little League baseball players.

Connecting ConocoPhillips employees to the two signature programs is important. Teachers in the math program spend a day at the company’s campus engaging in discussions with employees about how they use math on the job and touring facilities. Employees volunteer in the student math camp and in schools throughout the year.

So far, the pilot programs are meeting expectations. This summer the math camp numbers will swell to 500, and the student-peer program in the fall will number 150. The Smithsonian has scheduled bird migration expeditions for June and July and the partners anticipate meeting in the fall to put a plan in place for 2016.

Offshore Indonesia, Conservation International is conducting a marine assessment of the sea floor this fall, and by the end of the year, Burke said ConocoPhillips expects to evaluate what has been learned and where the program could go in 2016. “The plan for next year would be to grow the programs, to make them more ratable and scalable, and to tweak them if needed. The hope is that by the end of the year, we’ll know they are successful and we’ll institutionalize them, or we’ll move off onto others,” Burke said.

Company culture

The employee giving program at ConocoPhillips is robust. The company matches employees’ and retired employees’ donations dollar for dollar. Since the spin-off, annual United Way giving for ConocoPhillips has surpassed the total given when the company was an integrated whole, and it is the second-largest giver to the United Way in the Houston area. The company has also established a volunteer grant program that funds time away from work for employees who volunteer.

Globally, the company invests in causes near and dear to local communities.

The new giving strategy is a product of thorough planning “It was important for senior leadership at the company to know what we’re doing and support it. We knew that if our leaders couldn’t get behind it, it wouldn’t be successful,” Burke said. “Our new approach allows us to be more focused, more strategic in our view and to align it back to our business, with agreed-upon goals and measurement criteria developed with our partners, so it’s not just checkbook philanthropy.”

The programs are forged out of collaborative efforts.

“Ty and I are both very involved with our partners, putting together plans, developing metrics and assessing the impact we’re trying to have,” said Riley. “I have frequent calls to discuss expeditions, and every six months we do a deep dive to recap learning and make tweaks. These are well-thought-out programs that require a lot of time and effort from the people on both sides.”

“The organizations are pleased because they have a funder who is a partner, who is involved,” said Burke. “We are a partner versus a supplier.

“We landed on these two signature programs because they are aligned with our values. The environment has always been important, and we also wanted something [the math programs] our employees could align with, be proud of and say makes sense.”

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