Resources

Our Board, management, employees and external stakeholders are encouraged to utilize the suite of integrity resources available to them. These resources are managed by the Integrity Resource Centre and a team of Integrity Leaders. These leaders help foster a culture of integrity and compliance by providing education, awareness and oversight. Assisting in policy development, risk mitigation, issues dialogue and stakeholder engagement – all are key responsibilities of the team.

The Nexen Integrity Resource Centre's purpose is to add business value by fostering a culture of integrity and compliance. This culture is created by providing education, knowledge and engagement to employees around integrity and compliance related initiatives.

The Integrity Resource Centre is based in our head office in Calgary and includes a global network of Integrity Leaders. It is also supported by subject matter experts residing in Nexen's legal, security, information technology, audit and human resources departments. We may utilize the expertise of external advisors when necessary.

Integrity Leaders are employees who play a consultative role with co-workers and help monitor the ethical climate of our company. They support our culture by delivering integrity education and being an advisor to employees. We have Integrity Leaders in our operating locations through-out the globe and these employees meet once a year to share learnings and leverage knowledge.

Educating employees about the importance of integrity and compliance at Nexen is done in several ways. All new employees are introduced to our integrity culture through a mandatory Integrity Workshop. The workshop is three hours long and covers our views on integrity, company policies and expectations for business conduct. Case studies are used to promote dialogue and to help set the tone for ethical decision-making.

Prevention of Improper Payments workshops are also provided to employees in certain positions; especially those individuals who are working in locations that Nexen has determined to have potentially higher risk. The purpose of these workshops is to give employees the necessary knowledge, skills and access to support when making decisions in business dealings with foreign public officials.

We also provide training on other high risk compliance areas such as privacy, safety, alcohol and drug use, information technology practices, and others, as circumstances dictate. We endeavor to provide this training to individuals on a recurring basis, especially those who are working in high-risk parts of the world or in sensitive safety or environmental positions.

Each year, Nexen requires employees and certain contractors to acknowledge their compliance with key company policies and to provide details of any violations, or alleged violations, they may have observed. This practice also applies to Nexen's senior management and Board of Directors.

Starting in 2010, employees will be required to acknowledge their compliance with How We Work: Our Integrity Guide (PDF 9.8MB). Employees who work in high-risk positions will also be required to acknowledge their compliance with other policies that are applicable to their job functions and level of accountability.

Through the annual statement of compliance process, employees are given the opportunity to report actual or suspected integrity issues. All concerns or reported violations are reviewed, investigated and resolved.

The Integrity Resource Centre ensures that employees and other stakeholders have a safe place to raise a concern. Every concern is taken seriously and addressed. Providing employees and external stakeholders with a safe environment to raise concerns is an important element of an ethical culture. When integrity issues are raised internally and managed properly, companies mitigate risk and loss of reputation. Nexen ensures that all integrity issues are investigated and reported to Nexen’s management and Board of Directors.