Respecting the
Rights of All
We believe all humans deserve respect and dignity and have the right to live free of social and political abuse and discrimination of all kinds.
While governments play a significant role in protecting and policing human rights, corporations also can help safeguard the most vulnerable. As a U.S. company that adheres to federal laws with respect to human rights, we believe one of our best opportunities to encourage positive change is through our suppliers. By adopting a human rights policy and incorporating it into our supply chain program, we can use our purchasing power for good.
Human Rights Policy
Our human rights policy clearly defines the high standards we have for our operations and our supply chain materials produced globally. It honors the freedoms outlined in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, upholds the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and provides common language and action steps to protect these rights. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics also defines the responsibilities that all Chesapeake employees share in protecting human rights and reporting violations through our ethics helpline.
Layers of Human Rights Protection
- Follow all federal and local laws
- Adopted a human rights policy
- Review annually our Code and human rights policy
- Incorporate our human rights policy into our supply chain program
- Manage our suppliers against our human rights expectations
- Promote our ethics helpline for human rights violations reporting
- Investigate and act on any human rights violations
We apply our human rights policy consistently across our operations, holding all suppliers to the same comprehensive criteria. We include our human rights standards as part of our supplier qualification program, and suppliers found in violation of our Code or human rights policy may be disciplined or terminated.
Our Board’s ESG committee has ultimate oversight over the management of our human rights policy. All relevant reports of unethical business conduct — including any perceived violations or investigations into human rights abuses — are shared with the Audit committee and, if appropriate, the ESG committee. In 2021, we had no reports of human rights violations through our ethics helpline.
Indigenous Rights
Our human rights policy applies to our treatment of Indigenous peoples. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have unique rights and needs that we learn through respectful listening and partnership.
Specific to our operations, we’re most likely to partner with Native Americans in producing U.S.-based oil and natural gas. While we don’t have any active operations on tribal lands, we recognize the potential for future partnerships if our asset base expands to certain locations across the country.
Should we become involved with tribal lands, we’re committed to a mutually beneficial relationship focused on economic development, community investment and cultural preservation. We’ll develop these relationships through early engagement with tribal representatives, transparent business interactions and by following applicable laws and policies.
Security
Chesapeake sites are assessed and monitored for the protection of our people, the community and our assets. Our security personnel include Chesapeake employees as well as third-party partners, many of whom are off-duty law enforcement officers. These security team members have established relationships with local first responders, as well as state and federal officials, for a joint approach to keeping Chesapeake sites and surrounding communities safe.
All site personnel (whether employees or contractors) must abide by our policies governing health, environment, safety and human rights. These policies and procedures prohibit the possession or use of weapons, drugs or alcohol on company property, including buildings, vehicles and operational sites. Any employee or partner not following these policies, or otherwise threatening the safety of our operations, will be removed.
Our areas of operations are regulated by U.S. law, mitigating material risks related to security threats, terrorism or armed conflict, and company attacks.
