Corporate responsibility reporting: People

Corporate responsibility reporting

As part of our commitment to operating in a responsible manner, we recognize the importance of reporting to stakeholders in a transparent and accountable way. We disclose not only the information that's required by law and regulation, but also information that more broadly describes our activities, policies, opportunities and risks. Read our Corporate Responsibility Policy.

Below are some highlights from our 2010 Corporate Responsibility report. Click on the tabs and graphics to get more information from our performance in our key commitment areas. Read our full report.

We welcome your feedback. Send your comments or inquiries to our corporate responsibility team.

The most severe work-related injuries are those that result in lost time, including lost workday cases and fatalities. The frequency indicates how many employees and contractors out of every 100 are experiencing injuries in one year.

Enhancing contractor safety management processes
Developing and implementing indicators to measure improvements in process safety
Continuing to build our workforce to support our growth
Expanding our recruitment strategy to attract skilled candidates through traditional and non-traditional labour sources
Enhancing our orientation programs to integrate new hires into the Cenovus culture quickly and effectively
Enhancing employee development to support career progression and our business objectives
Conducting an employee engagement survey

Surveying our staff

We are a company that values the opinions and ideas of our staff. In 2010, we engaged our staff in developing our Corporate Responsibility Policy.

In early 2011, employees were invited to participate in our first Cenovus employee engagement survey.

Held three staff forums to inform staff on business activities and updates
Increased our total workforce by 11 percent to more than 3,400
Announced an enhanced commitment to employee development
Reduced the frequency of total recordable injuries by 15 percent from 2009; however, we had an increase from 0.09 to 0.12 in lost-time injury frequency
Rolled out safety commitments across the company
Successfully responded to emergencies in or near our operations

Workforce Planning

To reach our long-range goals we've created a workforce plan that takes into account the people and skills we will need over the next decade.

2010 corporate responsibility report (pdf)

Complete report

Non-GAAP measures

Cash flow, debt and capitalization are non-GAAP measures described and presented in this report in order to provide shareholders and potential investors with additional information regarding Cenovus's liquidity and its ability to generate funds to finance its operations. Cash flow is defined as cash from operating activities excluding net change in other assets and liabilities and net change in non-cash working capital from continuing operations, both of which are defined on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows in Cenovus's interim consolidated financial statements, available at www.cenovus.com. Debt is defined as the short-term borrowings and the current and long-term portions of long-term debt excluding amounts with respect to the Partnership Contribution Payable or Receivable. Capitalization is defined as debt plus shareholders' equity. For further information, refer to our most recent Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) available at www.cenovus.com.

Oil and gas information

Certain natural gas volumes have been converted to barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) on the basis of one barrel (bbl) to six thousand cubic feet (Mcf). BOE may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A conversion ratio of one bbl to six Mcf is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

Forward-looking information

This report contains certain forward-looking statements and other information (collectively "forward-looking information") about our current expectations, estimates and projections, made in light of our experience and perception of historical trends. Forward-looking information in this report is identified by words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "forecast", "target", "project", "could", "focus", "vision", "goal", "proposed", "committed", "potential", "may" or similar expressions and includes suggestions of future outcomes, including statements about our growth strategy and related schedules, projected future value or net asset value, forecast operating and financial results, planned capital expenditures, expected future production, including the timing, stability or growth thereof, future use and development of technology and projected increasing shareholder value. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied.

Developing forward-looking information involves reliance on a number of assumptions and consideration of certain risks and uncertainties, some of which are specific to Cenovus and others that apply to the industry generally. The factors or assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based and the risk factors and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially are discussed under "Risk Management" and "Advisory" in our most recent Quarter Report. For a full discussion of our material risk factors, see "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Information Form/Form 40-F available at www.cenovus.com. Readers should also refer to the risk factors described in other documents we file from time to time with securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com, www.sec.gov and www.cenovus.com.

Corporate responsibility