A message from the ceo

For more than a century, Marathon’s commitment to living our values has underpinned the way we approach our business, shaping our operations, actions and decisions. While it is easy to state individual or corporate values, it is the way we put them into practice that makes the difference.

Living our values includes striving to protect the health and safety of our employees and neighbors, as well as protecting and preserving the environment for current and future generations. It includes adhering to a strict code of ethical conduct and business integrity that positions Marathon as a partner and employer of choice.

It means caring and giving back to the communities in which we live and work, and providing financial and volunteer support to community-based organizations and projects.

It also means assessing not only what we accomplished, but how we did it. We must ask ourselves, did we come by our success honestly, ethically and with integrity? Did we keep our employees, contractors and neighbors safe? Did we act as responsible stewards of the environment? Did we treat our employees and other stakeholders with respect and take the time to listen to their concerns? Did we focus on what was important to our neighbors, not just on what was best for our business?

At the end of the day, we have to be proud of our actions and how we achieved our success, not just the achievements themselves.

Living our values is not the easiest or quickest path to take. However, it is the right one, and the one that will best support Marathon’s business strategy, strengthen our Company, enrich our communities and provide strong returns to our shareholders. We are proud of our progress so far and are committed to reviewing, improving and reporting on our performance each year, as you will learn in this 2006 Living Our Values Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

Sincerely,

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer