Corporate Citizenship

Marathon is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by promoting sustainable social, environmental and economic benefits wherever it operates. In practice, Marathon examines how its actions and operations impact shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, communities, host governments and business partners, and responds appropriately.

The Company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) means being accountable to stakeholders for its actions on a basis of respect, cooperation, stewardship and sustainable investment. The key elements of Marathon’s CSR policy are community development, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, transparency, rule of law, education and training, environmental stewardship, human rights and CSR performance reporting.

Human Rights
Respect for the human, cultural and legal rights of individuals and communities is a fundamental aspect of Marathon’s commitment to corporate citizenship. The Company promotes the goals and principles of the United Nations (U.N.) Declaration of Human Rights through participation in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. This international initiative guides extractive and energy companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations globally within an operating framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
    Marathon also supports the U.N.’s Global Compact, a voluntary initiative to promote responsible corporate citizenship so that business can help solve the challenges of globalization. The Global Compact asks participants to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, 10 principles that focus on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. The Company already applies the 10 principles as part of its business practices and plans to join the Global Compact in 2007.
    Marathon developed internal guidelines and training materials on human rights tailored to its specific needs. Approximately 100 national and expatriate employees and contractors in security and other critical positions in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon completed human rights awareness training in 2006. Additional awareness training will be provided in 2007.
    To promote and protect children’s rights, Marathon and its partners supported a UNICEF program in Port-Gentil, Gabon, in 2005 and 2006. The program premise is that investing in children promotes the future development of a country. The $450,000 donation enabled UNICEF to help Gabonese children who are victims of trafficking and exploitation, neglected, abandoned or infected with HIV/AIDS.
    Marathon holds an interest in an exploration and production license in Sudan. It suspended all operations in Sudan in 1985 due to civil unrest. The Company has abided by and will continue to abide by all U.S. sanctions (imposed in 1997) related to Sudan and will not consider resuming any activity regarding its interests there until permitted under U.S. law. Marathon’s intention is to exit this license in 2007.

Community and Society
Marathon is committed to the welfare of citizens in communities and countries where it operates. Being responsive to the needs and interests of employees, neighbors and other stakeholders enables the Company to support sustainable benefits in these areas.

Community Relationships
Strong community relationships are a hallmark of Marathon operations. For example, Marathon and its predecessor companies have been a presence in Robinson, Catlettsburg and Texas City since the 1920s. Marathon has major operations in Houston, Texas; Findlay, Ohio; Enon, Ohio; Aberdeen, Scotland; and other communities.
    The Company’s values support and reinforce its relationships, encouraging philanthropy, employee volunteerism, capacity building and community development activities.

Social Investments
Marathon awards grants to nonprofit organizations dedicated to fulfilling educational, health and human services, civic and community, environmental and social needs. The Company supports programs around the globe within its areas of operation. In 2006, grants and Corporate contributions totaled more than $9.1 million. Employee giving through programs offered and tracked by Marathon, and vendor and customer donations for the Children’s Miracle Network, totaled approximately $4.4 million.
    Health, human services and education are strategic focus areas for social investing. Marathon develops signature community relations programs with select organizations within these areas.
    United Way is a focus of philanthropy for Marathon in U.S. communities where it has operations. The Company matches employee donations from 60 percent to 100 percent, depending on the location. Marathon donations to United Way across the U.S. totaled more than $1.4 million in 2006.
     In Findlay, Marathon is a charter member of United Way of Hancock County and has been involved with the agency for 52 years. Employees in Findlay logged 2,688 volunteer hours for United Way fundraising efforts in 2006.
     Marathon’s Downstream organization founded Clothe-A-Child in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1948 and introduced it in Hancock County in Ohio in 1992. Each year, employees raise money to purchase complete outfits for children in need and other items for their families, and accompany the children to shop for their clothes. In 2006, Clothe-A-Child raised $61,000 and helped approximately 225 children and their families in Indianapolis and Hancock County.
     Marathon has supported Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, an organization dedicated to curing breast cancer, as the local presenting event sponsor in Houston since 2005. More than 300 employees, family members and friends volunteered or participated in the 2006 events. Marathon also supports Komen in Wyoming and Waterfall Committee, a charity event whose proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Detection Center of Alaska. Marathon grants in 2005 and 2006 helped purchase a mammography machine for a mobile van that travels Alaska’s highway and river systems and a portable unit that can be flown into villages.
    Marathon is developing relationships with Us TOO, an organization dedicated to prostate cancer education and support, and Impact Player Partners, which offers emotional and financial support for severely wounded U.S. veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Marathon will provide financial and volunteer support for these organizations, as it does for Komen.
    Marathon operations support education at all grade levels. For example, the Garyville refinery offers educational outreach at the elementary, high school and college levels. Garyville extends educational opportunities to the community, including chemical awareness training at a local hospital, training for local volunteer fire departments, and an environmental workshop for employees of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA in 2006.
    Marathon supported three Nature Conservancy initiatives in 2006. The Heart Mountain Project in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin works to conserve the site’s large concentration of rare plants and big game and bird populations. The Gulf of Mexico initiative seeks to conserve critically threatened bird stopover habitats. Marathon also supported Nature Conservancy efforts in Alaska to balance conservation and development.
    Additional environmental organizations that received support in 2006 were the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Wild Heritage Foundation in Wyoming, Trees for Houston, Tri State Bird Rescue and Research, and the Wild Turkey Foundation.
    To encourage and recognize employee involvement, Marathon sponsors volunteer awards programs. In 2006, 16 charities in Texas, Wyoming, Nigeria, Ireland and Scotland were awarded $1,000 grants based on Upstream employee participation. Downstream’s program awarded more than $36,000 to qualifying organizations based on 184 employees/spouses donating more than 14,000 hours in their communities in 2006.

External Capacity Building
To be sustainable, a community must be able to develop and sustain itself through its own human capital. Marathon encourages establishing mechanisms that empower communities and governments to develop their human capital. The Company assists in these capacity building efforts as appropriate.
    Based on ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, the Company’s capacity building programs in Equatorial Guinea focus on health care, education, infrastructure and strengthening civil society. In 2006, the Company offered a new five-day workshop to strengthen institutional capacity and improve organizational efficiency. The curriculum included strategic planning, negotiations and project management. Approximately 45 employees from five government agencies, partner companies and Marathon’s local operations participated. The workshop was conducted in Spanish.

Indigenous Communities
Marathon applies the U.N.’s definition of indigenous communities, peoples and nations. The Company respects the desire of these communities to preserve, develop and transmit their territories, cultures and institutions to future generations. The Implementation category of Marathon’s Global Performance System outlines the expectations and implementation process for engaging and communicating with indigenous populations. Currently, Marathon works with Native American Indian communities at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

Community Impacts and Resettlement
Marathon strives to avoid negative socio-economic impacts and involuntary resettlement of individuals and communities in siting, developing and operating Company assets. It engages communities based in part on the International Financial Corporation’s guideline, Doing Better Business Through Effective Consultation and Disclosure, and Social Performance Standard #5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement. For example, the Company is evaluating potential socioeconomic impacts on two communities that may be affected by land acquisition for the Train 2 LNG Plant in Equatorial Guinea. As part of this effort, the Company has been engaged in active participatory consultation with the two communities since mid-2006.

Security
Safeguarding employees, assets, local communities and its ability to do business is one of Marathon’s basic responsibilities. Marathon strives to maintain safe and secure operations while fully respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
    To accomplish this, Marathon follows the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights guidelines for risk assessment and interactions with public security and private security. The Company conducts risk assessments and background screenings in interactions with public and private security providers. For existing projects, Marathon requires an annual risk assessment under the direction of the vice president of Corporate Responsibility. Risk assessments are considered when deciding to proceed with a new project, negotiating project documents and providing project security.
    In 2006, the Company incorporated specific language relating to the Voluntary Principles into contract documents, especially contracts and/or subcontracts with private security providers.
    For U.S.-based operations, the Company follows laws and regulations designed to assess security vulnerabilities and protect facilities, personnel and communities. Four Marathon refineries and 35 terminals and pipeline facilities comply with the Marine Transportation Security Act (MTSA), which requires personnel to conduct periodic security vulnerability assessments (SVAs). Through voluntary compliance with the Responsible Care® Security Code, Downstream conducts SVAs at facilities not covered by the MTSA.
    During 2006, the Company addressed security countermeasures identified in SVAs at designated Critical Facilities, which included all refineries and numerous terminals, vessels and pipeline facilities. The security countermeasures were intended to address vulnerabilities for each specific facility. Nearly 300 countermeasures were addressed for these designated Critical Facilities.

Addressing One of Wyoming’s Top Social Challenges

Methamphetamine abuse is having devastating effects in Wyoming. Users suffer significant health problems, and even death, and are more likely to commit violent crime, domestic violence and child abuse.
    Through engagement with elected local and state leaders, Marathon learned that methamphetamine use is one of the most serious social challenges facing Wyoming. As evidence, Wyoming officials cited the high number of job vacancies caused by applicants failing drug screenings.
    “Marathon has approximately 1,000 employees and contractors in Wyoming,” said Adel Chaouch, Marathon’s director of Corporate Social Responsibility. “Once we understood the magnitude of the challenge, we knew that Marathon needed to get involved.”
    In 2006, Marathon developed a methamphetamine awareness and education program for employees and contractors. The information was presented at a Company-sponsored community event in Gillette in December 2006, where a certified safety professional and consultant gave an overview of methamphetamine use and impacts for approximately 320 citizens. When the presenter opened the floor to the audience, people shared stories of their own or a loved one’s addiction and urged community action to rid their city and state of methamphetamines.
    Marathon later presented the program in Sheridan and Cody. The events were catalysts for dialogue on fighting the impacts of the drug.
    With its large stake in Wyoming, Marathon is prepared to work with communities and state legislators to tackle the issue. In 2007, the Company will initiate methamphetamine awareness programs for employees across its business enterprise and make a presentation to federal agencies in Washington, D.C.