COURTESY MATTERS

A little courtesy goes a long way. That's what EnCana heard from Dawson Creek property owners Olaf and Tara Harpe, who wrote, "We've never been treated with such common courtesy and respect. The day we moved the cows, the operator stopped his machinery while we were passing so the cows wouldn't spook."

EnCana is a major oil and gas developer in northeastern British Columbia. It recognizes the need to communicate openly and work with the communities in which it operates, particularly to access land or use local highways and roads to move rigs and equipment to drill sites.

In 2006, EnCana implemented a good neighbour campaign called "Courtesy Matters." Based on extensive community consultation, EnCana directed its dozens of contractors to work together to improve relations with the people they dealt with-landowners, local commuters, town planners and even the local schools. Courtesy Matters projects took many different forms. In one, EnCana organized a highway cleanup between Dawson Creek and Tomslake, where 80 volunteers collected 250 bags of garbage.

Other initiatives included providing EnCana's rig movement schedules to the local school district to allow school bus drivers to compensate for delays and extra traffic on their routes. EnCana also filed rig movement reports to the local radio station to alert regional commuters.

By the end of the year nearly 90 per cent of people in the area knew about the Courtesy Matters campaign, and saw it as a real improvement to the region.

"I am very proud of EnCana that they have taken the initiative to promote Courtesy Matters in our area," said Barb Smith, Mayor of Pouce Coupe, B.C. It is nice to see a big company like EnCana giving back and being part of our communities. Courtesy does matter, and it makes a difference."

EnCana demonstrated that a little courtesy goes a long way, and that acting responsibly makes for more than a good corporate citizen, it also makes a good neighbour.