Ethics Final Paper

The purpose of this assignment is to give students the opportunity to articulate

overall knowledge about Business ethics and corporate social responsibility and
how they would apply that knowledge in a real-world organizational situation.
Students will be asked to demonstrate both their mastery of the Course material
and their ability to apply this knowledge.

Students need to consider the Research Exercise provide in the Course textbook

Business Ethics (Crane & Matten, 2016, p. 548). Students will need to choose a
controversial mining, oil and gas, or other natural resources project that is either
underway or has occurred in the past (examples will be provided during the
teaching of this Course but students may choose other projects not previously
discussed). Student will identify and explain:

Intro

What is the Woodfibre LNG?

Woodfibre LNG is a proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export facility

currently in the pre-construction phase. Our site is near Squamish, British
Columbia – midway between Vancouver and Whistler. For nearly 100 years,
the site was used as pulp and paper operation, which closed in 2006. The site
is also a historic village used by the Squamish Nation for seasonal fishing,
known by its traditional name of Swi’yat.

Since the project was launched, Woodfibre LNG has received three
environmental approvals: from the B.C. and Canadian governments, and from
the Squamish Nation. Woodfibre’s groundbreaking process of consent with
the Squamish Nation was first of its kind and resulted in the first-ever
environmental approval by an Indigenous poeple in the absence of a treaty.
Today, Woodfibre is proud to acknowledge the Squamish Nation as a full
regulator on the project.

Once operational Woodfibre LNG will create over 100 full-time, well-paid jobs
based in Squamish and will contribute over $80 million per year in taxes to
government.
The Woodfibre project is expected to create up to 650 construction jobs,
with hiring preference given to qualified Squamish Nation members,
Squamish residents, British Columbians and Canadians – in that order. 

Since 2013, Woodfibre LNG has contributed over $3 million to local Squamish
businesses, community groups and organizations and in taxes.

In comparison to coal powered energy, energy generated through combined cycle

natural gas plants produces:

 Approximately half as much carbon dioxide

 Less than one tenth as much nitrogen oxides (causes smog)
 Less than one percent as much sulfur oxides (causes acid rain) and
PM2.5 micro-particulates (causes respiratory complications etc.)

In addition to being the cleanest alternative, natural gas power plants are also much
more efficient than coal powered plants.

 Natural gas plants require substantially less time, energy, water use,
and land area than coal plants and do not produce ash as a by-product.
Natural gas is the best stable source of energy to support the
development of renewables such as wind and solar (currently
intermittent) in an integrated supply chain by filling in with power
generation when needed.

AGAINST

https://www.myseatosky.org/stop-woodfibre-lng
Woodfibre LNG Limited (Proponent) proposes to construct and operate a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the old Woodfibre Pulp and Paper
Mill site near Squamish, British Columbia. The facility would have a storage
capacity of 250,000 m3 and would produce up to 2.1 million tonnes per year of
LNG.

What is LNG?
LNG (liquefied natural gas) is fracked methane from northeast BC which is
transported in pipelines and then cooled to -162°C so it can be shipped as a
liquid in LNG tankers. With 70-100 tankers transiting Howe Sound every year

https://woodfibrelng.ca/questions/what-is-the-name-of-the-company-that-owns-
the-woodfibre-site/#:~:text=The%20Woodfibre%20LNG%20Project%20is,a
%20Community%20Office%20in%20Squamish.

The Woodfibre LNG Project is owned and operated by Woodfibre LNG Limited, a privately
held Canadian company based in Vancouver with a Community Office in Squamish. We are a
subsidiary of Pacific Oil & Gas Limited, which is part of the Singapore-based RGE group of
companies.  RGE, also known as Royal Golden Eagle, was founded by Sukanto Tanoto, who is
also its Chairman. RGE comprises of a group of companies that are focused on resource-based
manufacturing industries and has a combined workforce of about 50,000 people worldwide.

Post navigation


https://www.transmissionhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BC-EAO-OCT-26-
2015-Woodfibre-Report.pdf

This Assessment Report (the Report) considers the potential for the Woodfibre LNG Project
(proposed Project) to cause significant adverse environmental, economic, social, heritage and
health effects. It identifies measures to prevent or reduce adverse effects and sets out EAO’s
analysis and conclusions.

Following is a summary of the public consultation activities carried out by the Proponent during
the EA process:  Public open houses and roundtable meetings;  Stakeholder meetings, phone
calls and email with community groups, individuals and local governments:  Round table
meetings with 10 key stakeholder and local community groups;  Hosted over 25 site tours for
stakeholders and local groups; (44)

The proposed Project is subject to an environmental assessment under BC’s Environmental

Assessment Act by the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), and the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) by the Canadian Environmental Assessment
Agency (the Agency).

EAO prepared an Assessment Report in consultation with an advisory working group (Working
Group), made up of federal, provincial and local government representatives with the mandates
and skill sets relevant to the review of the proposed Project, as well as representatives of
potentially affected Aboriginal Groups listed on Schedules B and C of the Section 11 Order.

The environmental assessment focused on the valued components related to air quality,
greenhouse gas management, freshwater fish and fish habitat, marine water quality and benthic
habitat, marine fish and mammals, vegetation communities, terrestrial wildlife and marine birds,
economics, infrastructure and community services, land and resource use, marine transport,
visual quality, community health and well-being, heritage resources, and human health risk
assessment.

EAO assessed the potential for the proposed Project to have significant adverse effects on the
valued components and on the requirements of CEAA 2012. The assessment also considered
how accidents and malfunctions and changes to the environment could affect the valued
components.

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/myseatosky/pages/310/attachments/origin
al/1555775571/2018-10-15_MS2S_to_SFN_re_Woodfibre_LNG_concerns_FINAL.pdf?
1555775571

In the following pages we will explore each of the key concerns related to Woodfibre LNG as lis
ted below:  1. Howe Sound’s recovery is fragile and requires careful stewardship;  2.
Lack of adequate baseline data for herring leads to loss of public trust; 
file:///Users/jordinwilkinson/Downloads/04.05.17%20170405_Amendment
%20Consultation%20Report%20March_Final.pdf

3. The impacts of increased noise from the revised air cooling system on marine
organisms such as herring,

salmon, and southern resident killer whales has not been adequately studied;

4. Safety concerns related to Woodfibre LNG, LNG tankers, and FortisBC pipeline
and compressor station

4.1 LNG Tanker traffic puts Howe Sound and Vancouver residents at risk

4.2 Bunkering in English Bay puts Vancouver residents at risk

4.3 Emergency anchorage proposed at Kwum Kwum

4.4 Floating storage units

4.5 Risks of FortisBC pipeline and compressor station to Squamish residents

5. Climate change threats are real and immediate

5.1 LNG is not “clean”

5.2 LNG creates more greenhouse gases than coal

5.3 LNG is in direct competition with renewables

5.4 Local greenhouse gas emissions are nearly double all of Squamish’s emissions

5.5 Upstream greenhouse gas emissions from fracking and leaking methane

5.6 LNG will make it impossible to achieve BC’s climate targets

6. Fracking impacts on indigenous communities in northeast British Columbia

7. Corruption
7.1 Who owns Woodfibre LNG?

7.2 The ‘Wild West’ of political donations

7.3 Linking donations to political favours

7.4 Government mandate to develop LNG export facilities constitutes a conflict of

interest

8. Economics

8.1 Corporate structure will send profits overseas

8.2 Detailing tax breaks and subsidies

1. Who are the main stakeholders involved in the project and what are/were
their main concerns and interests;

2. Provide a ranking of these stakeholders according to either instrumental or

normative principles, listing the criteria used in their ranking;

3. What methods has/have the company adopted so far in incorporating the

interests of these stakeholders in decision making; and.

We have established a Community Sponsorship Program, with a specific

focus on organizations that are working in areas of education, youth, sport,
and environmental initiatives.

Grants from Woodfibre LNG are awarded semi-annually, and determined

through a formalized application process. In order to support as many groups
as possible, we have created funding criteria to help organizations determine
their eligibility.

Woodfibre LNG is striving to be the cleanest and most sustainable LNG export facility in
the world by being an industry leader in: 

 Indigenous consultation
 Economic development
 Community-based corporate citizenship
 Meaningful contributions to all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
 Being the lowest GHG emitting LNG export facility in the world.

Collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples, we look to develop sustainability

goals that enable cultural and environmental preservation and economic
growth and diversification for current and future generations. 

Our aim is to:

 Accommodate traditional culture and customs in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh

region or nearby project area
 Incorporate traditional knowledge into planning and development
 Seek input on baseline feasibility studies and data collection
 Support sustainable development goals through consultation and legacy
projects
 Support the development of training programs both for project needs as
well as for transferable skills and upgradin

Woodfibre LNG is committed to ensuring that Indigenous Peoples in the

region are kept informed about our project. We work hard to demonstrate our
commitments to safety and environmental protection through our consultation
process. Our environmental and technical teams have also worked
collaboratively with representatives from local Indigenous communities
throughout the environmental assessment process to integrate traditional
knowledge and input into our environmental management plans and the
design of the facility. Woodfibre LNG strives to support our Indigenous
partners to define their level of participation in our project. 
v
 4. How would one recommend to proceed in order to enhance stakeholder
democracy? 

The assignment is capped at 2500 words--please avoid exceeding the word

count for this Assignment. APA Style citations and references are required.