A Case Study on the Legal Impacts of Corporate Sustainability Pledges in the Alberta Oil Sands

Suncor Energy Inc. is Canada’s largest oil and gas producer with significant operations in the Alberta oil sands. In its 2010 Sustainability Report, the corporation made several long-term environmental pledges. This paper confronts a hypothetical situation involving these environmental pledges. What if Suncor’s commitments prove to be effective from an environmental standpoint, however they’re more costly from a financial perspective than Suncor anticipates? In accordance with their statutory fiduciary duties, Suncor directors have a choice to make between two options. The company could increase or maintain expenditures in order to meet these commitments. Or, the company could limit the projected expenditures with the consequence that environmental commitments will not be met due in part to financial constraints. This case study applies Canadian corporate statutory fiduciary duties to these alternatives ultimately finding that such pledges do not create legal liability for directors when they fail to uphold environmental commitments. However, directors may follow through on a voluntarily environmental pledge without incurring liability from disgruntled shareholders