Celia’s blog post on ‘dirty companies’ leading sustainable change through business innovation reminded me of an article I read about a number of new technologies in the oil industry which have led to significant improvements to oil extraction practices.

For instance, Suncor Energy was the first company to successfully reclaim a tailings pond in September 2010, through its tailings reduction operations technology. It now takes only a few years to transform tailings ponds into natural habitat, instead of the previous standard of over 40 years for an environment half as successfully reclaimed (McCullough par. 2, 3).

Another revolutionary innovation is the toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) system, which does not require water to liquefy the bitumen before extracting it. All carbon dioxide emissions remain underground, and 17% more oil can be extracted from reservoirs using this system (McCullough par. 13, 14).

I feel that while these developments in the oil industry have greatly improved its environmental sustainability,  there are a number of issues with this model of corporate sustainability. It does not change the fact that we are still expecting oil to be our main energy source for the future, instead of beginning to transition towards relying on renewable energy sources. Also, the technologies and efforts of these companies can still lead to negative impacts on the environment, such as carbon emissions still being emitted, albeit not into the atmosphere.

Extra: Check out a video of Suncor Energy’s reclaimed tailings pond, now called Wapisiw Lookout (0:47-3:00).

Works Cited

Beketa, Celia. “The Unforeseen “Leaders” in Corporate Sustainability?” Celia Beketa’s Blog. 13 November 2012. Web. 14 November 2012.

McCullough, Michael. “Oilsands: Environmental disaster?” Canadian Business. Rogers Communications. 25 October 2010. Web. 14 November 2012.