Elements Newsletter

Smarter. Healthier. Better.

At Chevron Phillips Chemical, we’re passionate about your health and overall wellness. We know that when you feel your best, you’re more focused, engaged and productive. And while our benefit plans are designed to promote your well-being — physically, emotionally and financially — we realize that those plans alone aren’t enough.

Chevron Phillips Chemical also needs you, as individuals, to be actively engaged in your overall wellness. To that end, we’ll be taking steps to reaffirm our benefits education theme in 2009: “Smarter. Healthier. Better.”

This theme captures our core beliefs about employee health care. We want you to have the knowledge to make smart decisions about your health, the commitment to adopt a healthier lifestyle and the inspiration to be stronger, fitter and more resilient. In this issue of Elements, we’ll focus on topics that bring our theme to life and provide food for thought on how to make your well-being a priority in your life.

The Financial Crisis and Your Retirement Accounts

Recently, employees indicated that they wanted more information about how the current financial crisis is affecting their personal retirement accounts. While we can’t give you specific financial advice — we can give you some basics to help put the current market turmoil into perspective.

Q. WHAT’S HAPPENING?

A. There are many causes of the current turmoil, but here’s the short version: Since the collapse of the tech bubble in 2001, the Federal Reserve has been lowering short-term interest rates to avoid recession. This cheap money started a new wave of risk taking. Homeowners used easy credit to buy homes with little money down and little documentation. Wall Street investment banks repackaged these mortgages into “mortgage-backed securities” or MBSs — tradable bonds that were given artificially high ratings by bond-rating agencies and then resold to other banks and investors. Then subprime borrowers started defaulting on their mortgages. Housing prices tumbled and a domino effect began. Banks and brokerages that had borrowed money using the MBSs as collateral had to hustle to raise capital as the value of the MBSs dropped. Some (like Lehman Bros.) went bankrupt. Others (like Merrill Lynch) had to sell themselves at bargain prices to other banks or brokerages.

This general unrest has led to a drop in investor confidence, with many investors pulling money out of the stock market and moving to more conservative investments like bonds and cash. The value of many types of investments has dropped over the past nine to twelve months.

Q. HOW BAD IS THE DECLINE, AND HOW HAS IT AFFECTED THE INVESTMENT OPTIONS IN THE CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL 401(K) SAVINGS PLAN?

A. Most stock indexes have dropped over the past nine months, while bonds have had modest gains. Here are year-to-date results as of September 30 for some of the major indexes and the core investment funds in the 401(k) Savings Plan.

Major Indexes	Year-to-Date Total Return Through 9-30-08
Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index	– 19.3%
MCSI EAFE	– 17.3%
Lehman Bros. Aggregate Bond	+ 2.0%
401(k) Savings Plan Core Funds	Year-to-Date Total Return Through 9-30-08
Fidelity Retirement Money Market Portfolio	+ 2.24%
Fidelity U.S. Bond Index Fund	+ 0.23%
Dodge & Cox Income Fund	– 3.80%

The performance results of the 401(k) Savings Plan are similar to those of other employer savings plans. The Employee Benefit Research Institute analyzed account balances of 401(k) participants in 2.2 million different plans and found that average balances had dropped 7.2% to 11.2% this year.

Q. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR STOCKS TO BOUNCE BACK?

A. No one knows. Some economists are predicting a mild recession that could last through next spring or even the fall. Equities often rally in anticipation of future recovery, so a stock market rebound could occur sometime in the first half of 2009. But we don’t know if we’ve reached the bottom of the current bear market yet.

Over longer time periods, investors generally recover their losses. But experts disagree on how long it takes to recover from a bear market. One study by T. Rowe Price found that in the past five bear markets going back to 1976, the longest it took stocks to recover from their decline and achieve a 10% annual return was eight years. The shortest time was five months.

A Wilshire study found that, on average, it takes about three years and three months for investors to recover their losses. The study found that investors generally have gains over the long term, regardless of whether they bought at the top or the bottom of the market:

• Investors who bought at the worst possible time — the top of a bull market — and held for 10 years, achieved average annual gains of 6.6%.
Investors who bought at the best possible time — the bottom of a bear market — enjoyed average annual gains of 17.7% after five years.

Q. MY 401(K) ACCOUNT IS DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. WHAT DO I DO NOW?

A. Don’t panic! And don’t make any immediate drastic changes, like selling all your stock funds. Selling stocks after they’ve sunk to a three-year low — and expecting to buy them back later, after they’ve recovered somewhat — only ensures a loss. You’d be selling low and buying high — the opposite of what you generally want to do. Over the long term, you make money in financial markets by buying low and selling high.

At the same time, this is a good time to review your overall asset allocation strategy. If your allocation has strayed from your overall plan, you may want to make some changes to bring your actual allocation back in line with your target allocation. Here are some examples of moves to consider:

• If your actual allocation varies by more than 5-10 percentage points from your target allocation, you may want to adjust accordingly. But move your money a little at a time, not all at once.
• If you’re not very diversified at the moment, consider moving gradually into a broader range of assets. Some kinds of assets have weathered the current economic storm better than others.
• If your target allocation is largely stocks, you may want to increase your target allocation to bonds and cash (money market funds) somewhat. Bonds and cash have held up better than stocks, especially over the past three months or so.

On the other hand, if your target allocation includes few stocks, you may want to increase your allocation of stocks, to take advantage of current buying opportunities. Stocks are currently very cheap, trading lower than they were at the start of 2000. Over the long term (a decade or longer), owning stocks gives you a share of corporate profit growth, which is likely to outpace inflation.

Q. I’M NOT CONTRIBUTING MUCH TO THE 401(K) PLAN. IS NOW A GOOD TIME TO INCREASE MY CURRENT CONTRIBUTION RATE AND MOVE BACK INTO THE FINANCIAL MARKETS IN GENERAL?

A. Yes, especially in light of current buying opportunities in the stock market. By increasing your contribution rate, you will have more money available to take advantage of dollar cost averaging over time. Although the share price of many of the Plan’s investment options has dropped, you are able to buy a larger number of shares with each contribution you make.

Increasing your contribution rate will also help you recover from any recent losses you may have experienced.

Q. I’M ONLY A FEW YEARS FROM RETIREMENT AND I’M CONCERNED THAT THE DECLINE IN MY 401(K) BALANCES WON’T GIVE ME ENOUGH MONEY TO RETIRE.

A. One way to deal with this concern is to expand your approach to retirement security beyond the traditional three-legged stool of Social Security, an employer pension and personal savings. For many people five sources of retirement income will apply, which can be summarized by the acronym:

PERKS:
P	stands for personal savings (including your 401(k) Plan)
E	is your employer pension plan
R	is real estate (your residence for most people)
K	stands for keep working
S	is Social Security

Your residence can provide retirement income through a reverse mortgage, or through downsizing if you relocate to a less expensive home. And if you delay accessing your retirement funds, either by deferring retirement altogether for another year or two, or by working part-time during retirement, this can give your portfolio time to rebound. Even if your portfolio is down $100,000 and you’re close to retiring, earning just $5,000 a year from a part-time job during the first few years of retirement can help replace the income you would have drawn from the missing part of your retirement portfolio.

Q. WHAT EFFECT WILL THE FINANCIAL CRISIS HAVE ON MY CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFIT?

A. No significant effect. Your Retirement Plan benefit has two components, a career average pay benefit and a variable annuity benefit. Both benefits are based on your years of service and compensation over your working career. Chevron Phillips Chemical pays the full cost of the plan and the plan is funded over time in accordance with actuarial funding standards and government regulations. When market conditions decrease the value of the plan’s underlying assets, over time Chevron Phillips Chemical will adjust the level of its contributions to make sure the plan has enough money to pay all promised benefits.

The variable annuity benefit is also based in part on a Variable Annuity Index, which is a 50/50 blend of the S&P 500 Index and the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index. This index is used to determine the annual Interest Crediting Rate that is applied to your Variable Annuity balance. This rate is adjusted annually and will reflect the previous year’s market conditions, but it can never go below a 3% minimum. So even if market rates turn negative — as we’ve seen for stocks in 2008 — your Variable Annuity balance will never be credited with less than the 3% minimum return.

Will you be 50 or older in 2009?

Participants in the Chevron Phillips Chemical 401(k) Plan who are 50 years of age or older in 2009 can make a separate election to make a catch-up contribution of $5,500 for next year, which is an increase from $5,000 in 2008.

Major sources: Money magazine, Associated Press, Washington Post, USA Today

Getting Smart About Healthcare Savings

In today’s economy, finding ways to stretch your healthcare dollars is more important than ever. The good news is that Chevron Phillips Chemical’s healthcare plans offer you a number of ways to hold down your healthcare spending. So the better you understand your benefits coverage, the better your chances of managing your healthcare costs and saving you and your family hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars! Here are some tips to get you started:

• Take an active role in your healthcare: When it comes to decisions regarding your healthcare, it’s important to take an active role in the process. Ask your doctor questions, get a second opinion to confirm the need for specific treatments and weigh your options and costs before making a decision.
• Use network providers: Using in-network doctors and hospitals is a great way to manage healthcare costs. Since in-network providers have agreed to provide services to you at negotiated rates, both you and Chevron Phillips Chemical save money.
• DocFind^® Online Provider Directory: This online search tool enables you to locate primary care physicians, dentists, orthodontists and other healthcare professionals in your area, as well as hospitals or special care facilities closest to you. Just go to www.aetnanavigator.com and click on “Doctors, Dentists & Facilities”:

  For Medical Plans:
  
  Core Plan/Aetna Open Access Select/Aetna Open Access Elect Choice:

  • Under “Provider Category” — choose “Medical Providers”
  • Under “Plan” — choose “Aetna Select^SM (Open Access)” from the list under Aetna Open Access Plans

  Cost Saver Plan/Aetna Choice POS II/Aetna Open Access Managed Choice:

  • Under “Provider Category” — choose “Medical Providers”
  • Under “Plan” — choose “Aetna Choice^® POS II (Open Access)” from the list under Aetna Open Access Plans

  For PPO Dental and Preventive Dental:

  • Under “Provider Category” — choose “Dental”
  • Under “Plan” — choose “Dental PPO/PDN with PPO II Network” from the list under Dental PPO/PDN/EPP/HealthFund^®/DentalFund^® with PPO II network
• Save the emergency room for real emergencies: Chevron Phillips Chemical’s medical plan options do not cover non-emergency use of the emergency room, so going to the emergency room for a case of poison oak or your child’s ear infection can be a very costly decision. Opt instead for a nearby walk-in clinic or, if you just can’t wait, an urgent care clinic. You’ll get the care you need at a more reasonable price.
  • Urgent care and walk-in centers: Walk-in clinics and urgent care centers offer convenient and cost-effective options when you need care for non-emergency conditions. These facilities offer (in most cases) extended hours, require no appointments and will provide the treatment you need without the emergency room prices. To find a facility near you, visit Aetna’s DocFind^® online provider directory at www.aetna.com, select “Facilities” under Provider Category, then select “Urgent Care Facilities” or “Walk-in Clinic” under Provider Type. You can also contact Informed Health^® Line at 1-800-556-1555.
• Ask for generic drugs: In most cases, a generic drug will cost less than a preferred or non-preferred brand name medication — sometimes 50% to 70% less — but its effectiveness in treating your condition is the same. So be sure to inquire about a generic option when your doctor prescribes a medication.
• Use mail order for maintenance medications. For long-term medication, get a 90-day supply by mail order. You’ll pay less money in the long run.
• Practice preventive care: You’ve heard it before — if you adopt a healthier lifestyle, you are less likely to develop the expensive, chronic diseases that may risk your life and increase your healthcare costs dramatically. Although there was never a truer statement — quite frankly, staying healthy and fit seems easier said than done. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Preventive care is the easiest and most effective way to keep yourself and your family healthy and happy. So take advantage of your medical plans’ preventive care services, such as routine physicals, mammograms, well-woman checkups and well-child care.
  • Preventive care: To get started, go to www.aetna.com, select: “Take action on your health” under Staying Healthy, then select “Preventive Health Care Schedule” (this is personalized for each covered dependent).
• Track your healthcare costs: An important part of managing healthcare spending is being knowledgeable about your healthcare history — what care you’ve received and how much it cost. Your online Personal Health Record offers a convenient way to keep track of this valuable information. You can access data from two years of Aetna insurance claims and add other important data such as over-the-counter medications you’re taking and details on allergic drug reactions.

Other Aetna Resources to Promote Your Good Health

If you’re enrolled in a Chevron Phillips Chemical medical plan, you can take advantage of a number of great resources and services offered through Aetna. Here are just a few to keep in mind:

• For moms-to-be:
  • Beginning Right^SM Maternity Program: The Beginning RightSM program provides educational material on prenatal care, signs of pre-term labor, what to expect before and after delivery, newborn care and more. The program also provides access to nurse case management for individuals with risk factors or who may need special attention. To contact Beginning RightSM, call 1-800-CRADLE (1-800-272-3531) or log on to www.aetnanavigator.com and click on Benefits, then Health Programs.
• Informed Health^® Line: Aetna’s Informed Health^® Line offers you and your family a direct line to registered nurses who can help you with your healthcare needs around the clock. With this convenient, toll-free line, you always have the information you need to make informed decisions about your health and well-being. Call 1-800-556-1555 to access:
  • Registered nurses: To assist you with health-related questions.
  • Audio health library: To provide information on a wide range of health topics.
• Aetna Fitness^SM discount program: Staying fit is easy and affordable, thanks to the Aetna Fitness^SM discount program. The program gives you access to preferred* membership rates at nearly 10,000 fitness clubs nationwide, with services provided by GlobalFit^TM. You can also receive savings on home fitness equipment, exercise videos and other health-related products. To find out about the latest GlobalFit^TM offerings or enroll for membership, just log on to Aetna Navigator or call GlobalFit^TM toll-free at 1-800-298-7800.
  
  

  * Preferred rates may only be available to new club members.

• On-demand medical ID cards: If you’ve misplaced or lost your medical ID card, don’t worry! The Aetna Navigator site gives you the option to print out a temporary ID card to use while you’re waiting for your replacement card to arrive. Just log on to www.aetnanavigator.com, select ID Cards from the Request & Changes menu, print out a temporary ID card and request your replacement ID card. Your replacement card will be mailed to you within 7 to 10 business days.
• Simple Steps to Better Dental Health^®: Healthy teeth and gums are vital to your overall health, so Aetna’s Simple Steps to Better Dental Health^® site, accessible through www.aetna.com, will give you plenty to smile about! You’ll find articles on a wide range of dental health topics to help you prevent dental problems, understand conditions and explore treatments. You can also access educational material like The Mouth Matters^TM, Aetna’s dental health newsletter, which highlights useful dental care information and product discounts.

The Best Service for Your Prescription Medications

Express Scripts — the company chosen to manage your prescription benefit plan — would like to introduce you to www.express-scripts.com, a website developed with you in mind. The site features round-the-clock assistance, savings opportunities and important health information.

CONVENIENCE

At www.express-scripts.com, there are no lines and no waiting; the store is always open. You can quickly refill and request renewal of Home Delivery prescriptions online, and check the status of your orders at any time. If you need to find a local pharmacy, you can easily locate one near you using the “Find a Pharmacy” tool.

SAVINGS

With Express Scripts’ “Price a Drug” online feature, you can tell what you will pay for a specific drug, and find out how to save money by choosing Home Delivery and lower cost alternatives. The “Save on My Prescriptions” feature alerts you when you have an opportunity to save.

CONTROL

Express-scripts.com lets you view all the details of your pharmacy plan and review your prescription claims history. You don’t have to search your benefits documents every time you have a question about a copayment or a medication.

Whether your goal is to save time and money, or just get smarter about your health, go to www.express-scripts.com today and take advantage of the online services offered.

The Aetna EAP: Always Here to Help

These days, most of us lead fairly busy lives — working, paying a mortgage, raising a family, caring for elderly parents — and it’s not unusual to feel overwhelmed on occasion. Fortunately, there’s a resource that’s always here to help: the Aetna Employee Assistance Program (EAP). While the Aetna EAP is invaluable in times of crisis, the program offers much more than counseling. In fact, it’s a great resource for the demands of day-to-day living, offering a wide range of supportive services, such as elder care, child care, legal and financial matters, and more.

WHO CAN USE THE AETNA EAP?

The Aetna EAP is available to all Chevron Phillips Chemical employees and their dependents.

WHAT DOES IT OFFER?

• Information and referrals for a variety of needs: The Aetna EAP provides informational resources and referrals on elder care, child care, parenting, legal concerns, finances, and more.
• Quick, convenient access: Confidential services are available by phone or online. You can call the Aetna EAP at 1-866-841-9377, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also visit the program’s website at www.AetnaEAP.com and enter the Company ID: MYCPCEAP to access online tools and resources on behavioral health, work/life and other relevant topics.
• Free, confidential counseling and consultation:
  • Counseling: You and each of your dependents can each receive up to six face-to-face counseling sessions per year, per issue, at no cost to you (i.e., no copays or deductibles). There is no limit to the number of issues for which you can receive assistance.
  • Consultation: Each employee receives:
    • A 30-minute free consultation with a selected financial planning counselor for up to three different financial counseling topics each calendar year. You can also request, in lieu of an initial assessment, a direct referral to a community resource such as Consumer Credit Counseling.
    • A 30-minute free consultation with a selected plan attorney for up to three different legal topics each plan year. Topics include general law (except for certain excluded topics, such as employment law), mediation services and special needs (including emergency matters).

If you need legal assistance beyond the initial 30-minute consultation, you’ll receive a reduced rate (generally a 25% discount), depending on the nature of the legal work required. All initial consultations (and discounted consultations) must be for legal matters related to the employee.

HOW CAN I CONTACT THE AETNA EAP?

To contact the Aetna EAP for assistance, please call 1-866-841-9377 or visit www.AetnaEAP.com and enter the Company ID: MYCPCEAP.

Financial Year-End Checklist

NOW IS THE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR W-4 WITHHOLDING STATUS

Now’s a great time to review any personal information affecting your income tax reporting as year-end 2008 approaches. This includes your current W-4 status.

If your filing status, or the number of withholding allowed changes for 2009 will change, you should file a new W-4. This is important as the tax withholding criteria established on your W-4 form largely determines whether or not you will owe money or receive a refund. You can review the changes to your tax withholding using the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) Withholding Calculator at http://www.irs.gov/individuals/.

To date, the IRS has not posted the 2009 W-4 form; however you can use the 2008 W-4 form to make your changes. W-4 forms should be signed and submitted to the Chevron Phillips Chemical Employee Service Center for processing. Completed forms can be faxed to 1-832-813-6100, emailed to CPCRAHRSERVICETEAM@Chevron Phillips Chemical.com, or inter-Company mailed to the attention of “Employee Service Center – Headquarters.”

While reviewing your W-4 status, please also review your pay advice and make sure your name and mailing address are correct. Incorrect names, home mailing addresses and Social Security numbers can cause the incorrect reporting of your expected wages and tax payments and can delay the receipt of your 2008 W-2 form in late January 2009.

NEW SOCIAL SECURITY WAGE MAXIMUM

The maximum wage contribution for 2009 will be increased to $106,800; which is a change from $102,000 in 2008.

The FICA tax rate, which is the combined Social Security tax rate of 6.2% and the Medicare tax rate of 1.45%, remains at 7.65% for 2009. The maximum Social Security tax withheld will be $6,621.60 in 2008; which is a change from $6,324 in 2008. As in prior years, there is no limit to wages subject to the Medicare tax; therefore, all covered wages are still subject to the 1.45% tax.

If you have questions, please contact the Employee Service Center at 1-800-446-1422, option #3, or check with your HR Department.

NEW SAVINGS PLAN CONTRIBUTION MAXIMUMS

The maximum combined contribution for pre-tax and/or Roth contributions you can contribute to the Company’s Savings and Profit Sharing Plan for 2009 will be increased to $16,500; which is a change from $15,500 in 2008. In addition, participants in the Savings and Profit Sharing Plan who are 50 or older in 2009 can also make a catch-up contribution of $5,500 which is a change from $5,000 in 2008.

Holiday Gifts: New Rules for 2008

It’s holiday season! Gifts from customers and vendors come in all shapes and sizes. Some are appropriate — and some aren’t. How do you tell the difference?

First and foremost, ask yourself if accepting the gift would place you in a compromising position. No significant gift or social accommodation can be accepted that would place, or give the appearance of placing, you in a prejudicial or embarrassing position, interfere with your impartiality or reflect adversely on the integrity of the Company.

Most holiday gifts are given in the spirit of saying thanks, which is a normal part of doing business. This is why Chevron Phillips Chemical allows employees to accept unsolicited gifts, meals, entertainment and other normal social amenities from existing and potential customers and suppliers as long as the following guidelines are adhered to:

• It must be of nominal value and would be paid by normal expense account procedures;
• It must be consistent with staff, business unit or other applicable Company policies;
• It is consistent with acceptable business customs and practices;
• It cannot be illegal or in violation of the ethical guidelines of either company;
• It cannot have been solicited by you;
• It has not been given or received on a repetitive basis;
• It cannot be construed as a bribe, pay-off or kickback; and
• It will not cause, and would not reasonably be perceived to cause, the recipient to alter normal business judgment concerning any transaction with the company.

Cash or cash equivalents in any amount may not be accepted. In 2008, the Code of Conduct was revised to allow for the receipt of unsolicited gift cards valued at less than $50 per year collectively from individual customers, suppliers or vendors. However, the guidelines above still apply.

Just use your best judgment and refer to the Corporate Conflict of Interest policy if you are unsure about a gift. Many business units, staffs, facilities or international locations may have additional policies that are more restrictive than those outlined in the Corporate Conflict of Interest Policy. So check the Finance or Legal Department if you have additional questions.

In-depth information on the Company’s gift acceptance policy can be found on nSight > Overview > Policy Portal > Ethics & Compliance > EC 00001 Code of Conduct.

Performance Management — What’s In It For You?

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS. These three little words have the power to strike fear into most employees’ hearts. But maybe it’s time to reconsider your fear. Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Performance Management Process serves to answer the two questions for which everyone wants an answer:

1. What is it you expect of me?
2. How am I doing at meeting those expectations?

The Company’s Performance Management Process is designed to provide ongoing coaching and development — and your formal annual performance review is only a small part of the program.

Look at it this way. What if you were on a diet but were only allowed to weigh yourself once a year? How likely would you be to stick with it?

The answer is “not a chance.” Performance management must be more than an annual conversation. Evaluation of your performance should be happening all of the time. It should involve discussions initiated either by you or your supervisor to ensure opportunities to coach, counsel, encourage and correct. Most of these evaluations are short and informal. They should not be wince-inducing, but rather positive and constructive.

The Performance Management Process serves a vital function for the Company. It allows us to make critically important decisions, such as:

• How should rewards be allocated? Who should get a raise and who shouldn’t?
• When a vacancy arises, who should be tapped for that opportunity? Do we have excellent candidates ready and waiting, or do we have to go outside to get the talent we need?
• What’s the depth of our talent pool? Do we have the people we need to meet the demands of the future?
• What is the relative strength of talent across our organization? Are there pockets of excellence and pockets of mediocrity within the Company?
• Who are our best performers, the people who are outstanding in their present positions with the potential to take on more demanding roles?
• Who are our lower performers and what steps can we take to help them?

Without answers to these questions, the Company will only stumble towards its strategic goals without truly knowing whether we have the talent we need to assure their achievement.

Okay, so now that we are on the same page as to why the Performance Management Process should be important to you and why it is important to the Company, we suggest you start thinking about your personal and career development goals for 2009. Ask yourself:

• What can I do to grow?
• How can I stretch myself?
• What is the next job I want?
• What skills do I need to get there?
• How do my personal goals align with the Company’s goals?

Give it some thought and then talk to your supervisor when you’re ready to outline your performance and career development goals for 2009. Make sure he or she knows what your personal and career development goals are, and most importantly, make sure that you and he or she are active participants in the process all year long. Lastly, be sure to wrap up any objectives you have outstanding for 2008.

Note: The PM process applies to salaried U.S. $ employees. Other employees should check with their HR Business Partner to see what local processes are applicable to their location. To revisit your PM goals, go to the PM Web site, found on nSight under Departments > Human Resources > Performance Management Process. Once on the PM home page, click on “Online Tool” in the left-hand navigation menu.

A Very “Diverse” Opportunity!

We need your help in ensuring that Chevron Phillips Chemical fosters an inclusive environment — one in which all employees feel included and respected and are able to fully contribute to the success of the organization. Have some ideas about how to accomplish this? Then consider applying to the Diversity Council to make sure that your ideas are heard.

WHAT IS A DIVERSITY COUNCIL?

Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Diversity Council is made up of a group of employees who assist with the development, deployment, implementation and monitoring of the Company’s diversity and inclusion processes and policies. Diversity Council members contribute leadership, creativity and ideas to make our Company’s diversity goals a reality.

WHAT DOES A DIVERSITY COUNCIL DO?

Diversity Council members typically come from all levels and functions within the organization. They are expected to act as “change agents” for the organization. They also wear the hat of educators, coaches and role models, as well as organizers of a multitude of diversity-related services and programs. Together the group will:

• Help facilitate understanding of emotion-laden issues;
• Create a “critical mass” so that diversity issues are heard;
• Get feedback from all levels of the organization; and
• Serve as “ambassadors” to support the group’s efforts.

Highly productive Diversity Councils can really make a difference. Council members assist with data gathering, communicating, establishing measurements, helping to educate employees about diversity and continually reinforcing the Company’s commitment to diversity. By achieving results quickly, members can help build momentum for Chevron Phillips Chemical’s overall diversity initiative.

HOW MUCH TIME WILL BE REQUIRED?

The initial training requirement is a two-day training session. Going forward, Diversity Council members will be required to attend monthly meetings that last between 60 – 90 minutes and may vary by location. Occasionally, you might be asked to attend a sub-committee meeting. Your membership on the Diversity Council can last for 12, 18 or 24 months — depending on your availability.

HOW DO I JOIN?

If you are interested in becoming a member of a Diversity Council, contact Virginia Hubbard, Global Diversity and Inclusion Manager, at hubbavd@cpchem.com. You can also be nominated by a peer or by your supervisor. All interested parties will be put through a selection process that involves an evaluation of leadership skills, commitment to the Company and respect received from peers. Ideal candidates are capable of both assertiveness and compromise, as well as being able to handle issues with confidentiality.

The first Diversity Council should be up and running at Headquarters by January 2009. By mid-year, Diversity Councils will be established at all Company locations that have a large enough employee population to support a group.

Chevron Phillips Chemical continues on its journey from being “good” to “great.” The Company’s Diversity Councils are just another way to complete this journey and help ensure everyone is bringing their “A” game to work everyday.

Important Dates

Date	Activity
December 31, 2008	Last day to incur eligible expenses for reimbursement from your Healthcare and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
March 31, 2009	Last day to submit eligible expenses for reimbursement from your Healthcare and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account