- Net zero target by 2050; 35% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions intensity by 2030
- Accelerated diversity representation in the workforce
- Incentive compensation linked to progress on ESG targets and
goals
CALGARY, AB, Nov. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:
ENB) (NYSE: ENB) (Enbridge or the Company) today announced expanded
environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and
targets1 related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reduction and diversity and inclusion as well as increasing
transparency and accountability of our ESG priorities and results.
Setting goals in areas core to our business and stakeholders is
just one of the ways Enbridge is further integrating ESG into
strategy, operations and decision-making.
"Sustainability is integral to our ability to safely and
reliably deliver the energy people need and want," said
Al Monaco, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Enbridge. "How well we perform as a steward of
our environment, a safe operator of essential energy
infrastructure, and as a diverse and inclusive employer is
inextricably linked to our business success and our ability to
create long-term value for all stakeholders.
"While ESG has garnered more attention in recent years,
Enbridge's commitment to strong ESG practices and performance has
long been core to how we do business and we're proud to be
recognized as a leader. Our new commitments represent the next
stage of our progression to ensure we are positioned to grow
Enbridge sustainably for decades to come."
Enbridge's ESG goals include:
- A new goal to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050; with an
interim target to reduce GHG emissions intensity 35% by 2030
- Increased representation of diverse groups within our workforce
by 2025 including acceleration of existing goals of 28% from Racial
and Ethnic groups, along with new actions to enhance supplier
diversity
- Further strengthening Board diversity with an increased goal of
40% representation of women and new goal of 20% of Racial and
Ethnic groups by 2025
- Most transparency and reporting of safety and reliability
targets that drive continuous improvement towards our goal of zero
incidents, injuries and occupational illnesses, and implementation
of robust cyber defense programs
Enbridge's ESG goals support the Company's strategic priorities
to optimize its core energy delivery businesses and execute on the
Company's capital program with emphasis on modernization,
technology and innovation. They also contribute to strengthening
Enbridge's ability to capture new growth opportunities and adapt to
a lower-carbon future over time, building on the Company's
significant expansion into natural gas and our rapidly growing
renewables portfolio.
To drive results and accountability, Enbridge will expand links
to incentive compensation to performance on emissions reduction and
diversity, complementing safety metrics already embedded.
Objectives will be set out in annual scorecards.
"We are committed to delivering strong ESG performance that
sustains our industry leadership," said Al
Monaco. "In linking a broader set of ESG goals to
compensation, we not only achieve greater accountability, we put
ourselves in position to succeed in transitioning to a safer,
cleaner and affordable energy future."
Enbridge's ESG Goals
The specifics of these new and enhanced ESG goals and targets
and associated backgrounder are available online and linked here.
Enbridge's 2019 Sustainability Report is available at Enbridge.com
Environmental
- Reduce the intensity of GHG emissions from our operations by
35% by 2030
- Achieve net zero emissions from our business by 2050
- Maintain the highest standards for safety toward our goal of
zero incidents
Meeting Emission Reduction Targets:
To meet its 2030 emission intensity reduction target and 2050
net zero target, Enbridge will pursue multiple pathways, strongly
aligned with, and embedded in, the Company's existing business
plans, including:
- Modernization and Innovation -- Reduce emissions by
modernizing equipment and applying innovation to existing energy
transportation and distribution systems to increase efficiency and
reduce the emissions intensity of existing infrastructure.
- Decarbonizing Energy Use – Reduce emissions intensity of
electricity we buy, including building and operating solar power
generation facilities to serve Enbridge's operations and utilizing
lower intensity power sources from the grid.
- Investment in Renewables and Lower Carbon Energy –
Disciplined investment in lower carbon infrastructure and business
lines including wind and solar power generation, hydrogen, and
renewable natural gas.
- Offsets and Carbon Credits – Balance residual emissions
through procurement of carbon offset credits generated by
nature-based solutions and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs),
with a primary focus on areas proximate to our operations.
Safety: Our Path to Zero
Enbridge currently has safety targets in place that are linked
to compensation. The Company believes all injuries, incidents
and occupational illnesses are preventable and pursues continuous
improvement towards a goal of zero incidents.
Enhanced 2021 targets include:
- Achieve a 10% improvement over previous three-year average on
Total Recordable Incident Frequency (TRIF) rate for employees and
contractors;
- Maintain industry-leading safety performance against US Bureau
of Labor Statistics benchmarks; and
- Implement a new voluntary industry standard (CSA Z260-19:
Pipeline system safety metrics) criteria for pipeline system safety
performance enterprise-wide and establish 2021 baseline to set
Business Unit targets for 2022 forward.
Social
- Achieve a workforce that represents the communities where
Enbridge operates – including the goal by 2025 of 28% employees
from Racial and Ethnic demographic groups
- Increase procurement from diverse suppliers and suppliers that
support and invest in diversity and inclusion
- Contribute to Indigenous reconciliation through employment
strategies and training
Enbridge's goals for representation of women, racial and ethnic
groups, people with disabilities and veterans were set and shared
with employees in 2018; progress towards them is shared through a
"Diversity Dashboard". Having already made progress, the Company is
accelerating its goals from an original date of 2028 to 2025, and
sharing them publicly, enhancing transparency and accountability to
all stakeholders.
The Company is also committing to specific measures to ensure a
more equitable and inclusive workplace through changes in
recruitment, development and succession planning to unconscious
bias training for all employees. The Company will also be taking
steps to increase procurement with diverse suppliers and suppliers
that promote diversity and inclusion, as well as add to its
continuing efforts to contribute to Indigenous reconciliation
through enhanced hiring efforts, cultural awareness training and
economic participation.
The table below provides a brief overview of these social
goals:
|
|
Social
|
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Build an inclusive
environment of talent that represents the communities in which we
operate
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Achieve goals for
workforce representation by 2025 of:
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Racial and Ethnic
groups
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28%
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Women
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40%
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People with
disabilities
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6%
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Veterans
(U.S.)
|
7%
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In 2021, sub-category
goals for Racial and Ethnic groups will be set for 2022 to
2024.
|
Enbridge's 2021
Equity & Inclusion Action Plan includes specific milestones
for:
|
• Recruitment including diverse
candidate slates, increased scholarships and internships focused on
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and hiring leader
training
|
• Development and
Succession including representation in leadership
programs, sponsorship and mentorship and inclusion in succession
plans
|
• Unconscious bias and anti-racism
training – 100% of employees and leaders complete by
year-end
|
Increase procurement
from, and number of,
qualified and competitive diverse suppliers
with longevity to do business with Enbridge
|
In 2021:
|
• Complete
inventory of current suppliers to confirm diverse suppliers and
identify opportunities to increase spend with certified diverse
businesses
|
• Introduce and
implement supplier diversity policy
|
• Set supplier
diversity targets
|
Contribute to
Indigenous reconciliation; and build and maintain relationships
with Indigenous communities
|
Evolve our Indigenous
employment strategy in 2021; achieve 3.5% representation within our
workforce of Indigenous people by 2025
|
Require all employees
and contractors to complete Indigenous awareness
training
|
Governance
- Achieve representation on the Board of Directors of at least
40% women and 20% of Racial and Ethnic groups by 2025
- Continue sustainability reporting on ESG matters consistent
with best practices
- Maintain effective cyber defense through annual certification
and training
Board diversity has long been a priority, supported by a written
policy that highlights the importance the Company places on
diversity and experience. Enbridge is expanding its diversity
policy to establish specific representation goals for women and
racial and ethnic groups: 40% from women and 20% from racial and
ethnic groups. Of its 10 independent Board members, four are
currently women; and women chair four of the five Board
committees.
Similarly, the Company has reported its sustainability efforts
and progress on ESG matters for 19 years. Enbridge will
continue to align its reporting with best practices as outlined by
disclosure frameworks such as those set out by the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
(SASB), and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure
(TCFD). Commitments related to Enbridge's cyber defense
program reflect an ongoing cybersecurity effort that includes
application security, information security, network security,
disaster recovery planning, operational security and end-user
education.
The achievement of near-term emissions reduction and diversity
and inclusion goals – along with ongoing safety, environmental
protection and cyber security performance – will be incorporated
into incentive compensation at the executive level and for all
employees.
The table below provides a brief overview of these governance
goals:
|
Governance
|
Strengthen board
diversity
|
Achieve
representation on the Board of 40% women and 20% Racial and Ethnic
groups by 2025
|
Sustain leadership in
ESG reporting
|
Report in alignment
with leading sustainability disclosure frameworks (GRI, SASB, TCFD)
and evolve with best practice
|
Implement effective
cyber defense programs to protect the confidentiality, integrity,
availability and reliability of information and services
|
Ensure employee
awareness and understanding of security responsibilities –
completion of annual certification and training
|
|
Regularly assess
cybersecurity maturity and defense capabilities both through
internal audits as well as independent third-party engagements
including an annual maturity assessment against the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity
framework
|
Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements,
have been included in this news release to provide information
about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including
management's assessment of our and our subsidiaries' future plans
and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other
purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by
words such as ''anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect",
"forecast", "intend", "likely", "plan", "project", "target", "goal"
and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements
regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements
included or incorporated by reference in this document include, but
are not limited to, statements with respect to the following: our
corporate vision and strategy, including strategic priorities; our
environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and targets
related to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, safety performance
and standards, diversity and inclusion, procurement
practices, Indigenous reconciliation efforts, ESG reporting
and cyber defense programs; the pathways to achieve such ESG goals
and targets; and our incentive compensation programs.
Although we believe these forward-looking statements are
reasonable based on the information available on the date such
statements are made and processes used to prepare the information,
such statements are not guarantees of future performance and
readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements
involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results,
levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions and
risks include the following: the COVID-19 pandemic and the duration
and impact thereof; the expected supply of and demand for crude
oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and renewable energy;
prices of crude oil, natural gas, NGL and renewable energy,
including the current weakness and volatility of such prices;
anticipated utilization of our existing assets; exchange rates;
inflation; interest rates; availability and price of labor;
technology; operational reliability; customer and regulatory
approvals; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for our
projects; and governmental legislation and policy. Assumptions
regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural
gas, NGL and renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities,
are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as
they may impact current and future levels of demand for our
services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and
the COVID-19 pandemic impact the economies and business
environments in which we operate and may impact levels of demand
for our services and cost of inputs and are therefore inherent in
all forward-looking statements. Due to the interdependencies and
correlation of these macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one
assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with
certainty.
Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties pertaining to the successful execution of our
strategic priorities and ESG goals, operating performance,
regulatory parameters, changes in regulations applicable to our
business, acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions,
economic and competitive conditions, technology, public opinion,
exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices, political
decisions, supply of and demand for commodities, and the COVID-19
pandemic and the duration and impact thereof, including, but not
limited, to those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news
release and in our filings with Canadian and United States securities regulators. The
impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular
forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as
these are interdependent and our future course of action depends on
management's assessment of all information available at the
relevant time. Except to the extent required by applicable law,
Enbridge Inc. assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statement made in this news release or
otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral,
attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly
qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. is a leading North American energy
infrastructure company. We safely and reliably deliver the energy
people need and want to fuel quality of life. Our core businesses
include Liquids Pipelines, which transports approximately 25
percent of the crude oil produced in North America; Gas Transmission and Midstream,
which transports approximately 20 percent of the natural gas
consumed in the U.S.; Gas Distribution and Storage, which serves
approximately 3.8 million retail customers in Ontario and Quebec; and Renewable Power Generation, which
generates approximately 1,750 MW of net renewable power in
North America and Europe. The Company's common shares trade on
the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB.
For more information, visit www.enbridge.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Media
Jesse Semko
Toll Free: (888) 992-0997
Email: media@enbridge.com
Investment Community
Jonathan
Morgan
Toll Free: (800) 481-2804
Email: investor.relations@enbridge.com
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1 With regard to diversity, the word
"targets" and any percentage targets listed, are aspirational goals
which we intend to achieve in a manner compliant with state, local,
provincial and federal law, including, but not limited to, US
federal regulations and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL) ad Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) guidance.
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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.