The company also releases its 20th annual Sustainability
Report
CALGARY, AB, June 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Enbridge Inc.
(Enbridge or the Company) (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) announced today it
has published the first Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework (the
Framework) in the North American midstream sector, which links its
Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals to the Company's
funding strategy.
With this Framework, Enbridge further strengthens its commitment
to achieving the ESG goals it announced on November 6, 2020. These goals include achieving
net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and increasing
diversity from racial and ethnic groups throughout the Company's
workforce, including senior management and the board of
directors.
The Framework lays out the principles Enbridge would use in
connection with an issuance of sustainability-linked bonds and
includes performance indicators that impact the Company's borrowing
costs. This creates a direct link between the Company's finance
strategies and its ESG goals incenting their achievement.
To ensure transparency, performance indicators associated with
achieving the Company's ESG goals will be published and verified
annually by an independent auditor. The performance indicators that
will be measured include the Company's progress on reducing by 35%
the intensity of its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2030, as well
as its progress on achieving 28% representation of racial and
ethnic groups in its workforce, 40% gender diversity across the
organization, and 40% representation of women on its board of
directors by 2025.
"Today's announcement further demonstrates Enbridge's commitment
to ESG industry leadership," said Colin
Gruending, Enbridge's Chief Financial Officer. "Our
sustainable financing framework provides transparency to our
stakeholders and positions us well to succeed in leading our
industry to a more sustainable and inclusive energy future."
Coinciding with the release of the Framework, Enbridge published
today its 2020 Sustainability Report, which highlights how
the Company is advancing a long-standing approach to
sustainability. New in this year's Sustainability Report are
metrics established in 2020 to track the emission intensity of the
energy transported by the Company and how its investments in
renewable natural gas, hydrogen and renewable electricity are
advancing the energy transition.
"For the past two decades, we've been committed to integrating
sustainability into all that we do, publicly reporting both on our
progress and the priority work which remains," said Pete Sheffield, Enbridge's Chief Sustainability
Officer. "In our 2020 Sustainability Report, we look back on our
ESG performance during a uniquely challenging year for all of our
stakeholders. We also look forward, building on our new ESG goals
and including new metrics to track the emissions intensity of the
energy we deliver, and aligning our financing with our climate
goals."
The 2020 Sustainability Report, Sustainability-Linked Bond
Framework and related ISS ESG second-party opinion are
available on Enbridge.com.
Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements,
have been included in this news release to provide information
about Enbridge Inc. ("Enbridge" or the "Company") and its
subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of
Enbridge and its 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'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'',
''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'',
"likely" and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements
regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements in
this news release include statements with respect to energy
transition, including Enbridge's approach thereto; environmental,
social and governance (ESG) goals and targets, including those
related to reduction and diversity and inclusion; our plans to
achieve our ESG goals and targets and to monitor and report our
progress thereon; and Enbridge's corporate finance strategy,
including the Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework.
Although Enbridge believes 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
include assumptions about the following: energy transition
including the drivers and pace thereof; the COVID-19 pandemic and
the duration and impact thereof; the expected supply of, demand
for, and prices of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids
(NGL) and renewable energy; anticipated utilization of our existing
assets; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; operational
reliability and performance; maintenance of support and regulatory
approvals for projects; anticipated in-service dates; changes in
legislation, regulations or government policy applicable to our
businesses; weather; litigation; impact of capital project
execution on the Company's future cash flows; credit ratings;
capital project funding; hedging program; financial strength and
flexibility; debt and equity market conditions, including the
ability to access capital markets on favorable terms or at all;
cost of debt and equity capital; economic and competitive
conditions; changes in tax laws and tax rates; the development and
performance of technology and new energy efficient products,
services and programs; long-term energy future scenarios; and
successful collaboration with partners and trade associations to
advance climate goals. 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 the Company's services.
Similarly, energy transition, including the drivers and pace
thereof, the COVID-19 pandemic, exchange rates, inflation and
interest rates impact the economies and business environments in
which the Company operates and may impact levels of demand for the
Company's 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.
Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those risks and
uncertainties discussed in this news release and in the Company's
other 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
Enbridge's 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 assumes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. All
subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral,
attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on the Company's behalf,
are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary
statements.
This news release does not constitute or form part of, and
should not be construed as, an offer to purchase or an invitation
to sell securities of Enbridge, or the solicitation of an offer to
purchase securities of Enbridge, and nothing contained herein or in
the Framework shall form the basis of or be relied on in connection
with any contract or commitment.
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 1,763 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
Toll Free: (888) 992-0997
Email: media@enbridge.com
Investment Community
Toll Free: (800) 481-2804
Email: investor.relations@enbridge.com
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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.