2023 social responsibility reports: Insights, achievements and decarbonization trajectory
Énergir is publishing its fourth report on climate resilience and—as it has done for the past 10 years—the company has released a set of sustainable development performance indicators covering a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
Innovations and highlights in 2023
Énergir remains aligned with the goals of its 2030–2050 decarbonization vision, first presented in 2020, but each year the company continues to refine the trajectory for achieving that vision, taking into account the risks and opportunities of the energy transition.
“Not only are we in line for achieving the 2030 targets set for our initiatives, we have also made promising commitments for the future, further extending our willingness to be part of the solution.” Éric Lachance, President and Chief Executive Officer.
- Analysis of the exposure of our infrastructure to climatic hazards
Because it’s underground, the gas network should be less affected than electricity infrastructure for example, when faced with climatic hazards such as forest fires, floods or landslides. This makes it an undeniable asset for ensuring that energy systems are reliable and resilient.
- Decarbonization vision for our industrial customers
Solutions for decarbonizing the industrial sector in 2050 will include energy efficiency, complementarity with electricity, renewable natural gas (RNG), hydrogen and carbon capture.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Énergir’s industrial customers account for about 60% of emissions from distributed natural gas combustion, so it was important to add this decarbonization vision to fully understand what solutions need to be leveraged. Énergir wants to help its industrial customers decarbonize their operations and move towards achieving carbon neutrality of distributed energy by 2050.
- An overview of the decline in distributed volumes and the composition of distributed energy in 2050
By 2050, Énergir anticipates a 45% decrease in gas volumes distributed as a result of its strategic initiatives, and that the remaining volumes will be decarbonized through RNG and low-carbon hydrogen or the use of carbon capture technologies.
- On track to meet RNG targets
62 million m3 of RNG was injected in fiscal year 2023, compared to 27 million m3 in 2022. This means that for fiscal year 2023, Énergir has met the regulatory target of delivering 1% of RNG into the network, and the company is well positioned to meet the 2% target for fiscal year 2024 and the 5% target for fiscal year 2026, given that the majority of procurement contracts to do so have been completed.
- 2023 performance of key indicators for our decarbonization initiatives
The 2023 performance of key indicators for our decarbonization initiatives shows that the impact of our strategies in the building sector is beginning to be felt.
The pace will have to pick up if we’re to meet our 2030 targets, but at Énergir, we remain confident that our business decisions, such as the one regarding 100% renewable new connections, will enable us to reach our goals.
The complete climate resilience report is available here.
Sustainable development performance
Énergir is also reporting its sustainable development performance for 2023, covering a wide range of ESG indicators.
To learn more, see our Sustainable Development Performance Monitoring Platform.