Sustainability at Energir
At the heart of our concerns
At Énergir, our ambition is to be part of the solution to climate change by gradually transforming our business model and supporting our customers. Our ambition is to become a leader in the integration of environmental, social and governance best practices. In this way, we are innovating to participate in the energy transition and to enhance the quality of life of our communities, employees and partners.
Our practices have been recognized by Corporate Knights as one of the 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada. The consistency between our performance, our targets and our vision has earned us an enviable place there since 2017. To find out more about our commitments in the fight against climate change, see Setting course for 2030, our strategic vision for decarbonization.
To find out more about our ESG commitments, see our ESG Policy.
List of ESG priority topics
Énergir’s commitment to ESG factors is based on the five following ESG topics:
1. Decarbonization: Increase efforts in energy efficiency and the proportion of renewable energies in our supplies
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is at the heart of the transformation of our business model and Cap 2030, our strategic vision of decarbonization. Our vision includes concrete measures - energy efficiency, innovative energy complementarity, renewable natural gas - that enable us to play a key role in addressing climate, economic and social issues for our customers and for Quebec. Actions to reduce direct emissions from the operation of our gas network are also underway.
2. Promoting the prevention of physical and psychological risks at work
Occupational health, safety and wellbeing are at the heart of our corporate strategy. This commitment is part of our sustainable development vision for all our employees, customers, and the communities we serve, as well as our contractors, suppliers and the general public.
3. Ensuring a distinctive employee experience that promotes the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion
We have adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) approach and the actions of recent years have reaffirmed our intentions in terms of DEI, updated our objectives and improved our strategies.
4. Having a positive impact on communities
For many decades, we have supported initiatives that help improve the quality of life of the community where we are located. A Community Investment Policy governs the way we select and manage philanthropic projects that promotes structuring projects and initiatives. We focus on four areas of activity: education, culture, social and community causes, and the environment.
We wish to optimize and develop our operational models, by ensuring the physical and technological robustness and resilience of our facilities as well as by modernizing its business capacities in order to enable it to achieve its organizational objectives.
Responsible procurement
Procurement of goods and services
We want to comply with the CSA 20400 standard for responsible purchasing by integrating purchasing behaviors in line with our values as well as efficient and responsible purchasing practices that focus on needs planning, effective management costs and adequate coverage of commercial risks.
Versprofiles : an inspiring case
Versaprofiles, a manufacturer of natural gas pipelines based in Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse, has been Énergir’s main main supplier of polyethylene lines since 2016. Rather than purchasing these pipelines in Western Canada, which is home to numerous manufacturers, we chose a local and responsible supplier, with positive spin-offs for the community. This greatly simplified the supply chain, saving at least 238,000 kilometres in pipeline-delivery transportation annually (the equivalent of around 198 tonnes of greenhouse gas), reducing costs by 80% and decreasing supply chain waste.
Natural gas supply
In 2017, we initiated a responsible gas procurement process aimed at encouraging the disclosure of credible information and the employment of best ESG practices by producers during their operations. Ultimately, we believe that the use of these best practices by producers who demonstrate sustainable development leadership can indirectly contribute to reducing the environmental footprint of the natural gas we distribute.
The process has two goals:
- buy from specific producers so that our natural gas suppliers are easier to track; and
- buy from producers who disclose information and have shown they are adopting best ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices.
Approved in November 2019 by the Régie de l’énergie, this process was included in our supply plan. We have completed our first responsible purchases of natural gas from eligible producers who have received EO100 certification™ and have agreed to share some key indicators on their operations.