Sustainability in all we do
Sustainability is not something we do. It’s how we do everything. This is a commitment from our parent company, Fortis Inc., and it applies perfectly to how we operate at FortisBC. Integrating sustainability in everything we do allows us to enhance all areas of our business and ensures we are providing for customers today and tomorrow.
We’ve always valued sustainability within our organization and we’re committed to leading the way toward a cleaner energy future for our customers and the province. To do this successfully, we must integrate sustainable business practices across our organization and continue to balance financial, environmental and social factors.
What sustainability means to us
Sustainability for us is about providing affordable energy to British Columbians today, and years from now while supporting their desires for a cleaner energy future and increasing our supply of renewable energy. It’s about strengthening relationships with communities and Indigenous Peoples so we can work together to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency across BC. And it’s about how we provide strong jobs, career development opportunities and a safe working environment for our employees.
For our organization, sustainability goes beyond environmental priorities, as we must consider all aspects of our business that allow us to thrive in the communities where we live and work. We report on 52 performance indicators across different areas of our organization. This allows us to track our performance in key areas of our business and compare how our organization is performing year over year.
As we developed our performance indicators, we took the opportunity to align them with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability metrics. GRI is an international organization that has pioneered sustainability reporting and these standards are the first and most widely adopted global standards for sustainability reporting. We also wanted to make sure that what is important to our organization aligns with other global frameworks such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. We’ve positioned ourselves to ensure that our local action contributes to provincial climate action goals and aligns with global frameworks, leading to a cleaner energy future for all of us.
Our sustainability framework
Our sustainability framework encompasses all parts of our organization. We developed this framework by determining the key elements that were important to the long term sustainability of our organization and categorizing them into four priority areas: customers, partners and communities, environment and employees. We consulted with employees across our organization and conducted interviews with senior leadership in the business community, provincial government, unions, regulators, municipalities, associations and Indigenous groups to understand their perspectives on our organization and sustainability. Identifying the priorities and concerns of our employees and stakeholders helped guide our decision on how we frame sustainability within our organization.
- Supporting our customers – we focus on the quality of service we provide to our customers, public safety programs, emergency preparedness and response and the safe, reliable delivery of energy. We work to provide our customers with innovative solutions to help us work toward a cleaner energy future while ensuring they have access to the energy they need.
- Working with our partners and communities – we’re proud to work with the communities where we live and work. We’re committed to enhancing relationships and partnerships with local communities, stakeholders, regulatory agencies, Indigenous groups and business organizations. It’s important that we continue to build mutually beneficial relationships with these groups that support our operations and help our communities.
- Protecting the environment – we’re developing innovative energy solutions today to help us work toward a cleaner energy future. We’ve set an ambitious emissions reduction goal, our 30BY30 target, which will drive us to increase our renewable energy supply through renewable gases, hydrogen-injection and the installation of electric vehicle charging stations to help us lower our customers’ emissions by 30 per cent by the year 2030.
- Investing in our employees – our dedicated employees are the reason we can continue to deliver safe and reliable energy to our customers every day. We recognize the value of our employees and provide a safe, inclusive and engaging workplace where all ideas are valued, respected and welcomed. We’re committed to training and developing our employees, which allows for stronger business outcomes and enhances our ability to recruit and retain the best talent.