When speaking about sustainability, it’s important to remember it is more than just operating in an environmentally conscious way. Sustainability is doing the right things to make sure you’re around for the long haul. That’s why, when you look at our sustainability framework, it’s built around the priorities that help FortisBC be a part of British Columbia’s future.
Dealing with “the new normal”
Last year provided a test the likes of which we’d never seen. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the world operates and we were no exception. We acted quickly to put the right measures and protections in place to protect both our customers and our people without impacting the reliable and safe provision of energy to British Columbians. As an essential service provider, we’ve been privileged to support the front-line workers and services that people need to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providing the energy people needed while they navigated COVID-19 at work, at home and in their communities was only part of what we needed to do for our customers in 2020. Thousands of British Columbians found themselves out of work as businesses shut down in the early months of the pandemic. With so much uncertainty, FortisBC made a commitment that no customer would lose the energy they needed while staying at home. Our Customer Recovery Fund assisted more than 20,500 customers from across the province, suspending their payments for months and working with them to develop a manageable payment plan later in the year. We also worked with business customers, finding payment arrangements and even providing bill credits for the time their doors were locked due to the shutdown.
As the pandemic continued, we looked for more ways to assist the people of British Columbia, including working alongside community agencies to deliver food to vulnerable individuals, supporting local food banks and providing meals to truckers when there were no restaurants available as they continued their vital role as a part of the supply chain.
Although the world felt as if it had stopped, FortisBC continued on. Our information systems group worked tirelessly to allow more of our employees to work remotely, enabling about 1,500 to have the flexibility to work from home and shift to remote work in the face of the pandemic. Our field crews and operations teams similarly found new ways to continue the critically important work they do in a safe manner and established stringent new safety and physical distancing standards.
Supporting BC communities
We also continued our involvement and investment in the communities where we live and work. Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, municipalities redoubled their interests in finding cleaner ways forward and our Climate Action Partners initiative continued to help develop solutions. Ten new partnerships were started in 2020, with FortisBC-funded senior energy specialists working to find local climate solutions that contribute to established provincial targets.
Beyond municipalities’ climate goals, we remained committed to supporting the communities in which we live, work and play. Although physical distancing requirements eliminated many functions and events we typically fund, we still found opportunities to support community initiatives and have our employees directly support local organizations and non-profits in their communities, such as donating time and equipment to resurfacing the riding arena for the Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association.
Keeping our environmental commitments front of mind
Driving greenhouse gas emissions reductions is not something we can afford to put off so work towards our 30BY30 target continued unabated. As increasing renewable gases in our system is a cornerstone of our plan to reduce our customers’ emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, we stepped up our efforts to secure new sources of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) supply. All told, we secured 13 new approved sources of RNG supply–including from what will be North America’s first renewable gas from wood waste facility. These supply agreements will increase the amount of RNG in our system five-fold once they are completed.
We also kick started an important research project, in partnership with the University of British Columbia Okanagan, to study how hydrogen could work in our infrastructure, exploring another carbon-free energy that can help decarbonize our system.
Driving emissions reduction also depends on all of us becoming more efficient with the energy we use. Our conservation and energy management team provided more than $85 million in rebates to British Columbians, helping our customers save money on their bills and reduce emissions in their homes and businesses.
Supporting an inclusive culture
COVID-19 was not the only upheaval to our world in 2020. Communities across the globe rallied against the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, bringing renewed focus to systemic social injustices. Individuals, companies and governments all have a role to play in supporting the values of diversity and inclusion and opposing racism.
At FortisBC, we are committed to fostering a supportive environment. More than 400 senior leaders and managers participated in inclusion and diversity training in 2020 to make them more aware of pre-existing biases and reinforce the value of diversity to an organization. We are committed to having a workplace where every individual can bring their full and authentic self to work and share their thoughts and perspective to make FortisBC a great company and a great place to work.
An area of focus for FortisBC moving forward is working to do our part towards Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. While we have had our Statement of Indigenous Principles in place since 2001 to reinforce the importance of open, transparent and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous Peoples, we are partnering to find more ways to develop equal opportunities. We also took the time to learn in 2020 as roughly 290 FortisBC employees participated in Indigenous awareness training that provided an opportunity to learn more about Indigenous perspectives and realities. Building a better understanding of the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada reinforces why Reconciliation is so important.
Steadfast in our commitment to sustainability
I’m proud to say the FortisBC team rose to the many challenges presented to us and remained focused on the things that make our company successful: supporting our customers, working closely with communities and partners, protecting the environment and investing in our employees.
I’m pleased to present to you our 2020 Corporate and Sustainability Report and show how FortisBC is dealing with the challenges of today while preparing for a better tomorrow.
