Sustainability is not just 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 lower carbon 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. This report reflects FortisBC’s performance from January 1 to December 31, 2020 and contains information for FortisBC Energy Inc. and FortisBC Inc.1
What sustainability means to us
Sustainability for us is about providing affordable energy solutions to British Columbians today, and years from now. It’s about supporting a lower carbon energy future that includes increasing the supply of renewable energy and strengthening relationships with communities and Indigenous Peoples so that we can work together to reduce greenhouse (GHG) emissions across BC. And it’s about how we provide a broad range of job and career development opportunities and a safe, diverse and respectful working environment for our employees.
Sustainability also means supporting long term initiatives such as Canada’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and BC’s climate action goals of reducing GHG emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050. 2 Our Clean Growth Pathway to 2050 outlines our plan to reduce GHG emissions and supports these provincial targets. In 2019, we set one of the most ambitious emissions reduction targets in the Canadian utility sector–we call it 30BY30. This target aims to reduce our customers’ emissions by 30 per cent by 20303 and we’re rethinking how we use energy to help us get there.
We’re committed to reporting on our organization’s annual sustainability performance through the Corporate and Sustainability Report. At FortisBC, 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 sustainability performance indicators across different areas of our business. This allows us to track our performance in key areas of our business and compare how our organization is performing year-over-year. The development and implementation of sustainability initiatives is guided through our sustainability framework.
Global frameworks inform our approach to sustainability
As we developed our performance indicators, we took the opportunity to reference global frameworks. Our sustainability performance indicators are guided by an international independent standards organization, the Global Reporting Initiative4 (GRI) and we use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards to disclose our GHG emissions.
This document* references how FortisBC Energy Inc. and FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC) disclose against Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards for the 2020 reporting year. FortisBC does not purport to report in relation other frameworks and standards. For more information on the GRI, please visit www.globalreporting.org.
Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The UNSDGs are a series of 17 interdependent global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by addressing the world’s most pressing economic, social and environmental issues. The UNSDGs were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 and are intended to be achieved by 2030. We’ve aligned our sustainability priorities and many of our indicators with six of these goals.
 | Goal 5: Gender equality Similar to Fortis Inc., FortisBC values gender equality and having an inclusive, safe and healthy work environment. Our Code of Conduct is central to our values and sets the tone for a respectful, ethical and transparent workplace. It establishes a commitment that FortisBC and our employees must adhere with the laws, rules and regulations that apply to them and one of the core principals is for employees to conduct themselves with integrity. Creating a workplace where employees feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to work is something we’re committed to, while complying with all equal opportunity, human rights, non-discrimination laws as well as applicable occupational health and safety and labour standards laws. We encourage and support the development of employees in their careers and report on, as part of our sustainability performance indicators, the percentage of women in the workplace, in senior management and on the board of directors. | |
 | Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy As the largest energy provider in the province, we deliver energy to more than 1.2 million customers in 135 BC communities, and are committed to investing in innovative technologies and increasing the supply of renewable gases. Renewable gases decarbonize the gas supply by replacing conventional natural gas with lower carbon alternatives such as Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), hydrogen and syngas.4 We purchase RNG from suppliers in BC as well as Alberta and Ontario, which is then added to our natural gas system. We also deliver electricity through the generation of hydroelectricity from four dams that we own and operate. By investing in innovative technologies, renewable gases and hydroelectricity, we’re supporting the transition to a lower carbon energy future while remaining committed to providing energy to our customers at the lowest reasonable cost. | |
 | Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth We employ more than 2,500 British Columbians, supporting full-time employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and Indigenous Peoples. Many of our employees are union members of MoveUp and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as we support union representation for our employees across the organization. In addition, employees are encouraged to advance their careers through professional development and new job opportunities posted for both internal and external candidates. We support economic growth by investing in our communities, supporting local employment opportunities during our projects and developing energy solutions like compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transportation, increasing the amount of RNG in our system and expanding our electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Part of our commitment to supporting growth is increasing the amount of RNG in our system, expanding our EV charging infrastructure as well as establishing BC as an LNG fuelling hub to support the economic growth of the province. | |
 | Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Regularly maintaining and improving our energy systems ensures our infrastructure remains safe and resilient and supports our commitment to providing affordable, reliable and innovative energy solutions to our customers. We are progressive in our thinking and look for opportunities to grow our conservation and energy management programs by testing innovative technologies and are currently piloting natural gas fired heat pumps in commercial and residential locations. We also encourage the adoption of low- and no-carbon technologies such as hydroelectricity and the injection of RNG into our natural gas system. Additionally, we support research regarding the use of hydrogen so it too can one day be injected into our gas system. | |
 | Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities Strengthening our relationships with the communities we serve is fundamental to our approach to helping them grow and prosper, and together, creating a more sustainable future for BC. This includes infrastructure development such as increasing the number of EV charging stations across the Kootenay region, which was made possible through Accelerate Kootenays, a unique rural partnership focused on providing EV drivers in the region with zero carbon travel options and represents a successful collaboration between all levels of government and industry contributors like FortisBC. To help our customers use energy more efficiently and reduce their GHG emissions, we invest in conservation and energy management programs. One of the innovative programs is the social housing retrofit support program that supports housing providers and charitable organizations by offering funding support to identify and implement energy-saving upgrades. Through our Climate Action Partners program, we work with BC municipalities to help fund senior energy specialist positions. These positions are dedicated to helping municipalities reach their climate action goals through energy-efficiency upgrades and innovative energy projects. We also support sustainable communities through our community investment programs and employee-driven initiatives that provide financial and volunteer support for organizations such as United Way, a large non-profit organization helping thousands of communities across Canada, helping to build inclusive, safe and resilient communities. | |
 | Goal 13: Climate action Our Clean Growth Pathway to 2050 demonstrates how our actions align with provincial climate action goals and in the near term, we’ve set our ambitious 30BY30 target to reduce GHG emissions. This work is supported by our robust, long-term natural gas and electricity resource plans that address how we can help customers and communities transition to a lower carbon economy through the adoption of low- and no-carbon energy solutions. These plans further support how we can improve the reliability and resiliency of our system through climate mitigation strategies and asset management planning. |
Climate adaptation and resiliency
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was created by the Financial Stability Board in 2017 and aims to help organizations prepare and report out on climate-related financial information.
We broadly support the core elements of the TCFD as climate risk mitigation and adaptation initiatives are part of our strategic business objectives. We consider both physical and transitional risks and assess how they may affect our operations so we can integrate these components into our planning processes. This includes the development of our long-term natural gas and electricity resource plans.
We invest in asset resiliency of our transmission, distribution and generation system to maintain reliable and resilient assets and mitigate climate-related risks. Our energy delivery systems are regularly maintained, improved and replaced, so we can continue providing our customers with reliable, safe and affordable energy solutions for today and for years to come. We’re also looking to modernize our natural gas system with advanced gas meters to help our customers monitor their energy use and use energy more efficiently, further demonstrating the ways we support our customers and are focused on maintaining the resiliency of our natural gas system. Investing in our infrastructure allows us to maintain strong, resilient systems and make progress toward the implementation of innovative, lower carbon energy solutions.
We commissioned a report, Pathways for British Columbia to achieve its GHG reduction goals, by Guidehouse, a leading energy and environmental consultancy. The report outlines our possible role in helping BC transition to a lower carbon energy future by leveraging both the electricity and natural gas infrastructure. Supporting the advancement of renewable gases as well as low-and no-carbon vehicles and transportation infrastructure are just some of the ways we’re working towards the achievement of our 30BY30 target and the provincial government’s climate action plan.
We participate in various climate adaptation groups at a national level to share and implement best practices. In collaboration with our peers, we are working to implement strategies to adapt to and mitigate climate risks.
Our approach to sustainability reporting
Engaging with British Columbians
As a trusted leader in the energy sector, we seek to advance energy-related innovations and policies that benefit British Columbians. We’re committed to having honest, fair and trustworthy relationships and partnerships with our customers, employees and regulators, as well as Indigenous communities, industry, non-governmental and government bodies. These relationships help define our business strategies and help us understand how we can meet evolving expectations around energy supply and delivery.
Forming long-standing relationships with British Columbians will continue to be a priority as we evolve sustainability within our organization. We worked with the Osoyoos Indian Band in 2020 to open the first publicly available EV charging stations in a First Nation community.
In establishing our sustainability framework, we consulted with employees across our organization and conducted interviews with senior leadership in the business community, unions, regulators, municipalities, associations, Indigenous groups and the provincial government to understand their perspectives on our organization and sustainability priorities. Identifying the priorities of British Columbians helped guide how we frame and advance sustainability within our organization. For example, there was a common view that sustainability should be more than just compliance with standards but rather leadership and demonstrable action. As such, we’re demonstrating and proactively advancing sustainability initiatives across our business while finding opportunities to share our progress with British Columbians.
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 our organization’s long term sustainability and categorized them into four priority areas: customers, partners and communities, environment and employees. Meeting expectations in each of these areas is crucial to achieving our business goals in accordance with our values.