Enbridge: Inclusive Society
Originally published in Enbridge's 2020 Sustainability Report
Indigenous inclusion
It’s paramount for Enbridge’s long-term success, and that of our industry, to have more diverse perspectives coming from the Indigenous peoples who are so deeply tied to the land on which our business operates. At this pivotal moment in history, our society also needs the full participation of Indigenous Nations and groups if we are to drive the changes required to create a better future for people and the planet.
As a company that engages regularly with more than 300 Indigenous Nations and groups in Canada and 30 federally recognized Native American Tribes in the U.S., we believe that Enbridge can and should lead the way on Indigenous inclusion.
Our approach to Indigenous relations recognizes the legal and constitutional rights possessed by Indigenous peoples in Canada and the U.S. and respects their history, uniqueness and diversity. Our Indigenous Peoples Policy is the cornerstone of our engagement efforts, outlining the key principles to which we always return. We are also guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and, in Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 92, which calls on companies to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are included in and benefit from their business activities.
Internally, we use the Indigenous Lifecycle Engagement Framework (the “Framework”), which, in addition to building out the “how” and “what” of engagement, outlines our commitment to build enduring and respectful relationships with Indigenous Nations, governments or groups. Our Framework promotes a consistent level of engagement across the Company, for the lifecycle of our assets, while respecting the unique needs and interests of different Indigenous communities.
In addition to meaningful consultation practices, we engage with Indigenous communities to invest in projects and initiatives that create short- and long-term economic benefits. We have seen tremendous results through our Socio-Economic Requirements of Contractors process— spending $480 million toward Indigenous suppliers and workers on our Line 3 Replacement Project alone.
We regularly review our Policy and approaches to ensure they are aligned with best practices and the expectations of Indigenous Nations and groups—and to drive meaningful progress. To this end, we set two new goals in 2020:
3.5% representation within our workforce of Indigenous peoples by 2025
To build respect and trust, communities must see themselves in us. While historically we have prioritized hiring Indigenous peoples for projects, we want to increase the number who work as permanent employees. In 2020, Indigenous people made up approximately 2% of our workforce.
Toward our goal, we initiated an Indigenous Employment Program, hired an Indigenous recruiter in 2020 and, where permitted by law, we seek Indigenous preference in select job postings. As a primer, we identified a number of positions, including a mix of field and professional roles, to be filled by Indigenous candidates. Our hope is that these roles will be a catalyst for more Indigenous hiring.
100% of all employees to complete Indigenous awareness training by end of 2022
To improve our understanding of Indigenous history, traditions, rights and culture, we updated our Indigenous awareness course in 2020 and are making it mandatory for all employees. The new course includes tailored versions for Canada and the U.S. and is being delivered by Indigenous non-profit organizations. We’re off to a good start toward our 2022 goal.
Community-specific engagement and collaboration
Every Indigenous nation we engage with is unique. We strive to address the specific priorities, goals and concerns of the Indigenous communities near our projects and operations through direct and regional engagement and collaboration. Examples are provided on this page and the next.
Tribal inclusion and economic participation in Minnesota
The Line 3 Replacement Program (L3RP) is replacing aging pipeline infrastructure with state-of-the-art technology to help ensure that Minnesota and the surrounding region are connected to secure, reliable and growing supplies of North American crude oil.
We’ve worked closely with Tribes to make certain their communities benefit and their resources are protected. The project is proceeding under the supervision of independent Tribal construction monitors. In the event that tribally-significant cultural resources are identified, the monitors assess each location and make recommendations regarding their ongoing protection and treatment to federal and state agencies, and to the consulting Tribal nations.
As part of the project, Enbridge committed to spend US$100 million with Indigenous businesses in Minnesota. As of March 31, 2021, we had already spent US$250 million. This included spending on empowerment, skills and union training; engaging labor coordinators; hiring Native American businesses; using Tribal monitors during construction; creating a Native American business directory for the project; and hiring liaisons from Tribal communities.
By the end of March 2021, there were 501 Tribal workers on the project, representing 6% of the overall workforce. Empowerment and union training are continuing through construction. We also now have nearly 500 Tribal-owned businesses in our database that we’ll be able to call on for future work. Our hope is that we can take the talent that was found and mentored on the L3RP and find positions for these individuals within Enbridge.
“I have never worked for a better company. They put their money where their mouth is, including Tribal employment,” says Roland, a Tribal liaison with Enbridge and an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Watch the video.
Working safely in Northwest Territories
Many Indigenous communities made it clear that they— like us—didn’t want to shut down projects because of the pandemic. With that in mind, we worked together to ensure that planned projects carried on. For example, on Line 21 in Canada’s Northwest Territories, two operational and maintenance projects were completed. During upfront planning, we used a variety of alternative and innovative engagement methods to come to an agreement with the local communities on how to approach the work, while continuing to provide an exceptional amount of local and Indigenous inclusion and keep people safe through rigorous COVID-19 protocols.
