ESG Is 'Part of Our DNA,' Says Monaco at Enbridge's ESG Forum 2021

For the foreseeable future, they are the two poles of the global energy transition.

Meeting the rising demand for energy, while taking meaningful steps to curb climate change.

It’s the crux of the sustainability discussion, and it was addressed Tuesday by Enbridge President and CEO Al Monaco during our ESG Forum 2021.

“We believe ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance, the three pillars of sustainability) is closely linked to the energy transition,” said Mr. Monaco.

“Essentially, this is society’s dual challenge,” he added. “One the one hand, it’s clear that population growth, urbanization and a growing middle class will drive energy demand higher. On the other hand . . . energy supplies need to be developed sustainably, and aligned with climate goals.”

In November 2020, Enbridge announced aggressive ESG goals to guide and shape our company’s sustainable and responsible growth for the next three decades. These goals included achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, reducing GHG emissions intensity from our operations 35% by 2030, and increased representation of diverse groups within our workforce by 2025.

During Tuesday’s ESG Forum 2021 webinar, presentations by various Enbridge leaders focused on our company’s short- and long-term sustainability priorities, including:

• Emissions goals and pathways
• Sustainable operations
• Low-carbon innovation
• Stakeholder and Indigenous engagement
• Energized and diverse workforce
• Strong governance

At Enbridge, we are transforming ourselves as a bridge to a lower-emissions energy future by pursuing multiple avenues, some of which are already well underway:

• Modernizing our facilities to curb emissions intensity.
• Building solar self-power projects along our liquids and gas pipelines to reduce our energy usage.
• Lowering the carbon intensity of the energy we deliver by expanding our European offshore wind business.
• Leveraging our existing pipelines to pioneer cleaner energy sources, including renewable natural gas (RNG) and green hydrogen.

And while renewables are already a growing part of the global energy mix, conventional energy needs to be part of the solution in both meeting demand growth and reducing emissions, said Mr. Monaco, who cited natural gas as the “single biggest factor in reducing U.S. emissions . . . and it can do the same thing globally.”

Enbridge has a sector-leading ESG profile, and we are striving to be a global leader in that arena as well.

“ESG is foundational to executing strategy at Enbridge. It drives how we operate, oversee the business, engage with communities, and develop and energize our workforce,” said Mr. Monaco. “And while ESG is getting much more airtime today, it’s not something we just started talking about. It’s been part of our DNA for a long time.”