Pembina Pipeline Announces GHG Reduction Target, Releases Annual Sustainability Update
Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced Oct. 20 its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 30 percent by 2030, relative to baseline 2019 emissions. The GHG reduction target will help guide business decisions and improve overall emissions intensity performance while increasing Pembina’s long-term value and ensuring Canadian energy is developed and delivered responsibly, according to a company statement.
“Pembina has never been one to shy away from a challenge. As the world around us continues to evolve, Pembina is embracing the opportunity to adapt, respond and contribute to a more sustainable future,” said Mick Dilger, Pembina’s president and CEO. “The meaningful target we have announced today is supported by a solid foundation of baseline emissions data that will drive accurate and consistent reporting across the organization moving forward.”
To meet the 2030 GHG emissions intensity target, Pembina will focus initially on operational opportunities, greater use of renewable and lower emission energy sources and investments in a lower carbon economy.
Operational Opportunities
Pembina is pursuing initiatives that will lower both emissions and operating costs. Through a lens of continuous improvement, the Company is taking further steps to reduce its environmental footprint while using its assets more efficiently. Operational contributions to the achievement of Pembina’s target will include:
- Optimizing pipeline capacity and operations;
- Constructing cogeneration facilities at the Empress NGL Extraction Facility and Duvernay Complex, as well as additional potential cogeneration projects at other facilities;
- Modernizing and optimizing compression facilities to reduce the amount of energy consumed;
- Enhancing leak detection and repair programs at facilities; and
- Reducing flaring and venting.
Renewable Energy and a Lower Carbon Economy
Pembina has a long history of evolving its business to meet our stakeholders’ needs. The energy evolution to a lower carbon economy will create new opportunities for Pembina and its stakeholders. Pembina has recently announced new initiatives, and is actively exploring others, that represent fundamentally strong business opportunities and at the same time will contribute to the achievement of its GHG emissions reduction target including:
- Increasing the use of renewable energy through efforts such as Pembina’s recently announced power purchase agreement with TransAlta on the Garden Plain Wind Power Project, as well as other potential renewable power purchase agreements across Pembina’s business;
- Developing the Alberta Carbon Grid, which will allow Pembina to play a vital role in helping Alberta-based industries effectively manage emissions and contribute positively to a lower-carbon economy; and
- Evaluating pilot projects for carbon capture and storage at Pembina’s gas processing and fractionation facilities.
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Sustainability Data Update
Pembina publishes a full-length sustainability report on a biennial basis and in interim years provides an update of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance metrics on its website. The company’s 2020 Sustainability Report, which was released in December 2020, included ESG performance data for the years 2017-2019. Today, Pembina released ESG performance data for 2020, highlights from which include:
- Pembina continued to deliver a safety record that exceeded the industry average, with a Total Recordable Injury Frequency that was more than 30 percent lower than the industry average; and
- Pembina invested over $9 million within communities where it operates and maintained all pre-pandemic community investment commitments. Through Pembina’s Community Investment Program, it partners with non-profit and charitable organizations to provide financial and in-kind support and engage employees to support communities through its volunteering and donation matching program.
For additional information on Pembina’s ESG performance, please refer to the sustainability performance tables available on Pembina’s website at www.pembina.com/sustainability/.
Over the past few years, in addition to significantly enhancing its disclosure, Pembina has actively advanced its overall ESG strategy by integrating sustainability within its long-term business planning and further embedding sustainability into its organizational structure and corporate policies and practices. Recent highlights from Pembina’s ESG journey include:
- Incorporated ESG performance into incentive compensation for all employees;
- Obtained independent third-party limited assurance of Pembina’s 2020 Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions;
- Completed its inaugural Carbon Disclosure Project submission;
- Implemented a fugitive methane leak detection and repair (LDAR) program at all Canadian natural gas processing, natural gas pipeline transportation and handling operations. This program aims to reduce methane emissions by at least 40 percent from 2012 levels by 2025;
- Amended the Company’s Code of Ethics to include Human Rights; adopted a new Anti-bribery Policy and Community Relations Policy; and updated its Indigenous and Tribal Relations Policy;
- Continued to advance Pembina’s Equity, Inclusion and Diversity strategy:
- Increased board diversity, with women now representing 36 percent of Pembina’s Board of Directors;
- Enhanced diversity at the executive level, including the appointment of a female member to the senior executive team. Currently, over 20 percent of Pembina’s executive team identify as female;
- Established inclusion networks for women and LGBTQ2S+ to further support an inclusive and diverse workplace;
- Launched the ‘Conversations for Change’ series, which featured a variety of panels where employees shared their experiences with a focus on gender, Indigenous culture and reconciliation, mental health, and LGBTQ2S+ pride; and
- Continued developing equity, diversity and inclusion targets that will be announced later this year.
- Announced transformational Indigenous-led partnerships on two significant projects:
- Partnering with the Haisla Nation to develop the proposed Cedar LNG Project, the largest First Nation- owned infrastructure project in Canada with one of the cleanest environmental profiles in the world; and
- Formation of Chinook Pathways, a partnership with Western Indigenous Pipeline Group to pursue ownership of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, following completion of the construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion project.
- Pembina has successfully improved or maintained ESG scores and or rankings on the following globally recognized rating agencies: Sustainalytics ESG Rating; MSCI ESG Ratings; ISS Quality Score.
Looking forward, a dedicated ESG team has been formed and will play an important role in further advancing Pembina’s ESG journey. In 2022, Pembina will continue to make progress towards aligning its disclosure with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) reporting framework while continuing to explore additional opportunities to quantify and analyze climate-related risks and opportunities, and industry best practices.
Tags: Environmental Social Governance (ESG), GHG Emissions, Pembina Pipeline Corp
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