Enbridge Inc. announced it has published the first Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework (the Framework) in the North American midstream sector, which links its Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals to the Company’s funding strategy.
With this Framework, Enbridge further strengthens its commitment to achieving the ESG goals it announced on November 6, 2020. These goals include achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and increasing diversity from racial and ethnic groups throughout the Company’s workforce, including senior management and the board of directors.
The Framework lays out the principles Enbridge would use in connection with an issuance of sustainability-linked bonds and includes performance indicators that impact the Company’s borrowing costs. This creates a direct link between the Company’s finance strategies and its ESG goals incenting their achievement.
To ensure transparency, performance indicators associated with achieving the Company’s ESG goals will be published and verified annually by an independent auditor. The performance indicators that will be measured include the Company’s progress on reducing by 35% the intensity of its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2030, as well as its progress on achieving 28% representation of racial and ethnic groups in its workforce, 40% gender diversity across the organization, and 40% representation of women on its board of directors by 2025.
"Today’s announcement further demonstrates Enbridge’s commitment to ESG industry leadership," said Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s Chief Financial Officer. "Our sustainable financing framework provides transparency to our stakeholders and positions us well to succeed in leading our industry to a more sustainable and inclusive energy future."
Coinciding with the release of the Framework, Enbridge published today its 2020 Sustainability Report, which highlights how the Company is advancing a long-standing approach to sustainability. New in this year’s Sustainability Report are metrics established in 2020 to track the emission intensity of the energy transported by the Company and how its investments in renewable natural gas, hydrogen and renewable electricity are advancing the energy transition.
"For the past two decades, we’ve been committed to integrating sustainability into all that we do, publicly reporting both on our progress and the priority work which remains," said Pete Sheffield, Enbridge’s Chief Sustainability Officer. "In our 2020 Sustainability Report, we look back on our ESG performance during a uniquely challenging year for all of our stakeholders. We also look forward, building on our new ESG goals and including new metrics to track the emissions intensity of the energy we deliver, and aligning our financing with our climate goals."
The 2020 Sustainability Report, Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework and related ISS ESG second-party opinion are available on Enbridge.com.
Courtesy of Enbridge Inc,