2022 ESG priorities for our industry

State of the Canadian Electricity Industry 2022 Accelerate Net Zero

Theme 2 An Industry Ahead of the Curve: Looking Beyond the ESG Hype

2022 ESG priorities for the industry

The ESG priorities for the electricity industry fall into two categories:

1. Focusing on the most material issues relevant to companies and their stakeholders; and 2. Improving collective industry efforts on hard-to-measure key performance indicators.

On materiality, several issues stand out for the electricity industry. Working with the federal government on its commitment to a 100 percent clean electricity grid by 2035 and contributing to the electrification of other industries by 2050, such as transportation, is one of the biggest ongoing challenges for the industry. Since electricity infrastructure takes multiple years to build, the action our industry takes today will determine the longterm outcomes of tomorrow.

Meeting this commitment would require further scaling-up of variable forms of electricity generation, longer-duration storage options, new transmission interconnections within and between provinces, and significant upgrades to the current distribution networks to ensure customers get on-demand power that is, at a minimum, highly reliable and safe. Affordability of electricity is another variable that will have to be considered by governments and rate-regulators, as this rapid transition could adversely impact some Canadians, depending on the jurisdiction. As the industry anchors its long-term agenda on mitigating and adapting to climate change, other issues—such as Indigenous engagement; technological innovation; customer experience; equity, diversity and inclusion; and cyber security—are all material to ensuring the industry thrives in the long-term.

With regard to key performance indicators, the industry continues to look for ways to improve its collective data collection, measurement and reporting systems, including more robust performance indicators on greenhouse gas emissions, Indigenous engagement and governance. In fact, the industry piloted several new Indigenous engagement indicators in 2021 for potential public release in the future. This internal work to continue in the years ahead, as the industry works collectively to improve its performance measurement and reporting processes and align with international standardization efforts.

A consolidation of key global reporting frameworks with industry-specific guidance would help immensely in publishing high-quality, comparable information for use by key stakeholders, including governments, non-governmental organizations, investors and the public.