Making sustainability part of our DNA

Mandates and responsibilities

Created in 2022, Hydro-Québec’s Direction – Activation et intégration du développement durable has been tasked with making sustainable development integral to the company. It will see to incorporating sustainability into the decision-making processes for each activity and every stage in our value. The various teams in this directorate will also work with internal partners and external stakeholders to better assimilate social and environmental considerations into our governance processes. This directorate is also responsible for coordinating cross-cutting environmental files such as decarbonation, adaptation to climate change, heritage and biodiversity.

Rallying our suppliers

To make our approach to procurement even more responsible, we’ve assessed the sustainability of our suppliers’ governance and internal practices. This process encourages the selection of suppliers whose overall approach meets certain environmental, social and governance criteria. We will continue to use the assessment questionnaire for the next few years.

Measuring our performance to improve it

Hydro-Québec wants to make its structures and buildings more sustainable. In 2022, we used the ENVISION certification system, a sustainability reference framework, to identify avenues for improvement in an infrastructure project. The exercise highlighted areas where work was needed, but also noted our progress to date in terms of integrating sustainability principles into our projects.

A plan to decarbonize our vehicle fleet

Hydro-Québec’s vehicle fleet decarbonization plan will extend until 2036. The first phase aims to replace 2,545 light-duty, utility and specialized vehicles with zero- or low-emission models by 2026, depending on market availability at time of purchase. The charging infrastructure will also be deployed. In 2022, nearly all of the light-duty vehicles, bucket trucks and vans for underground use tagged for exchange were replaced with zeroor low-emission models. By the end of the year, the fleet boasted 769 low-carbon vehicles.

Here are the highlights from 2022:

• In the first quarter, we received the 55 first Ford E-Transit vans to be delivered in Canada.

• A first prototype for an all-electric bucket truck is being developed in partnership with Québec companies Lion, Posi+ and Xander. The motor will be made by Dana TM4, a Dana/Hydro-Québec joint venture.

• Our fleet now features a number of plug-in hybrid vans and bucket trucks equipped with batteries using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cathodes, a material developed at IREQ.

• Guided tours in all-electric buses were conducted this summer at Robert-Bourassa and Romaine-1 generating stations.

• We began integrating Lion Class 6 and Navistar International eMV all-electric trucks into our fleet.

• Among the first of their kind in Canada, ten Ford F-150 Lightning pickups were delivered to us in the fall.

• Five Ford Mustang Mach-Es joined our carsharing fleet.

• We’ve also added some all-electric snowmobiles from Québec manufacturer Taiga.