Our commitment to sustainability
We operate critical energy infrastructure delivering gas and electricity to homes and businesses across B.C. In this work, we are guided by our values that help shape our approach to sustainability. Sustainability underlies how we invest in, operate and continuously improve our business, while providing the energy our customers need, safely, affordably and reliably.
Our commitment to sustainability
Our 2024 Sustainability Report is a comprehensive document that keeps both our customers and employees informed about how sustainability is woven into our business decisions and everyday operations.
The report details tangible actions, measurable outcomes and stories that bring our efforts to life across our four key areas of focus. This includes how we’re working together with Indigenous and local communities toward a lower carbon1 energy future to support the province’s climate action goals.
Our values
Our organization is guided by five core values that are fundamental to how we operate.
| Value | What it means to us | How we live our values |
|---|---|---|
Safe | Safety is a top priority. | Internally, we’re committed to a strong safety culture, ensuring our employees go home safe every day. Externally, we work to educate customers, contractors and others about safe practices around gas and electricity. We also monitor our systems 24 hours a day 7 days a week to ensure our infrastructure is delivering safe and reliable energy to British Columbians. |
Customer centric | We value our customers’ business. | Every day we work to provide our customers with safe, reliable service and anticipate their energy needs. We also employ a team of community and key account managers, who work closely with municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations to understand and address their energy needs. |
Collaborative | We work as one company, one team with shared success. | We strive to create a collaborative environment and build upon our cultures of safety and belonging in the workplace, strengthening our ability to make sound business decisions and recruit and retain the best talent. Our teams work together as community champions to deliver successful projects and initiatives that benefit our customers and the communities where we live and work. |
Respectful | We are respectful, honest and ethical. | We focus on creating a safe working environment where everyone is valued, respected and treated with fairness. We support inclusion and diversity by providing education for our employees in areas such as respect, anti-bullying and cultural awareness. |
Progressive | We seek better ways. | The energy transition offers an opportunity to harness innovation and to adopt new technologies in the energy sector. We support the CleanBC goal of lowering carbon emissions by advancing innovative technologies that can help our customers lower overall emissions and support the transition to a lower carbon economy. |
Our areas of focus
Our approach to sustainability focuses on four areas: energy transition and environment, Indigenous and local communities, operational performance and adaptation, and people and culture.
Energy transition and environment
Advancing the energy transition toward a lower carbon energy future for British Columbians requires innovation in the way energy is used, supportive government policies, investment in energy efficiency, lower carbon energy and infrastructure to support the energy transition and technological advancement. While we work to acquire lower carbon energy, we’re also committed to planning for, monitoring and responding to the environmental impacts of our projects and operations through a risk-based approach.
Indigenous and local communities
We’re proud to work with municipalities and Indigenous communities across B.C. as we collectively support provincial climate action goals, strengthen grassroots initiatives and provide economic opportunities for local and Indigenous businesses. We’ll continue to develop these relationships and collaborate with communities to help them grow and prosper.
Our Reconciliation journey is guided by our Statement of Indigenous Principles that have been in place for nearly 25 years. These principles help facilitate meaningful engagement and strategies for Reconciliation in support of respectful, responsible and reciprocal working relationships with Indigenous Peoples across our service areas.
Operational performance and adaptation
It’s important for us to invest in our transmission, distribution and generation systems so we can continue providing our customers with reliable, safe and affordable energy today and for years to come. Investing in our infrastructure through major projects and maintenance allows us to maintain strong, resilient systems and further advance innovative, lower carbon energy solutions.
We evaluate risks from extreme weather events, including wildfires, floods, sea-level rise, windstorms, heat domes, polar vortexes, landslides, lightning and freeze-thaw events. Our business continuity programs and emergency response plans help maintain our utilities’ emergency readiness for and resilience to extreme weather events. We work with all levels of government, emergency services, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders on emergency planning.
People and culture
Our more than 2,700 skilled, resilient and hardworking employees are the cornerstone of our reputation for providing reliable energy to our customers today and in the future. We continue to build upon our cultures of safety and belonging in our workplaces. We encourage employees to participate in developing and maintaining operational safety practices and invest in empowering our employees to succeed professionally.
Supporting the energy transition
Our Clean Growth Innovation Fund (CGIF) is an important mechanism that supports the CleanBC goal of lowering carbon emissions by advancing innovative technologies that can help our customers lower overall emissions and support the transition to a lower carbon economy. During the initial four-year term of the CGIF, which ended on December 31, 2024, the fund enabled us to invest an additional $4.9 million per year in renewable gas initiatives such as Renewable Natural Gas2 (RNG) and hydrogen. These projects were funded in partnership with government and industry.
Building on the success of the initial fund, we remain dedicated to advancing new innovative energy projects and will provide approximately $5.5 million to the CGIF per year from 2025 to 2027 to help us work with academia and industry to learn what reliable and cost-effective solutions may be possible to lower emissions.
Sustainability performance summary
1When compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The burner tip emission factor of FortisBC's current Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) portfolio is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO2e/MJ). FortisBC's current RNG portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO2e/MJ. This is below B.C.'s lifecycle carbon intensity threshold of 30.8 gCO2e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.
2Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) is produced in a different manner than conventional natural gas. It is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater
from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG. When RNG is added to North America’s natural gas system, it mixes with conventional natural gas. This means we’re unable to direct RNG to a specific customer.
But the more RNG is added to the gas system, the less conventional natural gas is needed, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas emissions.
