Managing Our Footprint
At TransCanada, we’re committed to protecting the environment. Not just because we have to, but because we want to. We respect the diversity of the landscapes where we operate and work to minimize our environmental footprint while meeting the world’s growing demand for safe and reliable energy.
Kristine Delkus — Executive Vice-President, Stakeholder Relations and Technical Services & General Counsel
Gold Class distinction for our performance in RobecoSAM's 2017 Sustainability Yearbook
Have partnered with the Nature Conservancy of Canada for over twenty years
2018 Environmental Excellence in Partnership winner from Southern Gas Association
Doing the Right Thing
We recognize that how we interact with the environment is of vital importance to you. It is to us, too.
That's why our Environment Principles of stewardship, protection and performance reflect our culture and guide our decisions every day when building and operating energy infrastructure.
We're committed to protecting the environment throughout the complete life cycle of our assets, from business development to project planning and design, through construction and operations to remediation and final decommissioning.
Water
We know that water is a fundamental component of the ecosystems where we operate. The protection of water resources is of the utmost importance to both the environment and our business. Water is responsibly managed throughout the life cycle of our assets through our comprehensive Environment Program.
Climate Change
As an energy infrastructure company, we recognize our role in the larger energy system, including our own emission of greenhouse gases. We are leaders in the development of a balanced and sustainable energy future and we’re doing our part to manage our GHG emissions through the programs and initiatives that meet, and often exceed, regulatory requirements.
Land & Wildlife
We believe that when we build an asset, we temporarily borrow the land. Over the course of our more than 65-year history, we have successfully reclaimed hundreds of thousands of acres of land in many different ecological regions throughout North America. We undertake field studies and consult with stakeholders and Indigenous groups to develop specific environmental protection plans on all our projects in order to conserve and protect natural resources throughout construction and operation of our facilities.
Environmental Stewardship through Collaboration
Collaboration and relationship building are at the heart of our Environment Principles. We develop partnerships with employees, industry partners, Indigenous groups and regulatory agencies and work together to help find solutions to important environmental issues.
Collaborating with Employees
Our employees are dedicated stewards of the environment. TransCanada's environmental governance process applies to all employees and is integrated throughout all lines of business in all jurisdictions.
Collaborating with Industry Partners
We recognize there is strength in numbers and different ways of tackling a problem. We actively seek outside perspectives and participate in a number of industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives to help resolve environmental challenges and advance best practices for our industry.
Collaborating with Communities
We work closely with the communities where we live and work to ensure the environmental initiatives we're supporting – whether financially or through volunteer efforts – are the ones that matter the most to them. This means working with national and local organizations to conserve important habitat, protect at-risk species and promote environmental education.
Collaborating with Indigenous Peoples
We recognize and respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and their distinct relationship with the land. We believe it is important to integrate traditional knowledge into our environmental planning, and work with Indigenous groups to understand how our activities may affect them and find mutually beneficial solutions.
CASE STUDY:
Environmental Stewardship in Action – Habitat Conservation
We understand the vital need to conserve, protect and restore habitat for wild animals and plants – both in the water and on land. From rivers to ranchlands and salmon to caribou, we are actively partnering with organizations to conserve important habitat across the continent.
New Brunswick
In 2016, TransCanada donated $120,000 to help the Nature Conservancy of Canada protect more than 2,100 acres (850 hectares) of ecologically significant habitat along the Southwest Miramichi River of New Brunswick. This important watershed is world-renowned as the site of North America’s largest run of Atlantic salmon and is home to fish nurseries.
Alberta
Last summer, TransCanada devised a plan to improve the threatened Westslope Cutthroat Trout population in Allison Creek in the Crowsnest Pass area of southern Alberta. In addition to removing an old, forgotten and collapsed bridge that was acting as a barrier to spawning areas in the creek, we also restored the channel and banks using various techniques to enhance fish habitat.
CASE STUDY:
Performance and Recognition
Every year, we spend time and energy on public disclosure to trusted third-party organizations. A third party validation process is very important to building trust with our stakeholders and demonstrating transparency.
Here are some of the ways we were recently recognized by third-party rating agencies:
- Achieved gold class distinction in RobecoSAM’s Sustainability Yearbook 2017
- We have publicly documented our climate change related activities for more than 20 years and have voluntarily reported to the CDP since 2006
- Named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America Index for the fifth year in a row.
- For the seventh consecutive year, we were also listed among Canada’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Knight’s magazine and were acknowledged as the top company in our industry for gender diversity on our leadership team
What Matters to You, Matters to Us
We recognize that how we interact with the environment is of vital importance to you. It is to us, too. We believe that excellence in environmental practices is vital to the well-being of people everywhere and is essential to all aspects of our business.
Want to learn more about TransCanada and the environment? Visit our latest Corporate Responsibility report here.
Environment Information