text size

Report Parameters

Report Profile

Enbridge’s 2008 CSR Report focuses on data collected, and events that took place, in 2007. Some significant events that took place in 2008 are also covered. Enbridge prepares a CSR Report each year. We published our previous CSR Report, which focused primarily on 2006 data, in 2007.

This report covers only information on the assets that Enbridge operates. The word “Enbridge,” refers to our entire company, our subsidiaries and affiliates. Where possible, our data and statistics refer collectively to all of the facilities that Enbridge operates. However, when we report on a specific company or business segment – for example, Enbridge Inc., Enbridge Energy Partners, Liquids Pipelines, Enbridge Gas Distribution or Gas Transportation – we note it in the text.

Dollar figures refer to Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Enbridge’s 2008 CSR Report was prepared using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 sustainability reporting guidelines. These guidelines are intended to serve as a generally accepted framework for reporting on an organization’s economic, environmental, and social performance. They were designed for use by organizations of any size, sector, or location, and take into account the practical considerations faced by organizations ranging from small enterprises to those with extensive and geographically dispersed operations. The guidelines contain general and sector-specific content that has been agreed on by a wide range of stakeholders around the world to be generally applicable for reporting an organization’s sustainability performance.

To ensure that we have provided a balanced and reasonable presentation of Enbridge’s CSR performance, when determining the content for our report, we followed the GRI’s “Reporting Guidance for Defining Content,” which can be summed up in the following steps:

  1. Identify the relevant topics.
  2. Determine the materiality of each topic by taking into account the external and internal factors suggested by the GRI.
  3. Prioritize the topics based on these factors, and on an analysis of stakeholders.

In addition to its “Reporting Guidance for Defining Content,” the G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines include “Reporting Principles for Defining Content.” These principles are: materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, and completeness.

To determine the materiality of the information that Enbridge included in our 2008 CSR Report, we took into account the following factors:

  • The sustainability interests and topics raised by our stakeholders.
  • The main concerns and future challenges facing the energy sector.
  • Relevant laws, regulations, international agreements and voluntary agreements of significance to Enbridge and our stakeholders.
  • Recognized impacts, risks and opportunities that affect sustainability.
  • Enbridge’s values, policies, strategies, management systems, goals and targets.
  • Our stakeholders’ interests and expectations.
  • Significant risks facing Enbridge.
  • The critical factors that enable our success.
  • Enbridge’s core competencies and the manner in which they could contribute to sustainable development.
Back to Top

To ensure that the information we included in our 2008 CSR Report met stakeholder inclusiveness guidelines, we applied the following tests (suggested by the GRI):

  • Enbridge can describe the stakeholders to whom we consider ourselves accountable.
  • The report content draws upon the outcomes of stakeholder engagement processes used by Enbridge in our ongoing activities, and as required by the legal and institutional framework in which we operate.
  • The report content draws upon the outcomes of any stakeholder engagement processes undertaken specifically for the report.
  • The stakeholder engagement processes that inform decisions about the report are consistent with the scope and boundary of the report.

Enbridge’s content passed these tests in part because we engaged the input of our employees through our CSR Employee Advisory Council.

The Council’s mandate is to provide oversight and advice on CSR policies, practices, and strategies, and on the direction and content of Enbridge’s CSR Report. Council members are also charged with providing accurate information in the areas outlined in the GRI framework. The Council meets quarterly.

Enbridge’s content also passed the stakeholder pertinence tests because we contracted with Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) to lead us through a stakeholder mapping exercise to help us identify our key stakeholders. CBSR is a business-led, non-profit CSR consultancy and peer-to-peer learning organization that counsels its members on how to improve CSR performance.

Through the stakeholder mapping exercise, we determined that our stakeholders included:

  • Associations and civil society groups
  • Employees, contractors, unions, Board of Directors
  • CSR rating organizations such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Jantzi Research
  • Customers (of our pipeline and gas distribution businesses)
  • Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations
  • Governments and Government regulatory bodies in Canada, the U.S. and Colombia
  • Landowners
  • Media
  • Right-of-way communities, including Aboriginal and Native American communities
  • Shareholders (retail and institutional investors)

CBSR then interviewed representatives of the following stakeholder groups, to get their feedback on Enbridge’s 2007 CSR Report, as well as on our CSR activities in general:

  • Enbridge Board of Directors (CSR Committee)
  • Saskatchewan Association of Pipeline Landowners Inc. (SAPL)
  • Upstream customers (Nexen)
  • National Energy Board
  • London Benchmarking Group (LBG) Canada
  • University of St. Michael’s College
  • Conference Board of Canada
  • Pembina Institute

The following themes emerged from the stakeholder interviews:

  • Stakeholders believe Enbridge’s top CSR challenges are: stakeholder engagement, environmental performance, and health and safety.
  • Stakeholders think that Enbridge generally does a good job of engaging our stakeholders.
  • Stakeholders see Enbridge as being among the industry leaders in the area of CSR performance.
  • Stakeholders believe in the value of CSR reports, and in adhering to the GRI guidelines, however, it was unclear to them how the GRI was used in the 2007 report.
  • Within Enbridge’s CSR Report, stakeholders are most interested in Enbridge’s environmental performance, our performance scorecards, and our CSR governance and management.
  • Stakeholders liked the comprehensiveness of Enbridge’s 2007 CSR Report, our performance scorecards, and our discussions of the challenges we face.
  • Stakeholders did not like the length of our 2007 CSR Report (too long), or the timing of our 2008 CSR Report (they thought it came out too late in the year).
  • Stakeholders found Enbridge’s 2007 CSR Report to be believable and relatively balanced between strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Stakeholders believe that an external advisory committee or a combination of external and internal advisory panels would be the best approach to assurance.

In light of this feedback, Enbridge has chosen to:

  • ensure that our 2008 CSR Report clearly aligns with the GRI guidelines.
  • continue to include performance scorecards for each of the main GRI reporting sections (Economic, Environmental, and Social).
  • continue to include information about the challenges we face in our CSR Reports.
  • shorten our printed CSR Report (the printed version of our 2008 CSR Report is almost 20 pages shorter than the printed version of our 2007 CSR Report).
  • continue to aim for balance in our reporting.
  • in 2009, in addition to continuing to engage our CSR Employee Advisory Council, engage an external advisory panel in the report preparation process.
Back to Top

To determine the sustainability context of the information we included in our 2008 CSR Report, we applied the tests suggested by the GRI:

  • Enbridge presents our understanding of sustainable development and draws on objective and available information as well as measures of sustainable development for the topics covered in the report.
  • Enbridge presents our performance with reference to broader sustainable development conditions and goals, as reflected in recognized sectoral, local, regional, and/or global publications.
  • Enbridge presents our performance in a manner that attempts to communicate the magnitude of our impact and contribution in appropriate geographical contexts.
  • Enbridge’s report describes how sustainability topics relate to long-term organizational strategy, risks, and opportunities, including supply-chain topics.

To determine the completeness of the information we included in our 2008 CSR Report, we applied the tests suggested by the GRI:

  • The report was developed taking into account the entire chain of entities upstream and downstream, and covers and prioritizes all information that should reasonably be considered material on the basis of the principles of materiality, sustainability context, and stakeholder inclusiveness.
  • The report includes all entities that meet the criteria of being subject to control or significant influence of Enbridge unless otherwise declared.
  • The information in the report includes all significant actions or events in the reporting period, and reasonable estimates of significant future impacts of past events when those impacts are reasonably foreseeable and may become unavoidable or irreversible.
  • The report does not omit relevant information that would influence or inform stakeholder assessments or decisions, or that would reflect significant economic, environmental, and social impacts.

Enbridge’s CSR Report covers the activities of each of our six business segments (Liquids Pipelines, Major Projects, Gas Transportation, Joint Ventures, Gas Distribution and Services, and International), but focuses on the assets that we operate.

Back to Top