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Leadership in governance

When EPCOR was formed in 1996, it was unique – the first strategic linking of a power and water utility in Canada, and a dynamic market-oriented organization with a mandate to grow beyond its hometown and create value for its sole shareholder, the City of Edmonton.

To steward this vision, our shareholder established an independent Board of Directors, composed of business and community leaders, with no employees or elected officials on the board. We have four female directors, representing 40% of our board’s membership. This exceeds the national average among TSX-listed companies in Canada, which stood at 26% in 2022. EPCOR’s current board chair, Janice Rennie, was appointed to her position in 2018.

 

Our independent board of directors provide strong leadership experience, diverse perspectives, and uninfluenced guidance. They are responsible for the overall stewardship and governance of the company, delivering long-term value to our shareholder and ensuring we provide clean water and safe reliable energy to our customers, and foster success with all our stakeholders.

Our board governs the annual cycle of performance target setting, performance data verification, and public reporting, receiving independent expert advice and support throughout the process.

Over the subsequent quarter-century, this model has proved resilient and successful, winning EPCOR national recognition for excellence in corporate governance, preserving value through rigorous risk management processes, and growing the company into a North American leader.

​We are committed to demonstrating leadership in corporate governance, and continuously review and make improvements to our governance systems to ensure they meet or exceed the standards of evolving securities, regulatory and market environments.​

In fact, the success of our governance model has seen the annual dividend we pay to the City grow from $62.3 million in 1996 to $185 million in 2023. Despite market transformations, a financial crisis, and a global pandemic, the annual dividend has never been cut.

Following the launch of our 25 ESG measures and 17 targets in 2020, oversight for our sustainability agenda was designated to a member of our senior leadership team. EPCOR’s Senior Vice President, Sustainability, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary​ is re​sponsible for driving our cross-organizational approach to sustainability, ensuring shared ESG responsibilities are ingrained in both our operations and culture — demonstrating care for the future of our environment, our dedicated teams, and the communities we serve.

See our statement of corporate governance practices and features​​​


“We can be a leader in industry, making sure we reduce our footprint wherever possible.”

-Jennifer Addison, SVP, Sustainability, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary​
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​Scorecard at a glance

The following selection of performance measures, performance data and targets speak to the importance we place on governance. Our commitment to diversity and ethical operations is evident through our strong performance in this area.​

Board independence

​100%​

Percentage of Directors who are independent under National Instrument 58-101.
2018
 100%​
2019​ 100%​
​2020
 100%
​2021
 ​100%​​
​2022
 100%

Target: At least 67% of Directors are independent under National Instrument 58-101.

Board gender diversity

40%

Share of board seats held by women. Four out of 11 of EPCOR's board seats are held by women, including the position of board chair.
2018​ 36%​
2019​
 ​36%
2020​ 36%​
​2021​​
 36%​
​2022
 40%​

Target: At least 30% of board seats are held by women.

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Employee ethics training

100%

Percentage of employees who have received training on EPCOR's Ethics Policy. Ethics training is provided to all employees and reported on every two years.
​2018
 100%​
​2020
 100%​
​2022
 ​100%

Target: 100% of employees have received ethics training.

Ethics complaints actioned

​100%​

Number of ethics complaints received and the percentage investigated or otherwise resolved.​

​2018
 106/100%​
​2019
 96/100%​
​2020
 ​80/100%
​2021
 97/100%​
​2022 ​​122/100%

Target: 100% of ethics complaints have been investigated or otherwise resolved.

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​Behind the numbers: scorecard in co​​ntext

Our governance scorecard:

Affirms the foundational role of board independence, reporting on the percentage of directors who are independent under National Instrument 58-101. Having a strong base of independent directors allows the board to benefit from broad leadership experience, a range of perspectives and uninfluenced guidance, resulting in a sharp focus on responsible governance and ethical operations. EPCOR has reported on director independence since the company's inception in 1996.

Promotes the company's commitment to diversity, reporting on the gender composition of the board and our representation threshold. The drive for gender diversity is not only a part of our efforts across teams and ranks in the organization, it’s a priority at the board level, as well. We have four female directors, representing 40% of our board’s membership. This exceeds the national average among TSX-listed companies in Canada, which stood at 26% in 2022. We also continue to have one of the few woman-led boards in Canada. Our current board chair, Janice Rennie, was appointed to her position in 2018.​

Upholds the commitment to high ethical standards, reporting on employee ethics training, and the volume and handling of ethics complaints. In addition, the company provides multiple channels for anonymous reporting, promotes the reporting of complaints and concerns, has a no retaliation policy to protect whistleblowers, and is committed to independently investigating every complaint. This is further supported by training on EPCOR's ethics policy.  By September 2022, a total of 3,342 employees had completed their biennial ethics policy training.

​Featured stories

EPCOR’s commitment to excellence, sound decision making and diversity starts at the very top.


Vital partnerships

The development and nurturing of Public Private Partnership (P3) projects are among our many efforts to gr​​ow our company, create value for our shareholder, and contribute to environmental sustainability.

How a P3 helped clean the waters of Howe Sound​​​​


Striking the right balance

EPCOR must meet the needs of many: customers, its shareholder and regulators, along with the environment and communities it serves. Long-term planning and performance targets are two key ways the company stays transparent and accountable to all.

How we're striking the right balance


Board diversity at EPCOR

Ensuring EPCOR’s Board of Directors is reflective of the people and communities we serve, as well as balances a broad range of skills, experience and attributes is an ongoing process.

Learn more from our Board Chair​​

​Governance outlook and performance update

EPCOR has a sustained record of high performance on board independence, ethics conduct and monitoring, and corporate reputation.

Our commitment to equal the governance of the best publicly-traded firms requires an ongoing evaluation and evolution in the company's governance practices – and consideration of changes in regulatory and market context. 

We continue to monitor the potential for diversity reporting practices to expand and include additional attributes. For example, as of 2020, publicly-traded corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act are required to provide additional diversity disclosures respecting Aboriginal persons, visible minorities and persons with disabilities on the board and senior management. While EPCOR is incorporated pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) we continue to track the evolution in disclosure requirements, and consider the expansion of diversity reporting.

Long-term plan

Demonstrating strong sustainability performance over time is key to our long-term success. All four focus areas of the long-term plan are interconnected and contribute to our sustainability performance. 

To achieve our targeted end state, the principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and excellence in governance practices must continue to be integrated across the company. 

Part of this integration is the inclusion of sustainability metrics in EPCOR’s short-term (annual) and medium-term (three-year) incentive plans.

In 2021, our board and executive reviewed the priorities within our long-term plan and what lies ahead for our ESG journey. This resulted in a vision for EPCOR in 2031, as a premier essential services company, retaining outstanding talent across our workforce, creating value for our stakeholders, and achieving our mission to provide clean water and safe, reliable energy to the communities that count on us.

We made further updates in 2022 that aligned long-term plan performance targets to our ESG Scorecard, and incorporated additional ESG factors into the risk appetite statement we use to evaluate business planning decisions, including growth opportunities. This work included a focus on effective risk management. Management and the board examined areas of existing and emerging risk, including grid transformation, threats to source water, water scarcity risk for our customers in the Southwest U.S., supply chain disruptions, and the management of EPCOR’s growth in the commercial water sector. 

Our long-term planning
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​Performance Based Regulation (PBR) rate applications

EPCOR’s most current Performance Based Regulation (PBR) rate applications were approved by the City of Edmonton in 2021. The PBR incentivizes EPCOR to find efficiencies and reduce costs while maintaining established performance levels. Much of our sustainability work is supported through the PBR process.​

More about the PBR process​​​​​​
 

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