Developing EPCOR's ESG Report: The Materiality Assessment
In early 2020, EPCOR established an internal, cross-functional team to develop an environmental, social and governance (ESG) scorecard and determine the best approach to communicating with internal and external stakeholders on ESG factors. Our Board of Directors and executive leadership oversaw the development of performance measures and reporting.
As part of the process, an external consultant conducted a materiality assessment to inform metrics and reporting about the sustainability issues that affect our business. The company's last assessment was completed in 2014, to inform an earlier generation of sustainability reporting.
Identifying and prioritizing our material ESG factors enables us to focus our resources on the areas of highest impact and on the ESG factors of most concern to our stakeholders.
EPCOR’s ESG report is produced on a three-year cycle of target-setting and performance reporting. Our
2021 and
2022 Performance Updates provide a look at the progress we have made over the past two years.
A second, full version of the report, with an updated ESG Scorecard will be published in 2024 once a review of materiality factors is complete, and we are assured that metrics and targets remain aligned with company and stakeholder priorities. This second, full report, will again be followed by two years of performance updates.
The approach to defining materiality
EPCOR's 2020 materiality assessment identified both material ESG factors for capital market participants, and sustainability factors of interest to broader stakeholders. Interviews with external stakeholders included representatives of equity and debt holders, labour, Indigenous communities, and multi-stakeholder groups involved in watershed protection and broader environmental issues. The project team also considered customer priorities identified through public advisory committees, input from a concurrent consultation on the future of EPCOR's Edmonton water-cycle utilities, and engagement research.
A range of internal stakeholders were also interviewed, drawn from operational and corporate functions, and from across the company's geographic footprint. These interviews considered EPCOR's existing ESG priorities, policies and disclosures; external ESG regulations, rules and guidance; and relevant ESG standards and ratings programs.
EPCOR's top-ranked ESG factors
In ranking ESG factors, the materiality assessment considered:
- Impact of an ESG factor to influence financial performance, operations, financial stakeholders or stakeholder perceptions in a way that causes impact to company value.
- Likelihood of an ESG-related impact to occur over the short, medium or long term. The “likelihood" rating considers the company's unique operating circumstances and the nature and location of its operations.
These ratings are based on inherent risk, which provides insight into the key ESG-related factors that must be managed by the company. The company's performance on ESG is reflected in the extent to which risks are mitigated (residual risk) and through the quantitative and qualitative disclosure in this report.
