5
Hydro One Limited
Sustainability Report 2019
Hydro One
At-A-Glance
Our Approach
to Sustainability
Appendices
Be a Trusted
Partner
Advocate for
Our Customers
Innovate and
Grow the Business
Plan, Design and Build
a Grid for the Future
Be the Safest and
Most Efficient Utility
People and
Potential
Message from Our
President and CEO
Message from Our
President and CEO
The events of 2020 have put a
spotlight on the collective responsibility
that governments, companies and
individuals share in building a more
sustainable world with equal, inclusive
opportunities for people of all races,
orientations and backgrounds. During
this historic moment, corporations will
be evaluated for their commitment and
contributions to helping customers and
communities, standing up for employee
equity and inclusion, and responsibly
adapting to a changing world.
Our vision of a better and brighter future for
all and our mission to energize life for people
and communities through a network built for the
possibilities of tomorrow are more important
now than ever. Our greater purpose – to
energize life – will be guided by our core values
and the actions we take now and into the future.
As an essential business, we carry a great
responsibility in the critical role we play in
powering the province. At Hydro One, we
are doing everything we can to protect our
employees, energize life in Ontario and stand
up for customers and communities.
When I took the helm a little more than a year
ago, Hydro One had undergone a period of
significant change and challenge. Since then, a
clear vision and Ontario-focused strategy have
provided the direction and stability to emerge
from this challenging time stronger and more
committed to being customer-driven, sustainable,
safe and efficient. An underpinning to this is our
workplace diversity and inclusion policy which
reinforces our commitment to providing an
equitable and inclusive work environment that
celebrates diversity as a strength.
I am proud of our progress toward becoming
a sustainability leader in the utilities sector. By
embedding sustainability into our business
planning and decision-making, we are focusing
on what matters most – looking out for the
future of our customers, our people, our industry,
Ontarians and our planet.
We took action in 2019 to improve safety,
reliability, efficiency, customer service and
our relationships with Indigenous communities,
industry and government – these actions have
prepared us for the unprecedented situation we
are navigating today.
“Our sustainability program focuses
on reducing the impacts of climate
change, building strong partnerships
with Indigenous communities and
diversifying our talent to better
represent the communities where we
live and work.”
Our sustainability program focuses on reducing
the impacts of climate change, building strong
partnerships with Indigenous communities and
diversifying our talent to better represent the
communities where we live and work. Through
our ongoing efforts, I am proud to say we
achieved our re-designation as a sustainable
electricity company from the Canadian
Electricity Association.
Last year, we were recognized with an award
for our contributions to the Indigenous economy
by increasing our procurement spend with
Indigenous businesses to $41.3 million. We also
completed a large-scale Indigenous-owned
transmission project, the Niagara Reinforcement
Line, with our partners, the Six Nations of the
Grand River Development Corporation and the
Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Through our community investment program,
Building Safe Communities, we trained over
200,000 young people to play safe or save a life
and provided 125 donations and sponsorships
to over 70 community organizations.
Our commitment to people and building a
positive and inclusive workplace earned us
the distinction of appearing on the Forbes
Best Employer list for the fifth consecutive year.
Through the initiative of our highly engaged
employees we were also recognized with a
workplace diversity and inclusion award for our
Employee Resource Groups. We are proud of this
achievement, but know that we have work to do
in addressing systemic biases including racism.
We are committed to listening, understanding and
examining our own assumptions in order to take
action to promote racial equality.
While Hydro One’s reportable injuries have
declined to industry-leading rates, we have
seen an increase in serious injuries. In March,
we tragically lost one of our colleagues who
sustained a fatal injury during a forestry incident
in the Minden area. This is not acceptable to
me and I personally will not rest until we have
eliminated serious injuries from our organization.
Safety and social responsibility are now in sharp
focus around the world. Since the pandemic
began, we adapted quickly. We’ve found
new ways to collaborate, we’ve developed
innovative solutions and we’re more in tune
than ever with the needs of our customers and
communities. Once this chapter is over, we will
be safer, more flexible and more efficient.
Mark Poweska
President & CEO
Our Company has a century-long legacy
of solving challenging problems through
ingenuity, determination, and resilience. We
will emerge from this situation a stronger and
more sustainable Company, and we will do it
in partnership with our employees, customers,
communities, Indigenous peoples, governments
and industry.
Mark Poweska, (he/him)
President and CEO
