Case study: How Capital Power creates economic value for its stakeholders
Capital Power is a growth-oriented North American wholesale power producer with a strategic focus on sustainable energy headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to delivering reliable and responsible power that North Americans depend on, Capital Power creates jobs, stimulates economic growth and generates revenue for governments, also helping local communities thrive and providing long-term value to its shareholders.
This case study is based on the 2020 Integrated Annual Report by Capital Power, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Capital Power seeks to create a better world and long-term value for all its stakeholders Tweet This!, including investors, communities, employees and the environment. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Capital Power took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Capital Power has identified;
- How Capital Power proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Capital Power to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Integrated Annual Report Capital Power identified a range of material issues, such as climate change and carbon footprint, innovation, sustainable sourcing, water management. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Capital Power.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Capital Power engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement (in 2020) |
| Industry Associations & Non-Government Organisations
| · Memberships in public-private partnerships in Canada and the United States · Participation in consortiums and working groups related to the energy sector · Ongoing participation in industry meetings, seminars, thought-leadership panels, academic research and conferences both in person and online |
| Local Partners and Suppliers
| · Ongoing participation through meetings, conferences and seminars · Daily operations, including site visits and inspections · Meetings, phone calls and emails for questions, issues and concerns · Meetings to review and/or negotiate contracts and/or requirements · Initial conversations with suppliers and contractors around sustainable supply chain |
| Operational/ Development Communities & Indigenous Groups
| · Stakeholder engagement programmes, including proactive communications and engagement through letters, phone calls, town halls, open houses and surveys · Meetings, phone calls and correspondence (letters and emails) with landowners as needed · Customised community investment programmes based on geographical locations · Communication of community investment through external website, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter · Meetings, phone calls and correspondence (letters and emails) with Indigenous communities |
| Employees & Labour Unions
| · Ongoing engagement through organisation-wide town halls with CEO and executive question and answer sessions · Business-unit specific vice president town halls · Frequent communication through internal website, email and video · Training and workshops · Recognition, awards and contests · Employee pulse surveys related to COVID-19 · New employee orientations, as required · Summer Work Experience Programme (SWEP) orientation and training programmes · Employee engagement sessions on climate change and clean technology, ethics week, mental wellness and sustainability disclosures · Meetings and engagement with labour unions related to collective agreements considering impacts related to COVID-19 |
| Government & Regulators
| · Meetings, website, correspondence and/or phone calls related to regulatory compliance · Formal submission of regulatory filings and/or responses to requests for information · Collaboration on government and/or industry campaigns, conferences and/or seminars · Operational site visits on request |
| Investors
| · Board outreach meetings with institutional investors (Board Chair and Chair of the People, Culture and Governance Committee) · Annual and quarterly meetings, phone calls and/or emails for questions, issues and concerns related to ESG and/or financial performance · Annual General Meeting · Credit rating agency engagement · Investor road shows and Investor Day · Executive participation at institutional investor conferences · Third-party ESG engagement and surveys · Reports such as Capital Power’s Integrated Annual Report aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Climate Change Disclosure Report (TCFD) and CDP |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Capital Power established a cross-functional Sustainability Committee, led by its Chief Sustainability Officer, which engaged directly with 110 individual stakeholders.
What actions were taken by Capital Power to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Integrated Annual Report Capital Power reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, Capital Power spent $171 million in staff costs and employee benefits.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2020, Capital Power spent $137 million in interest paid, $242 million in dividends paid and $63 million in income taxes paid.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2020, Capital Power spent $5 million in community investments.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Capital Power, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
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