Case study: How Hydro‑Québec creates economic value for its stakeholders
Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, delivering reliable electric power and high-quality services tailored to its customers’ needs at competitive prices. Hydro-Québec’s projects create and sustain jobs for local suppliers and communities, in addition to generating various other spinoffs.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Hydro-Québec, 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.
Creating, through its activities, more sustainable value for all its stakeholders, is a top priority for Hydro-Québec. Tweet This! In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Hydro-Québec took action to:
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the state
- create economic value for communities
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Hydro-Québec has identified;
- How Hydro-Québec proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Hydro-Québec to create economic value for its stakeholders
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Hydro-Québec identified a range of material issues, such as atmospheric emissions and impact of climate change, relations with Indigenous communities, social acceptability of projects, technological innovation.
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 s 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 Hydro-Québec engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers | · Customer satisfaction survey · Handling of complaints and claims · Translation services for the collections process · Energy efficiency partnerships · Collections working group |
| Employees and unions
| · Occupational health and safety committees · Training programmes provided by the company and unions · Employee engagement survey · International partnerships |
| General public
| · Public consultations · Regional economic spinoffs committees · Satisfaction survey · Public health and safety studies |
| Suppliers and investors
| · Participation in the Espace québécois de concertation sur les pratiques d’approvisionnement responsable (ECPAR), a group promoting sustainable procurement practices · Regional economic spinoffs committees · Code of conduct and rules · Mandatory disclosure of conflict of interest · Meetings with investors |
| Educational institutions
| · Internships · Knowledge sharing · Presentations at universities · Support for universities · Educational kits · Research and innovation partnerships |
| Nongovernmental organisations
| · Working group with consumer associations · Various partnerships · Community investments · Liaison committee with the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) [Québec farm producers’ union] · Dedicated team to oversee relations with principal NGOs |
| Local and Indigenous communities
| · Teams in charge of community and Indigenous relations · Joint committees and liaison committees · Support for local initiatives · Regional economic spinoffs committees · Agreements and other forms of collaboration |
| Government authorities | · Partnerships and participation in joint committees |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Hydro-Québec engaged with its stakeholders through a survey.
What actions were taken by Hydro-Québec to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Hydro-Québec reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2021, Hydro-Québec paid its shareholder, the Québec government, a dividend of $2.7 billion.
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2021, Hydro-Québec paid $39 million in municipal, school and other taxes and $308 million in public utilities tax.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, Hydro-Québec paid $29.5 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
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, IEMA, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
This case study is based on published information by Hydro-Québec, 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:
https://www.responsibilityreports.com/HostedData/ResponsibilityReportArchive/h/hydro-quebec_2021.pdf
Note to Hydro-Québec: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.