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Case Studies

TEMAX
Employee Ambassador Challenge

Responding to Communities

For Spectra Energy, community stewardship means listening to and being responsible members of the communities we serve. We engage local stakeholders affected by our projects and ongoing operations early and often, guided by our Stakeholder Engagement Principles:

We will be respectful of and considerate to all stakeholders.
We will engage with those affected by our business.
We will consider stakeholder-identified issues in our decision-making process.
We will provide timely and accurate communication using accessible information and language.
We will be transparent in our processes and communications.

In project development, we begin our outreach to landowners, federal and state or provincial environmental agencies, local non-governmental agencies, and other groups even before an official pipeline right-of-way proposal is filed. One of the most successful approaches we use to connect with stakeholders is to host informational meetings in communities along the route to explain the project, listen to feedback and answer questions about safety and environmental concerns. We also engage stakeholders during impact assessments. These formal processes to assess, mitigate and monitor the environmental and social impact of our operations meet or exceed the rigor expected by regulation.

The feedback stakeholders give us is incorporated into project design plans and operating practices and we engage key stakeholders in discussions to address their concerns. For example, our New Jersey-New York project website highlights nine examples of variations to the original pipeline route we proposed that are the direct result of input from concerned stakeholders.

During operations, we routinely communicate to existing stakeholders through our public awareness activities. These programs highlight safety messages to third-party contractors digging near our pipelines or other underground infrastructure. We also encourage our neighboring landowners to be our eyes and ears and notify us of any suspicious activity near our facilities. Other pipeline awareness messages include the benefits, use and traits of natural gas and emergency response information.

TEMAX

Engaging with our stakeholders, understanding their needs and keeping the lines of communication open with them is critical during a project.

During the TEMAX project, we hosted meetings and initiated discussions with landowners, business leaders and government officials. Additionally, we sent out monthly newsletters to all stakeholders who were impacted by construction, and we participated in media interviews that kept people informed about our project.

Through our discussions, we discovered that York County, Pennsylvania, was undertaking efforts to stabilize stream banks in order to help curb pollution problems in the Susquehanna River Basin. After learning about this need and how destabilization along streams is a significant source of much of the country’s pollution problems, we provided $15,000 to the York County Conservation District to assist them with the stabilization program. This contribution resulted in more acres of stabilized streams, contributing to an overall reduction in pollution.

Employee Ambassador Challenge

Our employees are our best ambassadors. Spectra Energy launched the Ambassador Challenge training program in 2011, designed to educate employees about our company and the natural gas industry. The program equips them with facts that help dispel common misconceptions about natural gas. In this grassroots effort, employees are encouraged to share the benefits and use of natural gas and our industry with their families, friends and neighbors.

The program initially was rolled out to 200 employees throughout the company, with classes in Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The program is now available to all Spectra Energy employees.