Committed to Making Sustainable Choices
To Our Valued Stakeholders,
At Spectra Energy, we are firmly committed to making sustainable choices and representing the best in economic, environmental and social values and practices. For us, sustainability is fundamental to meeting both short-term and long-term financial and operational targets in an environment of changing energy priorities. It is how we live, work and conduct business on behalf of our many stakeholders. I am pleased to report to you that we made significant strides toward these goals in 2009.
Our economic sustainability is strong. Financially, we have successfully balanced short-term and long-term priorities, delivering an above-market return while undertaking expansion projects based on secure contracts that position us for long-term, lasting value and growth. In the past two years, we have enhanced our governance by adding an independent chairman of the board and have strengthened our Code of Business Ethics requirements for contractors and suppliers. We continue to build our management framework to promote accountability and performance metrics.
Our environmental performance is a high priority, and that is reflected in our record. In 2009, Spectra Energy was again named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and we were recognized as the top energy company on the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Leadership Index. We also received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR Program Transmission Partner of the Year Award for improvement in operational efficiency and emissions reduction.
Cleaner-burning natural gas is increasingly used to fuel electricity generation, providing a tangible opportunity to create economic value and realize the environmental benefit of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The abundant supply of natural gas is domestically available and economically attractive, and the infrastructure for delivery is in place and growing, providing supply choices and greater price transparency for consumers.
Our environmental sustainability challenge for the future is to continue building on our efficiency successes and manage our emissions. We are committed to continuing our efforts toward environmental sustainability, and to persistently assess our operations and improve wherever possible. Toward that end, we are exploring the use of emissionsintensity indicators to appropriately measure our performance. Accurate analysis leads to effective environmental actions.
Our social commitment – to both our talented employees and broader communities – is an area where we have experienced highs and lows since our last report. We are extremely proud that our employees contributed 28,000 volunteer hours to the communities where we live and work. In addition, through our company-matched philanthropic giving we invested $7.5 million in communities across North America. However, we are deeply saddened by two safetyrelated deaths in 2009: one Spectra Energy employee and one employee of our nonoperated joint venture, DCP Midstream. These tragic losses give added impetus to our drive to achieve a zero-incident safety culture in both our wholly owned operations and our joint ventures.
We place a high value on listening to our employees. In that spirit, we conducted an employee survey during 2009 that was benchmarked against other energy companies and against an index of high-performing companies across North America. Overall, we were ranked among the highest performing companies. When we analyzed the results, the survey identified a number of strengths and revealed some areas for improvement. Working together, we are using this feedback to raise the bar across our organization.
I am tremendously proud of our employees for continually seizing opportunities to improve our performance. With the full support of management and the board of directors, they approach every day, every job, every decision with passion, wisdom and commitment to serving our world and our stakeholders.
Demand is growing for cleaner, secure energy sources that will fuel our economy for generations to come. Natural gas has an important role to play as we move forward, and Spectra Energy plays a critical role in delivering the 21st-century fuel of choice. However, as important as what we do is how we do it. Our sustainability record is solid, but we have more to do to fully realize our vision. We are committed to becoming even better stewards of our environment and our resources, and stronger partners with our stakeholders. We will continue to make sustainable choices, right here, right now, for our future.
Gregory L. Ebel
president and chief executive officer
