Our approach

Sustainable Development Action Plan

The Québec government passed the Sustainable Development Act in 2006. In 2008, Québec's Government Sustainable Development Strategy put this law into concrete terms, setting benchmarks to guide the actions of ministries, government agencies and publicly owned corporations.

In response to the government strategy, Hydro-Québec has drawn up the Sustainable Development Action Plan 2009–2013. Because Hydro-Québec has been applying sustainable development principles for a long time, both our day-to-day management and our infrastructure projects are already imbued with a culture of sustainability. Nevertheless, as the action plan indicates, we plan to harmonize our efforts with those of the government to ensure environmental protection, social progress and economic development.

Download Hydro-Québec’s Sustainable Development Action Plan 2009–2013.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN 2009–2013
Action	Indicator	Results at December 31, 2010		Target 2011
Action	Indicator	Target	Achieved to date	Target 2011
1: Build hydropower projects and contribute to the development of wind power.	Capacity and energy available	138 MW^a	138 MW	750 MW^a
2: Increase the capacity of existing hydroelectric generating stations.	Gains in peak capacity	54 MW^a	52 MW	54 MW^a
3: Step up energy efficiency initiatives.	Recurring energy savings	5.0 TWh^a	5.3 TWh	not available
4: Continue to help low-income customers.	Number of arrangements with low-income customers ^b	23,800	41,161	24,700
5: Reduce transport-related GHG emissions.	Atmospheric emissions from the vehicle fleet	53,900 t CO₂ eq.	55,412 t CO₂ eq.	53,300 t CO₂ eq.
6: Promote reduction at source, reuse and recycling.	Number of at-source reduction or reclamation programs introduced or optimized	4^a	7	6^a
7: Establish specifications for sustainable procurement.	Number of product purchasing guides that include sustainable specifications	2^a	3	3^a
8: Inform and educate employees regarding sustainability and the company’s approach. Help employees learn to apply sustainability principles to their daily activities.	Percentage of employees educated	60%	56%	80%
	Percentage of employees having sufficient knowledge about sustainability	25%^a	29%	30%^a
9: Improve vegetation control methods on the distribution system to better protect biodiversity.	Percentage of vegetation control operations per year with integrated measures for promoting biodiversity	82%	82%	85%
10: Organize sustainable events and promote responsible management of events sponsored by Hydro-Québec.	Average number of contributing measures implemented among the 25 measures selected for the sustainable management of events	10/25	12.9/25	12/25

^{a) Cumulative since the Action Plan came into effect.}
^{b) Including long-term arrangements.}