Hydro-Québec - Sustainable Development

Overseeing Our Environmental Initiatives:
Implementing environmental management systems
Complying with environmental laws and regulations
Ensuring employee training and awareness

Overseeing Our Environmental Initiatives

Ensuring Employee Training and Awareness

Since it began complying with ISO 14001 in 1997, Hydro-Québec has introduced a more formal management of employees' environmental skills. Each year, various types of training and awareness programs are developed and updated to meet the needs of the different users.

Some 30 in-house courses are offered on a wide range of subjects related to the environment: environmental management, contaminant management, environmental audits, environmental emergencies, transportation of hazardous materials, etc.

In addition, we conduct awareness activities relating to operating procedures and guidelines, emergency response, EMS audit preparation, etc.

Some Examples and Statistics

Training

	Every year, our employees attend several thousand hours of environmental training and awareness. Here are a few of the types of training taken by our employees:
	Hydrocarbon spills Recovery of residual hazardous materials EMS implementation as per ISO 14001 Environmental maintenance of green spaces

Awareness

Every May for the last 20 years or so, we have celebrated what is now known as Environment and Sustainable Development Month, in order to keep employees informed and encourage them to take concrete steps in their daily activities to protect the environment at work and at home. The main activities organized in connection with this event include:

Graph: Number of Environmental Training Participants

		A competition to encourage employees to incorporate sustainability measures into their daily activities. Lunchtime seminars in various regions of Québec on sustainability-related topics. Open houses held at some of our facilities to explain to the general public the sustainability initiatives the company has taken in connection with its generating operations.

An annual competition called Mérite environnemental was introduced in 2003 to recognize employees' environmental achievements. In 2006, this competition was expanded to include other spheres of sustainability.

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