Our clean electricity: A precious resource

Be an environmental leader through our choices, innovative practices and expertise

The two greatest environmental threats we face today are climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Hydro-Québec is acting on both of these fronts.

With our clean and renewable hydroelectricity, we are actively contributing to decarbonizing the economy of Québec and that of our neighbors through signed export contracts. In addition to this major contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Québec, we are doubling down on our efforts to reduce GHG emissions in our own operations, in particular by converting our off-grid systems to cleaner energy sources.

As for preserving biodiversity, we integrate environmental impact management into our business processes with our ISO 14001:2015 (see EMS application) compliant environmental management system. For more than 50 years, we have taken measures to assess, limit and mitigate the impacts of our operations on the environment, thereby preserving the habitats of multiple fauna and flora species. We also monitor these measures in order to evaluate their effectiveness, sometimes even over many years.

In this section you will find information on the following topics:

• GHG emissions avoided through net exports
• Net electricity generated and purchased

Contribute to Québec’s social and economic development while improving the social acceptability of our projects and operations

In addition to the dividend, it pays each year to the Québec government, Hydro-Québec directly contributes to Québec’s economic, social and cultural development. We maintain close relations with community representatives in all regions of Québec to reconcile the interests of all parties and develop the territory harmoniously. We also contribute to collective well-being by providing a reliable, accessible and affordable electricity supply.

Every year, we study or carry out over 1,000 construction and refurbishment projects. When it is possible that a project inconveniences the host community, we listen to the concerns of those affected, and we make every effort to align our project with their expectations and promote local spinoffs. Each project is unique and the measures taken to promote social acceptability vary. A project’s social acceptance does not necessarily mean there is no opposition, but rather that the broadest consensus possible has been reached. By encouraging the public and stakeholders to participate from the early stages of a project, we make it possible for them to contribute to establishing the conditions that make a project acceptable and mutually beneficial.

In this section you will find information on the following topics:

• Regional presence
• Community investments
• Procurement of goods and services in Québec
• Electric Circuit

Be a sustainable development leader by keeping the highest sustainability standards, both internally and with our partners

Given that the Québec government is our sole shareholder, our governance model is based on the common good. Our organizational structure, policies and guidelines ensure a fair, inclusive and safe workplace.

In addition to the codes of conduct and ethics that our managers and employees must follow, we ensure that our suppliers comply with the supplier code of conduct by making compliance an integral part of our contractual documents. Under the code, our suppliers must ensure that their parts and supplies are manufactured with respect for human rights, no matter where in the world they are made.

Because Hydro-Québec is one of the companies that awards the most contracts in Québec, we must maintain exemplary ethics and transparency practices. We have confirmed our willingness to promote integrity in all aspects of our operations by obtaining ISO 37001:2016 certification, a first in Québec for a government-owned corporation. The standard sets out means to prevent, detect and manage corruption issues and provides guidelines to establish, apply, update and improve an anti-bribery management system.

In this section you will find information on the following topics:

• Human resources
• Clientèle
• Number of patents held or pending