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ESG/SUSTAINABILITY

EIC ESG Working Group

EIC member companies are embracing the growing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and reporting. Many are adopting new technologies, increasing efficiencies, and incorporating renewable/alternative energy into their operations. To build on the efforts of member companies and support them in their ESG journeys, in late 2019 EIC established a Board-level ESG Working Group co-chaired by ESG leaders Alan Armstrong, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Williams Companies, Inc. and Bob Phillips, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Crestwood Equity Partners LP.  Alan Armstrong currently serves as the ESG Working Group Chair.

WORKING GROUP MISSION & MEMBERS

The Working Group provides best practices guidance and resources to assist member companies in their ESG journeys. These activities include, but are not limited to, roundtables, webinars, the creation of an ESG Toolkit and development of an ESG reporting template for midstream companies.

To learn more, watch the 2020 interviews below with the then Working Group Co-Chairs:

EIC ESG TOOLKIT

Critical to the EIC mission is our commitment to ESG and the responsibility we have as an industry association in supporting and advancing our companies’ ESG journeys. EIC is committed to working with our member companies to provide timely educational resources to enable them to keep abreast of the evolving ESG landscape and to advance their own efforts in this increasingly important field. As part of this commitment and mission, the EIC ESG Working Group created an ESG Toolkit. The first edition, released in November 2020, will be updated as the ESG landscape evolves. In addition to Crestwood and Williams, EIC would like to thank the following EIC ESG Working Group companies for their work on this Toolkit: Cheniere Energy, Inc.; Kinder Morgan, Inc.; and ONEOK, Inc. The ESG Toolkit is only available to midstream companies that are members of EIC and/or GPA Midstream. For a copy, please email lori@eic.energy.

EIC/GPA MIDSTREAM ESG REPORTING TEMPLATE

On December 2, 2020, the EIC ESG Working Group, in collaboration with GPA Midstream, released the first-ever Midstream ESG Reporting Template. Almost a year in the making, this Reporting Template is the product of extensive review of best-practice ESG reporting among EIC member companies and the ESG reporting requirements from numerous critical stakeholders. This collaborative process, that included members from both EIC and GPA Midstream, involved significant participation from in-house ESG specialists and professionals with operational and technical expertise. Importantly, to ensure widespread adoption, the Working Group also received critical input and guidance from numerous investors.

On April 13, 2022, the joint EIC and GPA Midstream ESG Working Group, released version 2.0 of the Midstream ESG Reporting Template. Updates to the template primarily focus on the “E” metrics and the inputs into and information collection around such data with the goal of providing consistent, comparable and durable information for investors and stakeholders. Again, this effort was a collaborate process involving third party and in-house ESG experts, environmental operational and technical professionals, and investors.

In addition to working toward widespread company and investor adoption, EIC and GPA Midstream are committed to engaging with the most important ESG rating agencies and standard setters to ensure alignment and consistency between the ESG Midstream Company Reporting Template and the various channels through which investors access ESG information for the midstream sector.

The EIC/GPA Midstream ESG Reporting Template v.2.0 can be found HERE. The definitions for v.2.0 of the Reporting Template can be found HERE.

The December 2, 2020 rollout webinar for the EIC/GPA Midstream ESG Reporting Template can be viewed below. The webinar discusses the need for the template, its development, and importance of widespread adoption. Viewers can gain valuable insights from the EIC ESG Working Group co-chairs and team leads as well as from several of the investors involved in the process.

For questions, please email lori@eic.energy.

Strong Investor Support for the EIC/GPA Midstream ESG Reporting Template

Brookfield Asset Management: “At Brookfield we believe sound ESG practices are integral to building resilient businesses and creating long-term value for our investors. ESG analysis is a pillar of our investment framework given that value creation and sustainable business practices are complimentary goals. We are thankful for EIC’s leadership in creating a standardized ESG reporting template which will continue to drive forward our common objective of improving and encouraging ESG reporting across the industry,” said Paula Horn, Chief Investment Officer of the Brookfield Public Securities Group.

ClearBridge Investments: "At ClearBridge, ESG principles have been part of our investment process since 1987. Today, ESG is fully integrated into our fundamental research across all industry sectors and all investment strategies. The finalized ESG reporting template for EIC companies will greatly improve our ability to internally rate Energy Infrastructure companies on ESG practices, as we do with all investments. We applaud EIC for putting forth a template that offers investors broader and more uniform ESG disclosures. This will contribute to more informed and better investment decisions for our clients,” said Terrence Murphy, CEO of ClearBridge Investments.

Cohen & Steers: “As a leader in listed real assets and alternative income solutions committed to investment excellence, we integrate ESG considerations into our investment decisions as we believe companies that incorporate these factors into their strategic plans and operations can enhance long-term shareholder value and mitigate potential risks. Consistent with this objective, we support EIC’s initiative to develop a standard ESG reporting template as it promotes transparency of companies’ ESG initiatives and metrics to provide consistent and useful information to enable shareholders to make informed investment decisions,” said Tyler Rosenlicht, Head of Midstream Energy and MLPs, Cohen & Steers.

Eagle Global: Michael Cerasoli, Co-Head of the Energy Infrastructure Team, Eagle Global said, “We at Eagle Global have long incorporated governance into the risk mitigation component of our investment strategies, and for several years have also emphasized environmental and social factors. We believe these base concepts are the foundation to constructing high quality investment portfolios focused on long-term shareholder returns. We therefore welcome and applaud the EIC’s recent ESG initiatives that will provide both us and the general public with better visibility into the critical infrastructure our sector provides."

Goldman Sachs Asset Management: “We were excited to provide input for the standardized ESG reporting template and applaud the EIC for coordinating this effort. It’s a critical first step towards increasing transparency for investors and setting long-term ESG priorities, the latter of which we believe is particularly important as companies focus on reducing their carbon footprint and investors mandate improved corporate governance in the form of management alignment with shareholders and more sustainable operating models. We strongly encourage all midstream companies to adopt this template and believe it should continue to evolve with stakeholder objectives,” said Kyri Loupis, Head of Energy Infrastructure & Renewables, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors: "At Kayne Anderson, ESG factors are an important component in our investment decision-making process. We encourage companies to adopt the EIC’s Reporting Template as it promotes transparency and helps standardize reporting of ESG metrics for energy infrastructure companies,” said Jim Baker, Managing Partner, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.

TortoiseEcofin: Matt Sallee, President, Tortoise said, “TortoiseEcofin has a long-standing commitment to corporate responsibility. As part of our mission to make an impact through essential asset investing, each of the firm’s business lines integrates the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (“PRI”), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) and other environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors throughout the security selection and post investment monitoring processes. We fully support the EIC’s work creating a template that assists member entities in organizing and standardizing ESG disclosures. This initiative aligns with our active engagement approach with management teams through discussions and our published."Essential Playbook for Midstream Management. We encourage all midstream companies to adopt the EIC reporting template.

EIC Member Sustainability Initiatives and Reports:

Please click the links below to learn more about our member companies’ ESG and sustainability initiatives. Upon company completion, the ESG Reporting Template also will be available on their sites.