Environmental Responsibility
Environmental responsibility is a core component of Colonial’s values, operations, and business model. We understand that expectations are evolving and the demand for transparency is increasing. Key aspects of our environmental stewardship include providing a safe and affordable way to meet critical energy needs in our operating area and understanding our role in the expansion of energy options to meet the demands of our nation and the world. . This includes our actions that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
As we look towards the future of the energy landscape, Colonial is enacting strategies to ensure we continue to serve as a collaborative partner in maintaining environmental integrity. We aim to use advanced data analytics to drive improvements and efficiencies.
Spill Prevention & Control
At Colonial, we are committed to the safe and secure transportation of liquid energy products. Through a combination of inline inspection tools, data analysis, and aerial patrols, we take a systematic approach to keeping our pipelines in reliable operating condition. In the event of an incident, Colonial employees are trained to safely and immediately respond and engage external emergency resources. Our planning and mitigation efforts are in accordance with U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, United States Coast Guard, and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
We also employ real-time leak detection programs designed to minimize the impact of releases across our pipeline network. Spill prevention is a continuous journey of learning and improvement, and it is our utmost priority to continue evolving in this space to accomplish our goal of Zero Incidents. These efforts include engaging with our communities as partners in safety. We rely on multiple communication methods to share important pipeline safety information across a broad audience, and have developed strong partnerships with local first responders. Our communities should feel protected and trust that Colonial will honor their interests. We build and maintain these partnerships to further safeguard our assets as community partners serve as additional eyes and ears along our right of way.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Management of greenhouse gas emissions is important to the entire energy industry. We track certain energy efficiency metrics and data across our operations to identify ways to reduce our energy consumption. We are engaged in opportunities to develop and deploy an energy portfolio with a reduction in carbon through solar photovoltaic distributed generation; supporting renewable energy usage through the generation of renewable energy certificates; optimizing system-wide use of Drag Reducing Agents; and evaluating electric utility green tariffs. We track our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and have used data to monitor our year-over-year emissions and carbon intensity.
Energy Expansion
American energy infrastructure requires an affordable and accessible supply of liquid fuels that can maintain energy security for the foreseeable future. Our business is built to deliver that energy to the American economy and our customers will continue to expect trusted partnerships with Colonial during the continued expansion of lower-carbon sources in our nation’s energy mix.
Our core competencies of pipeline integrity and our unique infrastructure footprint across the eastern United States give us a critical role to play in the energy future. We are already using distributed solar as well as providing transport options for renewable fuels such as renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, and we continue to explore ways to support the growth of additional renewable liquid energy options.
Colonial is leveraging our industry collaborations to optimize opportunities in piloting new solutions that expand Colonial’s business model while contributing to the expansion of energy e options. Customers rely on our operations and infrastructure to move their liquid fuels. They increasingly understand that pipeline transport is typically the lowest carbon option for moving their fuel.
We define Energy Expansion as the addition of lower-carbon energy sources to the mix of fuels that the United States and the world need, which continues to include oil, refined petroleum products, and other fossil-based fuels.