Governance
We are in business to transport liquid fuels responsibly to markets throughout the U.S. Southeast and East Coast. Our customers depend on us as a vital link in the energy chain to deliver their product efficiently and safely. This is what we are built to do. As we look to the future, our objective is to build upon our history of strong governance and adapt to an evolving risk landscape while continuing to drive excellence in what Colonial was designed to do.
From our Board and Leadership Team’s development and implementation of the company’s strategy, to a culture of respect, accountability, integrity, safety, and excellence, Colonial’s commitment to strong corporate governance enables us to generate sustainable long-term value for our stakeholders and the communities we serve.
Asset & Pipeline Integrity
We keep the integrity of our assets and pipelines central to all decisions and investments around our operations and technologies. Colonial commits substantial resources into maintaining and monitoring our pipeline system beyond what’s required by federal regulations and has invested more than $1.5 billion in our asset integrity program over the past 10 years. From precise design and construction standards, to computer monitoring, to robust trainings, we seek to follow best practices to keep liquid fuels moving safely and efficiently while maintaining reliability for our customers. The objective of our System Integrity and Preventative Maintenance team is to centralize focus on allocating maintenance dollars and empower Colonial employees who are at the forefront of operations to evaluate potential risk and prioritize projects. This is important not only for meeting our regulatory requirements, but also for making smart investments that improve the reliability and safety of our assets.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Our industry-recognized practices in emergency preparedness and response include proactive and preventative measures to minimize the risk of an incident, coupled with strong preparedness training using an “All Hazards Approach” philosophy. Our employees are trained to safely and immediately respond to critical situations as demonstrated and practiced in drills, training and exercises that continually test our company’s readiness for multiple scenarios. Our Integrated Contingency Plans and Facility Response Plans establish clearly defined response protocols and outline a systematic approach to anticipating and preparing for potential incidents.
Our Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) program is frequently sought out for peer-company benchmarking. With our success in response, even in the most difficult of events, the EPR has showcased capability to effectively manage complex events affecting our industry. These lessons learned and best practices are shared among industry groups, placing the industry in a better place to respond to contingencies in the future.
Cybersecurity
Having been the target of a direct cyberattack on our systems, Colonial has experienced first-hand the severity that such a threat can have on an enterprise. As such, Colonial has numerous cybersecurity protections in place in accordance with Transportation Security Administration guidelines to help safeguard the delivery of liquid energy products in a secure manner. To ensure we are constantly strengthening our capabilities and able to respond to cybersecurity incidents more effectively, Colonial continues to make significant investments in improved organizational capabilities. We have added a Chief Information and Security Officer role, as well as new management teams that span areas of operations as the cyber related risks continue to evolve and increase.
We integrate cybersecurity into incident response plans and our technology teams have been expanded to further strengthen cyber defense, including regular testing of cyber defense systems. Given the continually evolving nature of cybersecurity threats, we participate in industry working groups and work closely with regulators. We also look to leading partners for support in the integration of our cyber practices.