Nature Conservancy and Enbridge: partners in eco-crime

May 6, 2010

http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/004974.html

Call this a case of bad timing…or good timing, depending on your

perspective: yesterday, the Nature Conservancy of Canada announced Enbridge

Inc. would be donating $2.5 million to support its work. "We are proud

to partner with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and pleased that our

investment will help conserve some of Canada’s best and most

ecologically important natural habitat," stated the pipeline firm’s

president and chief executive officer Pat Daniel, in a news release.

But, a day later, Mr. Daniel also said – in the words of The Vancouver

Sun’s Dina O’Meara – that Enbridge would be "plowing ahead with a

controversial pipeline stretching from Alberta’s oilseeds to the inside

passage port of Kitimat to open new markets for Canada oil.

"The $5,5-billion Northern Gateway project faces heated opposition from

aboriginal and environmental groups because of the possibility of a

spill on land or sea – concerns that have deepened as bands of sticky

oil approach the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastline following a deep-sea rig

explosion," Ms. O’Meara continued.

Asked whether the nature conservancy had a position on that project, its

chief communications officer Jane Gilbert told Public Eye, "It’s not our

business. We’re not in the energy business. We’re not in the pipeline

business. It’s not involving land that we’re working on. It is

completely separate. That is Enbridge’s issue."

But isn’t the conservancy concerned it’s bolstering Enbridge’s

environmental credentials at a time when the firm is being opposed by

environmentalists?

"No. We don’t comment at all on a corporation’s core business or it’s

business outside of it’s dealing with us. In this case, Enbridge has

provided to us a gift – a donation – which we will then utilize in what

we think is a very productive, creative way to achieve solid

conservation success coast-to-coast. It’s not regionally divided," she

responded.

"I won’t comment though on Enbridge’s business and what Enbridge may

say," Ms. Gilbert continued, when pressed about how Enbridge might use

that donation in future statements to the public and the press. "You

would have to talk to Enbridge about their own position. I’ll talk about

the Nature Conservancy of Canada and what we’re capable of doing with

donations that come to us."

Enbridge has not yet returned a request for comment placed earlier

today. The nature conservancy was the subject an earlier controversy as

a result of its work with Shell Canada Ltd. – a story reported

http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/05/01/ShellingOut/

The following is a complete copy of the aforementioned news release.

***

Nature Conservancy and Enbridge to partner on habitat protection

May 4, 2010

Nature Conservancy of Canada joins forces with Enbridge to protect

Canada’s natural treasures

CALGARY, May 4, 2010 – John Lounds, President and CEO of the Nature

Conservancy of Canada (NCC), today joins Pat Daniel, President and CEO

of Enbridge Inc., to announce Enbridge’s largest-ever community

investment: $2.5 million in support of NCC’s work to preserve and

protect important and sensitive natural habitats across Canada.

Enbridge’s investment will help conserve and care for more than 7,400

acres (about 3,000 hectares) of some of the best remaining wildlife

habitat in Canada. The investment is particularly significant at this

time because, thanks to matching funds from sources including the

Government of Canada’s Natural Areas Conservation Program, it will

trigger a conservation impact of more than $10 million over the next

three years.

The investment aligns with Enbridge’s Neutral Footprint program. Under

the program, the company will move toward having no net environmental

footprint from its future activities. The program comprises three

commitments: Enbridge will plant a tree for every tree it removes,

conserve an acre of natural habitat for every acre of habitat it

impacts, and generate a kilowatt of renewable energy for every kilowatt

of power its operations consume. Enbridge’s investment in NCC will

enable it to meet its "acre for acre" commitment which, under current

estimates, requires the company to help conserve about 6,000 acres

(about 2,400 hectares) in Canada.

Enbridge will plant a tree for every tree it removes, conserve an acre

of natural habitat for every acre of habitat it impacts, and generate a

kilowatt of renewable energy for every kilowatt of power its operations

consume.

"Enbridge has taken a significant step toward conserving Canada’s

special places. We are fortunate to live in a country that still has the

opportunity to protect the natural areas we love. If we are going to

have a healthy natural environment, we must act to conserve these

important places and the species they sustain." John Lounds, President

and CEO, the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

"We are proud to partner with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and

pleased that our investment will help conserve some of Canada’s best and

most ecologically important natural habitat. NCC is a well-respected

organization with a great reputation for thoughtful, science-based

conservation work built over nearly 50 years." Pat Daniel, President and

CEO Enbridge.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation’s leading land

conservation organization, working to protect our valuable natural areas

and the plants and animals they sustain. Since 1962 NCC and its partners

have helped to protect more than 2 million acres (800,000 hectares),

coast to coast, 178,000 acres (71,000 hectares), in Alberta. To learn

more visit, http://www.natureconservancy.ca/

Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a North American leader in

delivering energy and one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable

Corporations. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada

and the U.S., the world’s longest crude oil and liquids transportation

system. The Company also has a growing involvement in the natural gas

transmission and midstream businesses, and is expanding its interests in

renewable and green energy technologies including wind and solar energy,

hybrid fuel cells and carbon dioxide sequestration.