Climate Policy

At Equitrans Midstream, we acknowledge the reality of climate change as one of the most critical issues of our time. It requires a concerted global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt and build resiliency to changes in the climate system, and effectively manage both risks and opportunities as society transitions to a lower-carbon economy.   

As an energy infrastructure company, we understand that the transition to a lower-carbon economy is underway and is critical in addressing the most severe impacts of climate change. As such, Equitrans Midstream must aggressively pursue climate change mitigation and adaptation, while also balancing the immediate and increasing need for energy in our country, both now and in the future.

As we continue to responsibly transport energy resources for our customers, Equitrans Midstream’s Initial Climate Policy outlines our commitment and aspirations to reduce our carbon footprint. We are taking immediate steps to reduce methane emissions across our operations and are setting Net Zero Carbon Goals for 2050.

Our View

Climate change has direct, measurable, and significant impacts to human health, the environment, and the economic vitality of our residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Businesses recognize these impacts and are responding to the growing threats associated with climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain and adjusting business strategies.

Equitrans Midstream is addressing our carbon footprint and evaluating our climate strategy, while at the same time continuing to focus on market fundamentals. We see the delivery of natural gas as essential to meeting our country’s current energy needs and to supporting a robust economy. More importantly, we believe that natural gas plays an integral role in transitioning our economy to both lower-carbon and renewable energy sources.

We must be responsible and accountable for managing natural gas in our operations to prevent unnecessary emissions that contribute to climate change. For example, one of these emissions is methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas and the primary component of natural gas. The gathering and transmission of natural gas in our pipelines, as well as related activities, may result in this non-combusted gas being released to the atmosphere. For this reason, we are keenly focused on improving the management of our natural gas from our gathering point through the delivery to our customers in order to prevent avoidable emissions from entering the environment.

Our Commitment

Equitrans Midstream is committed to implementing best practices and achieving measurable improvements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our operations. We will:

• Continue to improve greenhouse gas emissions accounting across our value chain to comprehensively understand impacts, as well as evaluate potential actions to lower emissions, such as:
  • Tightening our operations to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions
  • Decarbonizing the energy used to run our operations
  • Investing in renewables
  • Focusing on emerging technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and commercially available renewable natural gas
  • Pursuing geographically relevant, robust, and reputable carbon offsets that can be applied to our footprint
• Transparently communicate our progress and performance to our stakeholders
• Regularly engage stakeholders – community members, contractors, financial research analysts, first responders, government officials and agencies, landowners, shareholders, employees, and suppliers – to understand expectations and foster collaboration
• Proactively seek a dialogue with key environmental organizations regarding climate impacts and environmental stewardship – we have much more common ground than we have differences
• Evaluate the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Guidelines and Reporting and assess the feasibility of meeting science-based greenhouse gas targets in the future
• Refine our analysis of climate risks and opportunities to inform meaningful action and effectively respond to the most pressing issues and emerging trends
• Pursue new technology and innovation to create lower-carbon, environmentally friendly solutions for our gathering and transmission of natural gas including renewable natural gas and hydrogen opportunities
• Integrate climate risks and opportunities into our core business planning and strategy
• Collaborate with industry-wide efforts, such as ONE Future, to systematically reduce methane emissions and lower the carbon content of natural gas through pilot projects in renewable natural gas and hydrogen

Our Aspirations

We are evaluating near-term actions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, including measurable reduction targets for our direct and indirect (purchased energy) emissions from our operations, and will update this policy as our evaluation progresses to ensure transparent communication of our assessment and our future goals.

In 2021, we will establish a foundation for future commitments and work to assess practicability, costs, and timing to achieve the following:

• Interim Targets for Scope 1 & 2 Emissions:
  • 50% Reduction in Methane by 2030
  • 50% Reduction in Total GHG by 2040
• Net Zero Carbon Goals for 2050

As our efforts evolve, we commit to exploring and embracing new technologies, innovative approaches, and collaborative partnerships to do our part in addressing climate change for the benefit of all.

 Printable PDF file: Equitrans Midstream Climate Policy