We work closely with our suppliers and hold them accountable to the same environmental, social, ethical and safety standards to which we hold ourselves.

Business Context and our Strategic Response

Enbridge’s business is complex—and so is our supply chain. To meet the demands of our expansive operations across North America, we rely upon a network of suppliers and contractors to help us construct pipelines and facilities, provide needed equipment and supplies, deliver specialized expertise and serve customers and other stakeholders.

Through our SCM function, Enbridge seeks suppliers who share and reflect our commitment to sustainability. We work closely with the valued links within our supply chain, including manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors, distributors and consultants, to ensure that all adhere to our core values, Statement on Business Conduct, CSRPolicy, Indigenous Peoples Policy and beginning in 2019, a new Supplier Code of Conduct. This document outlines the ethical and business conduct expectations of our suppliers in the areas of health and safety, the environment, labor and human rights, and responsible business behavior.

We also continually assess and adapt to concerns and trends affecting our business and supply chain channels. This includes issues such as cost pressures in logistics and transportation, shifting regulations, commodity volatility, technology and digitization gains that impact processes and evolving customer expectations, human trafficking, recycled steel and supplier diversity.

“Our new Supplier Code of Conduct is an important, impactful initiative. It outlines, in very clear terms, our expectations regarding ethical standards and business conduct for suppliers, specifically in the areas of health and safety, labor and human rights, and responsible, principled business behavior. We have high standards for the work we do—and the suppliers we work with."

Phil Teijeira,
Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer

Our Structure

Enbridge has a centralized SCM function that serves the entire enterprise. The SCM function is responsible for all aspects of supply management, from planning and governance, to strategic sourcing and tactical procurement, to materials management and contract management. Our SCM function also includes a centralized team focused solely on advancing our sustainability and Indigenous engagement priorities.

We work with thousands of suppliers across North America—from major international companies to small, local businesses. Our suppliers cover a wide range of disciplines, including manufacturing, construction, engineering, distribution and consulting.

Integrating Sustainability Factors into our Supply Chain

Our SCM processes are designed to procure goods and services that meet our standards. We satisfy this objective by integrating sustainability factors into our supplier selection and relationship management through a variety of means, including supplier management, requests for proposal (RFPs), proposal evaluations, contracts and supplier performance management.

Safety and opportunities for Indigenous involvement are two major considerations in our proposal evaluation process, and we have a multi-year roadmap to help us further integrate ESG considerations and opportunities into our SCM strategies and programs.

Supplier Diversity

We recognize the value and innovation that results from having a diverse group of suppliers, including female-, minority-, LBGT+-,small, locally and veteran-owned businesses—and we promote equal opportunity for all qualified suppliers.

We are strengthening and standardizing our approach to supplier diversity, with full program implementation slated for 2020. We began tracking diverse supplier data in our GTM business unit in 2017 and are developing the methodologies and systems to track and maintain data for the enterprise as part of the future program implementation.

Indigenous Engagement

Our SCM function includes a SCM Indigenous Engagement team dedicated to facilitating opportunities for Indigenous communities and businesses within our supply chain. Because a significant opportunity within our supply chain is sub-contracting and material supply, we continue to work with our contractors and suppliers to enable them to help us increase the economic engagement with Indigenous communities and businesses related to our projects and operations.

We maintain an Indigenous business database which allows us to provide information about Indigenous businesses to our contractors and utilize Indigenous businesses in our own sourcing activities. We created and implemented the Socio-Economic Requirements of Contractors, which requires contractors to submit a Socio-Economic Plan (SEP) outlining how they will incorporate Indigenous businesses into their work for Enbridge. The SEP is submitted as part of the contractor’s contract proposal submission and considered as part of the proposal evaluation process. As a result, we spent nearly $394 million with Indigenous businesses, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in Canada and the U.S. within our LP, GTM and GDS businesses. See Indigenous Engagement on Page 36.

Supplier Management Program

Supplier Management Program

As part of our Supplier Management program, we evaluate suppliers throughout the supplier lifecycle—from registration through offboarding. Our pre-qualification process ensures all suppliers are screened and that we only work with suppliers who meet and uphold our rigorous standards. We use ISNetworld, a global contractor and supplier management resource, as well as internal subject-matter experts to pre-qualify suppliers and monitor ongoing supplier performance. We conducted approximately 40 onsite supplier assessments across North America in 2018, with each assessment requiring one to three days to complete. As we continue to implement our Supplier Code of Conduct, it will be integrated into our supplier performance management and relationship management processes.

RFPs, Proposal Evaluations and Contracts

Environmental, social, safety and Indigenous participation are key factors included in supply chain RFPs, proposal evaluations and contracts. Beginning in 2018 and and expected to continue through 2020, we are updating our sourcing and contracting templates to expand the sustainability criteria and increase the information provided by suppliers in the sourcing process. We anticipate that this standardization will further drive sustainability criteria into decisionmaking and embed our Supplier Code of Conduct expectations in our contracts.

Advocacy

Enbridge recognizes its responsibility to educate employees, suppliers and others on key topics affecting communities such as human trafficking, and advocating for ethics and human rights.

2018 Company-Wide Procurement

In 2018, we purchased approximately $11 billion of goods and services from about 11,000 suppliers.

The majority of our annual spend was directed toward manufactured products for constructing pipelines and facilities, and operating, maintaining and monitoring system integrity. One of our most significant materials purchases is steel pipe. In 2018, we purchased about 104,000 tonnes of pipe. The majority of that pipe was sourced in North America, with recycled steel comprising about 78% of the product. In 2018, we also saw a significant increase in Indigenous spend due to the L3RP in Canada. We joined the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council to share and learn from other organizations similarly committed to sustainability within the supply chain.

¹ GTM spend in 2016 and 2017 is combined under LP. For 2018, this has been separated to align with our current business model.
² Indigenous spend includes contracting, both direct from Enbridge and indirect subcontracting opportunities, and wages paid to Indigenous workers.