HOUSTONCrestwood Equity Partners LP announced June 3 the publication of its 2019 sustainability report furthering its commitment to building an MLP industry leading sustainability program. The report entitled Embracing a Culture of Sustainability, provides enhanced transparency on Crestwood’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, and for the first time it includes multi-year trend data and analysis. Crestwood also highlights the progression on its three-year sustainability strategy as it continues to integrate sustainability into every aspect of its diversified midstream energy business. The 2019 sustainability report is available here.

“Crestwood is proud to issue its second annual sustainability report demonstrating our pledge to build a sustainable midstream energy company based on a best-in-class approach to environmental stewardship, safety, diversity and inclusion and community engagement,” said Robert G. Phillips, chairman, president and CEO of Crestwood’s general partner. “In the midst of the current COVID-19 global pandemic, Crestwood remains even more committed to sustainability as the foundation of how we manage our business.

“We are working to mitigate the short-term ESG impacts of COVID-19 on our employees, contractors, customers and business partners, while we remain focused on continued development of our long-term sustainability strategy. As an ESG leader in the midstream energy industry, Crestwood will rely on its sustainability principles to adapt to the post-COVID-19 requirements, manage business risks through these unprecedented market conditions, deliver solid financial and operational results and generate long-term value for all of our stakeholders.”

The 2019 sustainability report focuses on Crestwood’s performance during the 2019 calendar year and, as a result, does not cover its robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the face of these challenges, Crestwood’s business strategy is to preserve liquidity and financial flexibility in order to navigate the company through the down-cycle created by COVID-19.

In response to the pandemic, Crestwood took proactive measures and implemented enhanced health and safety initiatives for its employees and contractors and established a multidisciplinary pandemic management team to coordinate its efforts. Crestwood has taken steps to protect employees, contractors and communities as the company does its part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, while keeping all business functions fully operational and continuing to provide reliable and safe services to its customers.

Highlights in Crestwood’s 2019 sustainability report include:

  • Progressing on the three-year sustainability strategy: Crestwood demonstrated significant progress on its five key focus areas: Sustainability in the Supply Chain, ESG Investor Strategy and Disclosure, Environmental Stewardship, Diversity and Inclusion and Social Investment.
  • Ensuring the safety of employees and contractors: Crestwood’s strong safety performance continued in 2019, with improvements in its leading and lagging indicators. Crestwood saw a 72% reduction in its total recordable incident rate and a 39% reduction in its lost time incident rate for employees.
  • Reducing its environmental footprint: Crestwood continues to focus on minimizing habitat disturbances and is proud to issue a biodiversity policy to further edify its commitment to this important focus area. Enhanced leak detection methods have improved operational efficiencies and reduced emissions across the portfolio, with the company realizing more than a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity from all operations.
  • Building long-term relationships with local communities: In 2019, Crestwood invested over $1.4 million to the communities in which it operates. Through developing a rigorous social investment program, the company has ensured that investments are strategic, impactful and aligned with its corporate values. Due to Crestwood’s commitment to education and workforce development, the company established a scholarship program for students pursuing a post-secondary STEM-related degree. In addition, Crestwood enhanced its culture of volunteerism by establishing volunteer councils to oversee its numerous community activities and partnerships.

Crestwood’s 2019 sustainability report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards - Core option and is aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) midstream reporting framework. New investor and ESG presentation materials are also posted to Crestwood’s website.