Introduction
Innergex is an energetic company, which produces electricity with the use of renewable sources, including the wind, water, and solar power. In this paper, we performed an environmental scan for Innergex. The company’s background, key goals, and mission were studied. Five factors of external environment, which affect the state of Innergex, were mentioned and examined. The information on ethics and social responsibility, including environmental issues and human resources management, was found on the company’s website and analyzed.
Corporate Mission
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc is a company, which operates and develops hydroelectric, wind, and solar energy facilities in North America, mainly in Canada (Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia). The company consists of the following elements: hydroelectricity production, wind and solar power production, the development and management of facilities. The company was founded on the demand of the Quebec authorities to create private companies, who would develop the hydro energy sector. Nowadays, it provides governmental organizations with renewable energy. Currently, Innergex manages 28 energy production facilities. Among them are 22 hydro plants, five wind plants, and one solar farm, with a joint capacity of 577 WW (“Sustainable Development Policy” 1).
The company’s mission is to expand the renewable energy production through the development and operation of their high-quality facilities, considering the need to preserve the environment and the necessity to balance the interests of the investors, partners, clients, and the host communities (“Sustainable Development Policy” 1).
To achieve a balance between balance these interests, the organization honors the following values: integrity – following clear and coherent principles; responsibility – the company is accountable to its stakeholders for the products, site management, successful implementation of the business plan, and objectives; transparency – Innergex provides its stakeholders with accurate, precise, and complete information; collaboration – Innergex actively interacts with the local communities, the First Nations, service providers, and state organizations (“Sustainable Development Policy” 1).
Innergex authorities state that the main goal of their policy is to develop sustainability, which consists of social development, economic development, and the preservation of the environment. While doing business, Innergex strives to balance the social, economic, and environmental factors. Innergex employees are committed to the business plan, which requires to fulfill all the necessary operations with the consideration of the need to maintain sustainability (“Sustainable Development Policy” 1).
Discussion on External Environment
To study the influence of external environment on Innergex Renewable Energy Inc, we identified five primary factors of this influence: the business environment in Canada, the level of technology development and innovation, the federation-province interactions, the conditions of the energy market in Canada, and the competitors of Innergex in the field of renewable energy.
The business environment in Canada
Canada’s economic conditions are among the most stable of the developed countries. The economy of the country is loyal to investment and international trading interactions. The conditions are favorable for businesses, especially considering the fact that corporate taxes are gradually decreasing. Due to a friendly immigration policy, the lack of the local labor force and skills is successfully overcome. After the 2008-2009 worldwide crisis, the economy is still in slight recession. However, the increase in consumption and reasonable monetary policy provides some support to the economy. Lately, the expenditures in energy have been cut, which entailed the weakening of investment. The Canadian economy is also experiencing a rapid drop in exportation. Interest rates are very low, which stimulates customers’ buying decisions (“Canada: Country Profile” par. 1; “Business Environment: Canada” par. 1).
The level of technology development and innovation
Canadian government devotes special attention to its technology development policies, especially in the field of energy production. In 2007, the federal authorities spent about 0.3% of Canadian GDP on research and development of nonnuclear energy technologies. The government has created The Program of Energy R&D (PERD), which funds the institutions that perform research on energetic technologies. Additionally, the government coordinates and provides support to provincial efforts and public-private partnership (Fertel et al. 1146).
The federation-province interactions
A 2013 research has proven that there is a lack of consistency between the energy strategy of the federal government and that of the provincial governments. In fact, there is no clearly stated national energy strategy apart from dependence on the market, which entails the lack of coherence. Moreover, a long-term strategy for resource management sustainability is absent. As a result, Canadian provinces are practically unable to control the exploitation of natural resources completely (Fertel et al. 1148).
The conditions of the energy market in Canada
The country possesses rich energy resources. It is self-sufficient in fuel, mainly gas and oil (National Energy Board 3). The energy consumption of the population is growing very slightly. It is predicted that by 2035, the energy consumption per unit will be 20% lower compared to the consumption in 2012. It means that Canadians will be using energy more efficiently (National Energy Board 26). In close future, Canada will have enough energy to make its exportation possible. Hydro energy is the primary source of electricity in Canada, making up 57% of the total capacity. The share of the other renewable energy sources (the wind, solar, and biomass power) is 5.5%. Hydroelectricity is an advantaged source of energy due to its low cost, flexibility, availability, stability, and environmental harmlessness (National Energy Board 70-71).
Competitors
Since the production of energy with the use of renewable sources is well-developed in Canada, Innergex has a lot of rivals. Among those of them, who receive higher revenue, are Brookfield Renewable, Northland Power Inc, TransAlta Renewabes Inc, and Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (“Innergex Renewable Energy Inc” table 1).
To adapt to the described business environment and to ensure success, Innergex has to develop organizational flexibility. The company should allocate resources for achieving a sufficient level of technical innovation to survive in the competition.
Ethics and Social Responsibility
As it can be seen on their website, Innergex states that people should have access to renewable energy and believes that the environmental conditions (climate in particular) can be changed to the better provided a suitable solution, part of which must is renewable energy. The company authorities support the means of the government related to the protection of the environment and promote the responsible use of the natural resources. Innergex also considers that there is a need in a clear framework containing the comprehensive regulations of the use of Canadian resources.
The sustainability policy of Innergex includes the achievement of a balance between the society, economy, and environment (“Sustainable Development Policy” 1). Additionally, the company states that its development projects are worked out on the basis of the interaction with the local communities and First Nations. As it is said, the objective of Innergex is to maintain transparent, respectful, and integral relationships with stakeholders and employees.
Innergex recognizes that its production facilities are built on the territory and depend on the will of First Nations and local communities. The company highly values social acceptability ad considers it a success when a community expresses a desire to develop a joint project. To maintain a close partnership with the communities and First Nations, Innergex shares information with them, notifies them about efforts and risks, and fairly distributes the benefits (“Society” par. 1-2).
Innergex additionally states that they consider HRM their long-term commitment and care about the health and safety of their employees. The company mentions its need in the hires, who share their strong work ethic, claiming to provide the new workers with fair wages and benefits (“Society” par. 4-5).
While the environmental issues are clearly addressed, we were left with questions about the employees. The company’s website did not contain any information on their efforts on promoting diversity and supporting minorities. In addition, the partnership with First Nations was explained in general expressions without precise statements.
Conclusions
In the course of working on this paper, we gained new knowledge on Innergex and its activities. We learned a lot about their potential, the way they ensure the preservation of the environment, and their place in the Canadian market of renewable energy.
Innergex is an energy-producing company, which uses the power of water, wind, and sun to generate energy. It was founded due to a necessity for Canadian provinces to be self-sufficient of energy. Innergex provides energy for governmental entities with its 28 production facilities. In the Canadian energy market, renewable energy is widely appreciated and holds a considerable share. Innergex is currently on a high level among the companies producing renewable energy: according to the latest data, it is on the seventh place (by revenue) among such companies nationwide. In future, Innergex will be able to gain even higher position due to its good reputation, especially related to the environmental problems.
Works Cited
Business Environment: Canada 2015. Web.
Canada: Country Profile 2015. Web.
Fertel, Camille, Olivier Bahn, Kathleen Vaillancourt and Jean-Philippe Waaub. “Canadian Energy and Climate Policies: A SWOT Analysis in Search of Federal/Provincial Coherence.” Energy Policy 63.1 (2013): 1139-1150. Print.
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc 2015. Web.
National Energy Board 2013, Canada’s Energy Future 2013: Energy Supply and Demand Projections to 2035. Web.
Society. n.d. Web.
Sustainable Development Policy 2015. Web.