Sustainable Business Practices

Environmental Policy Statement and Principles 

SJI strives to be a leader in clean energy, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction. We believe protecting and sustaining the environment for future generations is a shared responsibility. As an energy company, we honor that responsibility by measuring our environmental impacts while making efforts to reduce or mitigate them. Most notably, we are committed to achieving carbon-neutrality by the year 2040. 

Environmental Principles

Our Environmental Principles explain the relationship between our daily operational activities and efforts to reduce our environmental impacts while maintaining compliance with all applicable environmental laws, regulations, and corporate policies. At SJI, we are committed to: 

• Sustainable business practices and designing our facilities to ensure we help protect the planet while minimizing the environmental risks to customers, employees, and the communities where we operate.
• Utilizing suppliers and contractors with the same high environmental standards.
• Continuous improvement of our environmental performance through employment of an Environmental Management System (EMS) that includes procedures training and periodic assessments specifically designed to minimize waste and the use of hazardous materials, energy, and other natural resources.
• Providing sufficient resources to drive positive outcomes, including energy solutions to achieve our environmental obligations.
• Reduction of climate change-driven risks and greenhouse gas emissions, through prudent, deliberate strategies to prevent pollution, minimize waste and mitigate adverse environmental impacts.
• Furthering our environmental stewardship through the development of the next generation of environmentally friendly energy technologies while aligning with regulatory agencies to develop scientific, fact-based environmental policies and regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental Key Focus Areas

The commitment to our environmental principles includes the following key strategies focused on meeting SJI’s sustainability goals:

• Climate-related Risks and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction:
  • SJI continuously evaluates the potential for decarbonizing our utilities and invests in clean energy technology that reflects our commitment to sustainability.
  • We focus on initiatives that 1) reduce energy consumption and emissions, 2) accelerate deployment of renewable energy, 3) educate customers on maximizing energy efficiency, and 4) modernize operations through technological innovations.
  • We are committed to continually responding to the growing attention to greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and achieving carbon-neutrality by the year 2040.
  • SJI plans to reach these benchmarks through infrastructure enhancements, clean energy investments, and increased energy efficiency and conservation programs.
• Environmental Protection: It is our priority to protect the environment and minimize impacts on the community and landowners. SJI selects pipeline construction routes that avoid environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, wildlife habitats and their associated buffer zones. SJI also works with landowners and others in the community to choose routes with the fewest impacts to property.
• Environmental Investigation, Remediation and Restoration: SJI oversees several long-inactive manufactured gas plants and sites owned by past or present subsidiary companies. SJI is committed to meeting its legal obligations to ensure that these sites are properly investigated and remediated and meet all environmental standards and regulations. When remediation of these sites is complete, we aspire to improve the surrounding community and help enhance public safety by restoring any disturbed infrastructure, curbs, sidewalks, pavement, and landscaped areas. Atsites where degraded or impacted wetland areas are part of the scope of remediation, our restoration efforts allow for a “better-than-existing” approach to the restoration. Frequently, these sites upon full restoration, develop a more ecologically enhanced habitat than areas that were once degraded or consisted of a monoculture plant population.
• Waste Minimization and Recycling: SJI works to minimize its waste production through source reduction, effective purchasing, chemical substitution, good housekeeping, and recycling.
• Water Disclosure: Our goal at SJI is to maintain compliance with all environmental regulations and minimize any water impacts because of our operations. SJI reduces water use through low flow or waterless restroom facilities and filtered water stations that help reduce waste from discarded plastic water bottles.
• Environmentally-friendly Workplace: As SJI continues to grow and expand, we constantly look for ways to minimize our environmental footprint with recycling programs, following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and processes, installing efficient HVAC equipment in newer and renovated offices, utilizing janitorial services that use green chemical products whenever possible, and using a cafeteria vendor that sources food products with a focus on reducing their carbon footprint.

Emissions Reduced from Excess Flow Valve Installation

To further support SJI’s emission reduction goals as of the end of 2020, SJI has 291,298 excess flow valves installed across our utilities, representing 50% of the total services in our pipeline system. Based on the EPA’s Natural Gas Star Program Partner Reported Opportunities for Reducing Methane Emissions, the estimated annual methane emission reductions are equal to 160 Mcf per installation of 350 Excess Flow Valves. This equates to a methane emissions reduction of 133,165 Mcf for SJI.  

Emissions Reduced during Natural Gas Blowdown Events

Beginning in 2019, SJG and ETG implemented blowdown gas recovery initiatives by shortening line segments to be blown down using pressure control fittings and/or routing gas to a lower pressure system to reduce system pressure prior to maintenance.  Using this approach, in 2020 SJI realized a 61% reduction in distribution and transmission pipeline blowdown events compared to what would have been released using older, less efficient methods.

Waste Minimization and Recycling Program

SJI minimizes its waste production through source reduction, effective purchasing, chemical substitution, good housekeeping and recycling when possible. SJI is proud of its recycling of asphalt, concrete, used oil, inefficient lighting lamps and blasts, contaminated soils, wood waste and more. In 2020, SJI recycled 588 tons of business-related pipeline construction and division/office location debris, which was 54% of total waste information available at the time of the report. At SJI, we manage necessary waste disposal responsibly and we schedule frequent disposal pick-ups with waste disposal contractors.

Environmental Investigation and Remediation

During the 1800s, manufactured gas was produced from materials such as coal and oil at manufactured gas plants. SJI oversees several long-inactive plants and sites owned by past or present subsidiary companies.

SJI is committed to meeting its legal obligations to ensure that these sites are properly investigated and remediated and meet all environmental standards and regulations.

As a result, in 2020 SJI has worked to meet its responsibilities with respect to 18 sites that required investigation or remediation. When remediation of these sites is complete, we often have the opportunity to improve the surrounding community and help enhance public safety by restoring any disturbed infrastructure, curbs, sidewalks, pavement and landscaped areas.  Additionally, at our remediation sites where degraded or impacted wetland areas are part of the scope of remediation, our restoration efforts allow for a “better-than-existing” approach to the restoration. We can leave behind a more ecologically diverse habitat in areas that were once degraded or monocultural with regard to the plant population.

Building an Environmentally-Friendly Workplace

As SJI continues to grow and expand, we constantly look for opportunities to minimize our environmental footprint, including in our workplaces. In 2020, we made efforts at our facilities across New Jersey to reduce our environmental footprint with measures such as:

• All of our SJI facilities have implemented comprehensive recycling programs.
• Our South Jersey Gas Headquarters follows the rigorous Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and processes, including the implementation of high-efficiency LED lighting with occupancy sensors, automated window shades with connectivity to the HVAC system, waterless men’s restroom facilities, air hand dryers in all restroom facilities and filtered water stations that helped reduce the waste from discarded plastic water bottles.
• Our newly renovated Folsom office now includes motion sensor lighting controls (with high efficiency LED fixtures) and more efficient HVAC equipment.
• Our janitorial services use green chemical products and recycled materials whenever possible.
• The cafeteria vendor for our new South Jersey Gas Headquarters sources food products with a focus on reducing their carbon footprint.

Water Disclosure

SJI has already implemented water use reduction methods through low flow or waterless restroom facilities and filtered water stations that helped reduce the waste from discarded plastic water bottles.  Based on SJI’s current operations, water is not considered a material issue, which is the same for our utilities. Our goal at SJI is to maintain compliance with all environmental regulations and minimize any water impacts as a result of our operations.