2025 Environmental Stewardship Awards
These are awarded for superior performance in the operation/maintenance of the gas infrastructure leading towards a lower emission future.
Operating Practices
An award recognizing superior performance in the building, operating and/or maintenance of gaseous energy infrastructure including methodologies and techniques that can be shared industry-wide to help nationally in the preservation of Canada’s air, land and aquatic resources.
Recipient:
- Morgan Redmond, Braden Kowalyk and Darlene Cox, Apex Utilities Inc.
Use of Drawdown Compressors – Pincher Creek HP Installation
In 2025, Apex Utilities Inc. (AUI) used a drawdown compressor during a 7.8 km high-pressure pipeline replacement project near Pincher Creek, Alberta, to reduce emissions associated with pipeline decommissioning. Rather than using traditional flaring or venting methods, the project team recompressed and reinjected natural gas into the active pipeline system, preventing approximately 20,500 scf of natural gas from being released into the atmosphere.
Implementing this approach required coordination across multiple teams to ensure the work was completed safely, efficiently, and without impacts to customers. While drawdown compressors are an established technology, their use represented a new practice for AUI and reflected the company’s commitment to evaluating environmentally responsible alternatives for its operations.
The project was completed on schedule and demonstrated how operational innovation can deliver measurable emissions reductions while maintaining safety and reliability. By challenging traditional practices and adopting a more sustainable solution, AUI established a model that may be applied to future pipeline replacement projects.
Innovation in Emissions Reductions
An award that would recognize superior performance in the reduction of overall emissions through increased efficiency in every-day downstream usage applications, the development and introduction of new innovative technologies for end-use, the role of gaseous energy in replacing other, higher emitting fuels in non-traditional areas and/or addressing fugitive or operationalized methane emissions both upstream and downstream of the traditional measurement meter.
Recipient:
- Apex Utilities Inc.
Emission Reduction Journey
Apex Utilities Inc. (AUI) has implemented a comprehensive emissions reduction strategy focused on methane mitigation, infrastructure modernization, operational efficiency, and innovative low-carbon technologies. Since 2022, AUI has reduced combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 14.8%, including a 14.5% reduction in Scope 1 emissions and a 31.1% reduction in Scope 2 emissions. Annual reductions accelerated over the period, reaching 8.8% in 2025 while maintaining safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas service.
Key initiatives included optimizing line-heater combustion systems, reducing third-party pipeline strikes, replacing aging infrastructure, expanding direct emissions measurement programs, increasing use of hybrid vehicles, and installing solar photovoltaic systems at office locations. AUI also advanced a pneumatic controller replacement program and utilized drawdown compressor technology to recover natural gas that would otherwise have been vented during construction activities.
To support future emissions reductions, AUI piloted innovative technologies including natural gas heat pumps and advanced energy management systems, while evaluating opportunities for renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen. Customer-facing demonstrations showed measurable building efficiency and emissions improvements. By combining operational improvements, infrastructure investments, emissions measurement, and emerging technology pilots, AUI developed an integrated approach that delivers measurable emissions reductions today while supporting long-term innovation across its operations and customer base.
Notable nominee:
- Ole Yin, TC Energy