The theme of the 1997 Toronto e7 Summit, with Ontario Hydro as hosts, was “Sustainable Energy Development – Industry Focus in a Period of Transition”. At this Summit, the e7 Chairs identified areas where Sustainable Energy Development practices could be transferred to developing countries. During the year, a Sustainable Energy Development best practices web site was unveiled, detailing submissions from electric utilities from nineteen countries. In addition, for the 1997 Rio+5 Conference in Brasil, Ontario Hydro led the preparation of the e7 and Sustainable Energy Development: The Power of Action document and organised a workshop entitled “The Power of Positive Results: Sharing the Experience”, which brought together twenty-one world-wide utilities to discuss examples of SED practices.
At this Summit the e7 Chairs also signed the e7 Constitution, detailing the Mission, Objectives and Vision of the e7.
Major global environmental and social issues that affect the electric utility industry are considered to be the top priorities of the e8.
The issues of sustainable development, climate change, social trust, and internationalisation are the focus of the e8's actions.