PG&E Corporation has become the first California utility company, and one of only 15 Fortune 500 companies, selected to join Ceres, a leading national coalition of investment funds, environmental organizations, and other public interest groups working with companies to tackle environmental and social challenges such as climate change.
Companies selected for membership in Ceres commit to engage with shareholders and other stakeholders on sustainability issues, to report publicly on corporate responsibility issues, and to seek additional environmental and other performance improvements. Currently, the "Ceres companies" number more than 70 domestic and international firms.
In remarks at a Ceres conference in Oakland, Calif., PG&E Corp. Chairman, CEO and President Peter A. Darbee said that joining the coalition represents a logical step for the company.
"PG&E has a long track record of addressing long-term corporate responsibility challenges in a sustainable way," said Darbee. "From decades of leadership on energy efficiency to more recent examples of reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, we see a great fit between the way we do business and the principles Ceres companies stand for. We are honored to be a member."
In a
national air emissions report issued by Ceres and the Natural Resources Defense Council documenting trends for the largest 100 electricity producers, data showed that PG&E's carbon dioxide emissions were among the lowest in the industry, and its SO2 and NOx emissions were significantly below those of most other top energy producers.
"From energy efficiency to its leadership on the climate issue, PG&E has shown a commitment to the environment and other sustainability issues," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres. "We look forward to working with PG&E to build on its track record of engaging with investors and other stakeholder groups, as well as disclosure and transparency on environmental and social issues."
Over the past 30 years, PG&E's success in promoting energy efficiency has helped keep California's per capita electricity use essentially flat, which compares to a 50% increase in the rest of the county. PG&E was also the first company in the domestic utility industry to produce an environmental annual report, which was published in 1993. Ten years later, PG&E was one of the first utility companies to evolve its environmental report into a Corporate Responsibility Report.
More recently, the company became a charter member of the
California Climate Action Registry, and the first investor-owned utility in that program to develop and disclose a full inventory of all its greenhouse gas emissions.
