NorthWestern incorporates EEI environment, social, governance, and sustainability template into sustainability reporting

Published on January 14, 2019 by Kevin Randolph

NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy said recently that it has incorporated the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) environmental, social, governance, and sustainability-related (ESG/sustainability) reporting template into its annual reporting.

The template is part of an ongoing EEI-led initiative to provide the financial sector with more uniform and consistent ESG/sustainability data and information. The EEI ESG template is the first and only industry-focused and investor-driven ESG reporting framework. It encourages voluntary reporting of data specific to each company’s portfolio, emissions, capital expenditures, and resources.

“We have assembled a diverse set of generation assets over the last decade that is nearly 60% carbon-free company-wide, and in Montana is built around the run-of-the-river hydro system,” NorthWestern President and CEO Bob Rowe said. “This, along with a corporate governance program focused on best practices and industry-leading gender diversity among both the board and executive team, are subjects that are important to communicate to the investment community through our reporting program.”

NorthWestern participated in an EEI working group comprised of financial industry specialists in asset management, ESG/sustainability, investment analysts and electric company officials from various disciplines to develop industry-focused and investor-driven ESG/sustainability reporting practices. EEI-led stakeholder working groups developed the template developed the template over the past two years.

“The electric power industry is leading the way to a clean energy future, having reduced carbon dioxide emissions nearly 27 percent below 2005 levels as of the end of 2017,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “EEI’s ESG/sustainability template will enable NorthWestern to present its ESG and sustainability-related efforts in an accurate, timely, and concise manner that is favored by investors.”