Corporate responsibility report released by Southern Company

To help stakeholders access its environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures, the Southern Company on Monday released an executive summary that also highlights its emissions-reductions plan and reaffirms its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“Since our inception more than a century ago, Southern Company and its operating companies have prioritized these important topics — responsibility, sustainability, commitment to community and transparency — in how we operate our business,” said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Tom Fanning. “We have long believed corporate responsibility and corporate strategy are inextricably linked.”

Southern Company serves 9 million customers through its electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America, and a leading distributed energy infrastructure company. The head company also has a fiber-optics network and provides telecommunications services.

The newly released 2019/2020 Corporate Responsibility Executive Summary serves as a roadmap for stakeholders to access ESG disclosures available on the company’s website, including subject-specific reports, according to Fanning’s CEO message.

“Based on feedback from investors and others, we are working to migrate our reporting on corporate responsibility topics toward a web-based approach in 2022, with the aim of further enhancing transparency and accessibility,” wrote Fanning. 

For example, in its most recent in-depth climate report, Implementation and Action Toward Net Zero, Southern Company set a long-term goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and reaffirmed its interim goal of reducing GHG emissions 50 percent by 2030, as compared to 2007 levels, according to the summary.

“For 2020, we reported that we reduced emissions 52 percent and expect to consistently achieve GHG reductions of greater than 50 percent by 2025, a full five years earlier than our 2030 goal,” wrote Fanning, who pointed out that he thinks the goal is reachable regardless of how much emissions reductions may fluctuate in the next few years depending on demand, weather and other factors.

Fanning also noted that Southern Company remains accountable to its customers and stakeholders as it develops generation, transmission, distribution, fuel and sales strategies to reduce GHG emissions while also maintaining reliability and affordability. 

“Southern Company will continue to work with policymakers at both the state and federal levels as we seek to balance these important factors,” he wrote.

Also in the executive summary, Southern Company reaffirmed its commitment to DEI, noting that its subsidiaries and charitable foundations have pledged $200 million over five years to advance racial equity and social justice in its communities. 

This includes investing $50 million in historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within Southern Company’s service territory and partnering with Apple Inc. to launch the Propel Center, a new digital learning hub and business incubator in Atlanta for HBCU students, according to the summary. 

“Southern Company has formalized commitments and actions toward preventing racism, and I pledge that this work will not be episodic but rather will continue and become reflected in Our Values that we live each and every day,” Fanning wrote in the executive summary.

Additionally, the utility company reaffirmed its goal to increase minority business enterprise spending to 20 percent and total diverse spending to 30 percent by 2025 and plans to continue developing and doing business with more black-owned businesses, according to Fanning.