Avangrid releases 2021 sustainability report, highlights $2.2B investment in improved energy system

Avangrid released its 2021 Sustainability Report, which documents the renewable energy company’s progress toward meeting its environmental, social, governance and financial (ESG+F) stewardship goals.

Among the report’s highlights, titled Accelerating Transformation, Avangrid invested $2.2 billion to build a more reliable, resilient energy system that will support the clean energy future. It also invested more than $90 million in innovation projects, such as its substation automation program, grid analytics big data roadmap, and robotic process automations for customer service. Further, Avangrid Renewables began construction on Vineyard Wind 1, the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. It was also awarded the largest offshore wind project in New England — Commonwealth Wind — which, upon completion, will deliver 1.23 GW of clean capacity to customers.

In addition, Avangrid established a new sustainability organization led by the company’s new chief sustainability officer. It also expanded several programs to support employees and their families, including new Paid Parental Leave Policy, mental health resources, and fertility and family-forming care and coverage.

“We take great pride in our ESG+F leadership, and it is a part of everything we do,” Laney Brown, vice president of sustainability at Avangrid, said. “This report reflects the culmination of our sustainability efforts and leadership during 2021, our continued work to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future, and our push to achieve our company’s bold and visionary climate and social impact goals. We’re proud of what we accomplished in 2021 and will continue to evolve and accelerate our commitments.”

Additionally, Avangrid was recognized by JUST Capital on its 2021 JUST 100 List, a list of America’s best corporate citizens, and by Ethisphere as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies.

The report also outlines Avangrid’s ESG goals, which include achieving scope 1 carbon neutrality by 2035, increasing installed renewable energy capacity by 100 percent by 2025 (compared to 2015), achieving full gender parity for women in senior leadership roles by 2030, and reaching 35,000 employee volunteer hours in 2025.