Edison Electric Institute launches pilot environmental, social, governance and sustainability reporting template

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) launched Monday a pilot environmental, social, governance, and sustainability-related (ESG/sustainability) reporting template in an effort to create more consistency in the ESG/sustainability data electric companies provide to investors.

“EEI’s member companies are committed to a clean and affordable energy future, and our industry is leading the way in emissions reductions, having cut carbon dioxide emissions 25 percent below 2005 levels as of the end of 2016,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “In an effort to become a model industry for ESG/sustainability reporting, EEI has been working closely with our large investors and financial institutions to better understand their informational needs regarding reporting metrics.”

EEI developed the template over the last 18 months along with a working group made up of institutional investors and electric company officials from various disciplines.

“We expect that the template, created through a thoughtful and inclusive process, will be a useful tool to provide consistent data and information, which will help the financial community as it evaluates companies in the industry,” Caren Byrd, managing director of Morgan Stanley’s investment banking division, said.

The electric companies participating in the pilot will publish their 2016 data in the next few weeks. EEI plans to make the first version of the template available for voluntary use by member companies in mid-2018.