ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
Company earned a score of A- from the CDP for its environmental
transparency and leadership within the North America region and electric utilities
sector. 2021 marked the second consecutive year Southern Company
received an A-, up from a B in 2019.
The CDP, formally the Carbon Disclosure Project, is a global
nonprofit that releases annual scores to incentivize and guide
companies and municipalities in becoming leaders in environmental
transparency and action. By completing CDP's annual request
for climate change disclosure, Southern Company is
demonstrating the transparency and accountability vital to tracking
progress toward a thriving, sustainable future.
"As Southern Company works to achieve a net zero carbon future,
we remain committed to our core principles of providing clean,
safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers and
communities. We are also committed to being transparent in this
process and in how we plan for the future," said Jeff Burleson, Southern Company senior vice
president, environmental and system planning. "We are pleased
our 2021 score of A- once again places Southern Company among
the top companies utilizing
current best practices in climate disclosure."
In Southern Company's 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% by 2030, as compared to 2007
levels. Southern Company expects to consistently
achieve GHG reductions of greater than 50% by 2025, a full five
years earlier than its 2030 goal.
Southern Company also issued the 2019/2020 Corporate
Responsibility Executive Summary last year, highlighting key areas
of interest to help stakeholders access environmental, social and
governance disclosures and other information on topics like GHG
emissions and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is
a leading energy company serving 9 million customers through its
subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and
affordable energy through electric operating companies in three
states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a
competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across
America, a leading distributed energy infrastructure company, a
fiber optics network and telecommunications services. Southern
Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high
reliability and affordable prices below the national average. For
more than a century, we have been building the future of energy and
developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including
carbon-free nuclear, advanced carbon capture technologies, natural
gas, renewables, energy efficiency and storage technology. Through
an industry-leading commitment to innovation and a low-carbon
future, Southern Company and its subsidiaries develop the
customized energy solutions our customers and communities require
to drive growth and prosperity. Our uncompromising values ensure we
put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do
and govern our business to the benefit of our world. Our corporate
culture and hiring practices have been recognized nationally by the
U.S. Department of Defense, G.I. Jobs magazine, DiversityInc, Black
Enterprise, Forbes and the Women's Choice Award. To learn more,
visit southerncompany.com/.
About CDP
CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world's environmental
disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions.
Founded in 2000 and working with more than 590 investors with over
$110 trillion in assets and over 200
purchasers with $US5.5 trillion in
buying power, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate
procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental
impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water
resources and protect forests.
Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data
through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth
over 64% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities,
states and regions. Fully TCFD-aligned, CDP holds the largest
environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used
to drive investment and procurement decisions toward a net-zero,
sustainable and resilient economy. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP
to find out more.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain information contained in this
presentation is forward–looking information based on current
expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties.
Forward–looking information includes, among other things,
statements concerning expected achievement of emission reduction
goals. Southern Company cautions that there are certain factors
that can cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward–looking information that has been provided. The reader is
cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward–looking
information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is
subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of
which are outside the control of Southern Company and its
subsidiaries; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such
suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in
addition to those discussed in Southern Company's Annual Report on
Form 10–K for the year ended December 31,
2020, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended
March 31, 2021, June 30, 3031 and September 30, 2021 and subsequent securities
filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from
management expectations as suggested by such forward–looking
information: the impact of recent and future federal and state
regulatory changes, including tax, environmental and other
laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries
are subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws and
regulations; the potential effects of the continued COVID-19
pandemic; the extent and timing of costs and legal requirements
related to coal combustion residuals; current and future litigation
or regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries, including
litigation and other disputes related to the Kemper County energy
facility; the effects, extent, and timing of the entry of
additional competition in the markets in which Southern Company's
subsidiaries operate, including from the development and deployment
of alternative energy sources; variations in demand for electricity
and natural gas; available sources and costs of natural gas and
other fuels; the ability to complete necessary or desirable
pipeline expansion or infrastructure projects, limits on pipeline
capacity, and operational interruptions to natural gas distribution
and transmission activities; transmission constraints; effects of
inflation; the ability to control costs and avoid cost and schedule
overruns during the development, construction, and operation of
facilities or other projects; legal proceedings and regulatory
approvals and actions related to construction projects, such as
Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 and Plant Barry Unit 8, including Public
Service Commission approvals and Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission actions; under certain
specified circumstances, a decision by holders of more than 10% of
the ownership interests of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 not to
proceed with construction, and the ability of other Vogtle owners
to tender a portion of their ownership interests to Georgia Power
following certain construction cost increases; in the event Georgia
Power becomes obligated to provide funding to Municipal Electric
Authority of Georgia ("MEAG") with
respect to the portion of MEAG's ownership interest in Plant Vogtle
Units 3 and 4 involving Jacksonville Electric Authority, any
inability of Georgia Power to receive repayment of such funding;
the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the
requirements of permits and licenses (including satisfaction of NRC
requirements), to satisfy any environmental performance standards
and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to
integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon
completion of construction; advances in technology, including the
pace and extent of development of low- to no-carbon energy
technologies and negative carbon concepts; performance of
counterparties under ongoing renewable energy partnerships and
development agreements; state and federal rate regulations and the
impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including
rate actions relating to return on equity, equity ratios,
additional generating capacity and fuel and other cost recovery
mechanisms; the ability to successfully operate the electric
utilities' generating, transmission, and distribution facilities
and Southern Company Gas' natural gas distribution and storage
facilities and the successful performance of necessary corporate
functions; the inherent risks involved in operating and
constructing nuclear generating facilities; the inherent risks
involved in transporting and storing natural gas; the performance
of projects undertaken by the non-utility businesses and the
success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities;
internal restructuring or other restructuring options that may be
pursued; potential business strategies, including acquisitions or
dispositions of assets or businesses, which cannot be assured to be
completed or beneficial to Southern Company or its subsidiaries;
the ability of counterparties of Southern Company and its
subsidiaries to make payments as and when due and to perform as
required; the ability to obtain new short- and long-term contracts
with wholesale customers; the direct or indirect effect on the
Southern Company system's business resulting from cyber intrusion
or physical attack and the threat of physical attacks; interest
rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the results
of financing efforts; access to capital markets and other financing
sources; changes in Southern Company's and any of its subsidiaries'
credit ratings; changes in the method of determining LIBOR or the
replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate; the
ability of Southern Company's electric utilities to obtain
additional generating capacity (or sell excess generating capacity)
at competitive prices; catastrophic events such as fires,
earthquakes, explosions, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other
storms, droughts, pandemic health events, political unrest or other
similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on the Southern
Company system's business resulting from incidents affecting the
U.S. electric grid, natural gas pipeline infrastructure, or
operation of generating or storage resources; impairments of
goodwill or long-lived assets; and the effect of accounting
pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies.
Southern Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any
forward–looking information.
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SOURCE Southern Company