Southern Company gets high marks for environmental transparency

Company earns A- from CDP Climate Change Disclosure for second consecutive year

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 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.