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Our Values

Our Values and Code of Ethics

How we do our work is just as important as what we do. Our uncompromising values and ethics are key to our sustained success. They guide our behavior and ensure we put the needs of those we serve at the center of all we do.

  • Safety First: We believe the safety of our employees and customers is paramount. We will perform and maintain every job, every day, safely.
  • Unquestionable Trust: Honesty, respect, fairness and integrity drive our behavior. We keep our promises and ethical behavior is our standard.
  • Superior Performance: We are dedicated to superior performance throughout our business. We will continue our strong focus on innovative solutions, improving how we run our business and our commitment to environmental stewardship.
  • Total Commitment: We are committed to the success of our employees, our customers, our shareholders and our communities. We fully embrace, respect and value our differences and diversity.

Our Code of Ethics is more than just policy and legal compliance. It means taking personal responsibility for our work and speaking out when witnessing a possible code violation. Our Code of Ethics makes Our Values come to life in the work we do every day. It applies to all employees, officers and board members of Southern Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and it reminds us that how we do our jobs is meaningful. Our Code of Ethics encourages us to be positive role models and to support the values and behaviors that make Southern Company a great employer, business partner and community member. We also contractually require our trusted suppliers to agree to compliance principles to help ensure ethical behavior applies to every part of our business.

Safety First

At Southern Company, safety is a core value throughout our system, and we realize that people are the power behind a safe workplace. We value the health, safety, well-being and security of our employees, customers, contractors and communities, and we will not compromise an individual's well-being for any reason. Safety First is our No. 1 value, and our goal is to complete “every day, every job, safely.” Southern Company sustains a world-class safety and well-being culture through employee involvement and management commitment. We demonstrate Safety First by focusing on safety risk mitigation, meeting and exceeding applicable laws and regulations, and investing in research and cutting-edge safety technologies and processes. 

Key safety metrics can be found in our ESG Data Table. 

Our Safety and Health Policy

Southern Company’s Safety Policy is available and communicated to all employees and relevant external stakeholders, including contractors, suppliers, vendors, interns/co-ops, leased workers and temporary employees.

Southern Company Safety and Health Policy

At Southern Company, we realize people are the power behind a safe workplace. Working safely is a shared core value of the company that guides decision making and actions in everything we do. We actively care and value the health, safety, well-being, and security of our employees, customers, contractors, and communities and will not compromise an individual’s well-being for any reason.

Southern Company will sustain a world-class safety and well-being culture through employee involvement and management commitment. We will demonstrate safety first by meeting and exceeding applicable laws and regulations and continually improve by investing in research and cutting-edge safety technologies and processes. 

We know safety is an ongoing process, necessary in every facet of business planning and daily decision making. Our target is excellence, and to achieve this, we pursue and sustain high standards, establish stretch goals, embrace benchmarking, and aggressively identify and close gaps in performance. We are the people who power safety.

Safety and Health Management System

One prime example of Southern Company’s Safety First core value is our implementation and maintenance of a safety and health management system (SHMS). Our SHMS is a process for continuous safety improvement that includes 24 interconnected sections spanning all parts of the business. It follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act model that provides a routine and thorough review of the business to identify gaps and risks before an unwanted event occurs. Not only does our SHMS create a safer work environment, but it also reduces costs, demonstrates legal compliance, enhances company reputation and provides a sustainable process.

In addition to our SHMS, we also have a Safety and Health Council that provides strategic safety and health guidance to Southern Company management and business units.

Kim Greene, Southern Company Gas Chairman, President & CEO, Receives EEI Inaugural Thomas F. Farrell, II Safety Leadership and Innovation Award

In January 2022, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) presented the inaugural Thomas F. Farrell, II Safety Leadership and Innovation Award in the Member Company Executive category to Southern Company Gas Chairman, President & CEO Kim Greene. The Thomas F. Farrell, II Safety Leadership and Innovation Award, named after former Dominion Energy Chairman, President & CEO Tom Farrell, recognizes the contributions of leadership and innovation to the advancement of safety in the energy industry. Recipients of the award are selected by a panel consisting of leadership from the labor, contractor and academic communities; regulatory agencies; and EEI senior leadership.

Greene, who is the first chairman of EEI’s CEO Task Force on Safety, was specifically recognized for leading industry efforts on transforming the approach to serious injury and fatality prevention. Her continued leadership in this area will shape the future of our industry for years to come.

For more information, please see this EEI Press Release.