American Water Publishes Second Biennial Corporate Responsibility Report
American Water Publishes Second Biennial Corporate Responsibility Report
VOORHEES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYS: AWK) , the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced today it has issued its second biennial corporate responsibility report, covering performance for the 2011 and 2012 fiscal years.
"Providing our customers with high-quality water and wastewater service is our top priority, and this report demonstrates American Water's commitment to ensure the sustainability of our operations to meet current and future demands," said Jeff Sterba, president and CEO of American Water. "From reducing greenhouse gas emissions to enhancing customer service and employee engagement, we are focused on conducting business responsibly and delivering sustainable value to our customers, shareholders and the communities we serve."
American Water's second biennial report is set against the Global Reporting Index (GRI) guidelines. The GRI G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines include GRI's Reporting Principles of materiality, sustainability context, stakeholder inclusiveness and completeness. The report is self-declared at GRI Application Level B.
The internally audited report contains detailed performance data. Some of the key accomplishments in the report include the following:
American Water reduced GHG emissions by 16.7 percent from its 2007 base year to 2012. GHG emissions intensity dropped 5.3 percent over the same period.
In addition, the company's Innovation Development Program examined over 400 technologies to date, and is actively pursuing a number of these innovations through partnerships.
The percentage of customers who indicated they were extremely satisfied with American Water increased approximately 10 percent from 2011 to 2012. On the service quality side, the percentage of customers who indicated they were extremely satisfied with service quality improved approximately 7 percent from 2011 to 2012.
To better serve customers, the company introduced a near real-time payment platform that integrates payment receipt information with pending service orders to both reduce costs and unnecessary communication. American Water's Customer Service Center received two industry awards for successfully leveraging technology to improve customer service.
California American Water received final approval to move forward with the largest dam removal project in California history to further restore the Carmel River, improving river flows and helping to restore biodiversity.
American Water's Environmental Grant Program offers funds for innovative, community-based environmental projects through partnerships. In 2012, a total of 48 projects throughout American Water's service areas in 10 states were awarded funding to improve, restore, or protect community water supplies and watersheds.
In 2011, American Water held its first AmerICANs in Action! Month, designed to foster community service among employees and encourage them to volunteer in communities. More than 800 employees, family members, and friends took part the first year, and participation increased by 12.5 percent in 2012.
In 2011, the company launched the American Water Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization created to help support American Water employees in their own charitable endeavors, and provide targeted assistance for disaster relief efforts.
The full report can be found on the company's Web site at the following URL: http://www.amwater.com/CRReport. Visitors are encouraged to share ideas on how American Water can improve upon our corporate responsibility progress and performance by contacting us at aw.corporateresponsibility@amwater.com.
About GRI
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organization that pioneered the world's most widely used sustainability reporting framework. GRI is committed to the Framework's continuous improvement and application worldwide. GRI's core goals include the mainstreaming of disclosure on environmental, social and governance performance. GRI's Reporting Framework is developed through a consensus-seeking, multi-stakeholder process. Participants are drawn from global business, civil society, labor, academic and professional institutions. For more information, visit www.globalreporting.org.
About American Water
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs approximately 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for American Water.
American Water Works Company, Inc.
Denise Venuti Free
External Communications Manager
856-309-4690
denise.free@amwater.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America New Jersey
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article American Water Publishes Second Biennial Corporate Responsibility Report originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
