Southern Company Continues To Receive High Marks for Environmental Transparency

Jan 10, 2023 1:25 PM ET

For the third consecutive year, Southern Company earned a score of A- for its 2022 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, demonstrating leadership for the North American region and thermal power generation sector. The score is at the Leadership level, recognizing the company demonstrates “best practice in strategy and action” relative to key disclosure frameworks.

CDP, a global nonprofit, manages an environmental disclosure system for companies and municipalities. Southern Company values the CDP Climate Change Disclosure as one avenue for engaging with stakeholders, providing transparency around the Company’s strategy and progress toward its greenhouse gas reduction goal of net zero emissions by 2050. By completing CDP’s annual request for climate change disclosure, Southern Company is demonstrating the accountability vital to tracking progress toward a thriving, sustainable future.

"Southern Company consistently demonstrates its commitment to stakeholder engagement through comprehensive data disclosure, in-depth reports and direct communication through a variety of formats,” said Tom Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. “Our A- score from CDP, particularly considering enhanced disclosure requirements by CDP this year, is indicative of this commitment."

Highlights of Southern Company’s 2022 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, which is based on 2021 data, include:

  • Reporting all major sources of greenhouse emissions for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. The Company’s Scope 3 emissions reporting was expanded in 2022 to include additional categories and contributions to previously reported categories, such that all relevant Scope 3 emissions are now disclosed.
  • Third-party limited assurance of the 2020 and 2021 Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions data.
  • Disclosure of revenue share associated with no- and low-carbon generation for electric operations.
  • Description of analysis of physical and transition-related climate risks included in ongoing planning processes as part of Southern Company’s net zero transition plan.
  • Response to CDP’s new module on biodiversity, reflecting the company’s commitment to natural resources stewardship and conservation efforts.

Please visit the Southern Company’s website for additional sustainability data, downloads and reports.

About CDP

CDP is a global environmental impact non-profit, providing a platform for companies, cities, states and regions to report information on their climate, deforestation and water security impacts. CDP was founded in 2000 with the ambition of transforming capital markets by making environmental reporting and risk management a new business norm. When CDP launched the concept of environmental disclosure in 2002, it had just 35 investors signing its request for climate information, and 245 companies responding. Today more than 18,700 of the world’s largest companies, representing half of global market capitalization, disclose information on climate change, deforestation and water security through CDP. They do so at the request of over 680 financial institutions with over US$130 trillion in assets, and over 280 major purchasers with over US$6.4 trillion in procurement spend. Visit www.cdp.net to find out more.