NRG Powers Global Sustainability with Innovation and Transparency

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – In 2016, the number of Fortune 500 companies committing to 100 percent renewable power grew to 87. For the first time in history, natural gas surpassed coal as the leading source of power in the US, and solar became the cheapest source of new power in many parts of the world.

As the energy industry continues to evolve towards a sustainable future, NRG is leading from the front to provide reliable, affordable and cleaner power, while creating value for all stakeholders. NRG has now published its 2016 Sustainability report that highlights a number of firsts for the company in the US power industry.

According to the report, NRG is:

• First US-based power producer to participate in CDP’s Supply Chain Engagement Program
• First US-based power producer to join the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Gold Community and Standards Pioneers Program
• First US-based power producer to publish a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) table along with the sustainability report
• First US-based power producer to sign on to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles

NRG has also announced new, additional sustainability goals, which include 40 percent reduction in water use by 2030, 30 percent increase in recycling rate of coal combustion residuals by 2022, helping customers avoid 120 Million Mt CO2e emissions by 2020, and 25 percent reduction in supply chain carbon and water intensity by 2025.

Governance

To further integrate sustainability into its business, NRG has set up a robust system of governance and information gathering to help it determine where to make changes, how to manage priorities and how to engage investors and stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement

In 2016, NRG became a member of Ceres, a nonprofit whose mission is to “mobilize investor and business leadership to build a thriving, sustainable, global economy.” With Ceres, NRG has established a formal Stakeholder Advisory body to help strengthen relationships with key stakeholders.

Renewables

In 2016, NRG acquired 1,637 MW of utility-scale solar and wind projects and 107 MW of distributed generation and community solar projects currently under development or in operation in 12 states. Apart from assets in operation, at year’s end the company held a backlog of projects of 543 MW and a pipeline of 3,268 MW across the utility-scale and distributed solar markets.

GHG Emissions

From 2015 to 2016, NRG’s CO2e scope 1 emissions from generation decreased from 86 million metric tons to 66 million metric tons, a reduction of 23 percent.

Water

In 2016, NRG reduced water withdrawal from the previous year by 23 percent (2.392 million cubic meters) through plant efficiencies, water management strategies and a net decrease in generation at coal plants due to market conditions.

Safety

In 2016, NRG honored its safety commitment to stay well below the industry average incident rate by registering its second-best year-end incident rate (0.62).

Source: 3BL Media