ORANGE, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced today that Laney Brown, vice president of sustainability at AVANGRID was recognized by Constellation Research on its 2023 ESG50, an elite list of the top environmental, social, and governance executives championing pragmatic ESG strategies.
“Sustainability is a part of our DNA at AVANGRID, and we’re fortunate to have someone as passionate as Laney to lead our efforts,” said Pedro Azagra, AVANGRID CEO. “Laney has worked across the energy industry in innovation, customer service, renewables, policy and more. This experience and her passion help drive us forward toward our goals and keep us on the leading edge of sustainability. Our work, in partnership with the Iberdrola Group, will help build a clean energy future for all.”
The ESG50 recognizes the world’s most influential executives across a variety of industries, including energy, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, higher education, pharmaceuticals, public sector, retail, and sports, to name a few.
As vice president of sustainability, Brown leads AVANGRID’s ESG+F strategy and coordination, supporting the company’s commitment to taking comprehensive action on all aspects of sustainability. She also oversees the company’s corporate citizenship strategy through her role as president of the Avangrid Foundation board. Brown has twenty years of experience in both the regulated and unregulated energy sector including, most recently, leading the start-up of a new retail renewable energy business and leading efforts to develop strategies to support the energy transition. She also served on the U.S. Department of Energy's Electricity Advisor Committee for five years.
“I feel incredibly privileged to represent AVANGRID’s sustainability organization,” said Brown. “Working in the energy industry, particularly at AVANGRID, provides an opportunity to make a difference. We’ve been a sustainability leader since 2017 and continue to make ambitious commitments to move us forward. It’s an honor to work on these goals daily with teams across our company to support a clean energy future.”
Earlier this week, AVANGRID released its 2022 Sustainability Report and announced it is on track to meet its ambitious ESG+F goals, indicated in the report by demonstration of clear progress in 2022 and current actions underway to support achieving its goals. AVANGRID’s industry-leading ESG goals include 2030 carbon neutrality targets for scopes 1 and 2 and reaching 16.9 GW emissions-free installed capacity by 2030. The company has earned numerous recognitions for its ESG+F efforts, including being named among the world’s most sustainable companies by S&P Global for two consecutive years, being named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies for five consecutive years and being included in the FTSE4Good Index Series for five consecutive years.
“When organizations view ESG from a culture of abundance instead of a culture of scarcity, their leaders can deliver on amazing innovations for all stakeholders,” proclaimed R “Ray” Wang, founder and CEO at Constellation Research. "Those on this year’s ESG50 understand how hard it is and how important it is to balance both the bottom line and their ESG objectives.”
Nominations from peers, industry influencers, technology vendors and analysts power the selection process each year. The selected executives enjoy substantive benefits and a private VIP invitation for membership to the Constellation Executive Network. Each executive demonstrates proficiency in establishing and building new business models, implementing emerging technologies and leading in an ethical and humane manner.
“Our selection process began with a public nomination process and suggestions from past ESG50 recipients and our network of business leaders,” said Doug Henschen, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research. “In addition, we have scoured company announcements and cross-referenced myriad publicly available data sources to help us spot deserving sustainability leaders. After exhaustive review, we’re proud to recognize the Constellation Research ESG50 for 2023.”
About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, AVANGRID owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, AVANGRID owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs more than 7,500 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2023, AVANGRID ranked first within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2023 for the fifth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. AVANGRID is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
