KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Evergy (NYSE: EVRG) published three reports, including its 2021 Sustainability Report, that provide details on the company’s achievements and progress toward environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. Evergy’s continued transition to more sustainable energy sources, being a great place to work for its employees, and commitment to the communities it serves are central to its ESG strategy.
“Since forming Evergy in 2018, we've enhanced our ESG practices and disclosures. Last year, we introduced our 2045 net-zero carbon target, with an interim goal of 70 percent reduction by 2030, building on our track record and trajectory of historical emissions reductions.” said David Campbell, Evergy’s president and chief executive officer. “Beyond environmental policy, we've also taken a comprehensive approach to reviewing and updating our social and governance policies and related disclosures including a corporate human rights policy, expanded shareholder rights and a formalized water policy.”
The updated reports provide stakeholders with valuable ESG information on how Evergy is providing safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to customers while employing a diverse workforce, being a great place to work for employees and supporting the communities it serves. Highlights include:
- Environmental: In 2021, Evergy has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions of 46 percent, and sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 98 percent and 88 percent, respectively, compared with 2005 baseline numbers. For the first time, the company’s 2021 scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions received independent third-party verification.
- Social: Over the past two years, Evergy has focused on programs to assist customers by linking them to resources and through these efforts has helped Evergy customers secure $47 million in bill payment assistance from traditional utility assistance programs as well as COVID-19 relief resources. Evergy donated an additional $6.7 million to communities in the areas of environmental leadership and community vitality. Evergy also continued improvement in regional rate competitiveness, with retail rates down approximately 4.2 percent over the 2017-2021 period, outpacing regional peers and well below the rate of inflation.
- Governance: Evergy introduced proxy access rights for shareholders in 2020, and also recently amended its bylaws to allow one or more shareholders owning at least 15 percent of common stock to call special shareholder meetings, provided requirements are met. Elements of executive compensation also have been tied to ESG performance.
“Our Board of Directors has linked executive compensation to the successful execution of both environmental and diversity, equity, and inclusion aspects of our business,” said Heather Humphrey, senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. “We're proud of the advancements we've made to further demonstrate our commitment to leading ESG practices. We are focused on maintaining this momentum as we execute our plan and deliver sustainable results in the years ahead.”
Reports, including the reports newly published or updated last week, available on Evergy’s investor relations site make ESG related material easily accessible:
- Investor Website: investors.evergy.com
- 2021 Sustainability Report: investors.evergy.com/sustainabilityreport
- Evergy ESG Metrics: investors.evergy.com/ESGMetrics
- Evergy TCFD Report: investors.evergy.com/TCFD
- Evergy SASB Report: investors.evergy.com/SASB
- IRP Overview: investors.evergy.com/IRP2021
- CDP Survey Evergy 2021 CDP Climate: investors.evergy.com/CDP2021
About Evergy
Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG), serves 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. Evergy’s mission is to empower a better future. Our focus remains on producing, transmitting and delivering reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for the benefit of our stakeholders. Today, about half of Evergy’s power comes from carbon-free sources, creating more reliable energy with less impact to the environment. We value innovation and adaptability to give our customers better ways to manage their energy use, to create a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace for our employees, and to add value for our investors. Headquartered in Kansas City, our employees are active members of the communities we serve.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Certain Forward-Looking Information
Statements made in this document that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Evergy's strategic plan, including, without limitation, those related to earnings per share, dividend, operating and maintenance expense and capital investment goals; the outcome of legislative efforts and regulatory and legal proceedings; future energy demand; future power prices; plans with respect to existing and potential future generation resources; the availability and cost of generation resources and energy storage; target emissions reductions; and other matters relating to expected financial performance or affecting future operations. Forward-looking statements are often accompanied by forward-looking words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “seeks,” “intends,” “proposed,” “projects,” “planned,” “target,” “outlook,” “remain confident,” “goal,” “will” or other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information.
In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Evergy, Inc., Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. and Evergy Metro, Inc. (collectively, the Evergy Companies) are providing a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: economic and weather conditions and any impact on sales, prices and costs; changes in business strategy or operations; the impact of federal, state and local political, legislative, judicial and regulatory actions or developments, including deregulation, re-regulation, securitization and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding, among other things, customer rates and the prudency of operational decisions such as capital expenditures and asset retirements; changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices, or the interpretations thereof, governing tax, accounting and environmental matters, including air and water quality and waste management and disposal; the impact of climate change, including increased frequency and severity of significant weather events and the extent to which counterparties are willing to do business with, finance the operations of or purchase energy from the Evergy Companies due to the fact that the Evergy Companies operate coal-fired generation; prices and availability of electricity in wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry and the Evergy Companies; the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on, among other things, sales, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows, and also on operational issues, such as supply chain issues and the availability and ability of the Evergy Companies’ employees and suppliers to perform the functions that are necessary to operate the Evergy Companies; changes in the energy trading markets in which the Evergy Companies participate, including retroactive repricing of transactions by regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators; financial market conditions and performance, including changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on derivatives and hedges, nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; the transition to a replacement for the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) benchmark interest rate; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of physical and cybersecurity breaches, criminal activity, terrorist attacks, acts of war and other disruptions to the Evergy Companies’ facilities or information technology infrastructure or the facilities and infrastructure of third-party service providers on which the Evergy Companies rely; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; cost, availability, quality and timely provision of equipment, supplies, labor and fuel; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; the Evergy Companies’ ability to manage their transmission and distribution development plans and transmission joint ventures; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including those related to the Evergy Companies’ ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, maintain satisfactory relationships with their labor unions and manage costs of, or changes in, retirement, health care and other benefits; disruption, costs and uncertainties caused by or related to the actions of individuals or entities, such as activist shareholders or special interest groups, that seek to influence Evergy’s strategic plan, financial results or operations; the possibility that strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and long-term financial plans, may not create the value that they are expected to achieve in a timely manner or at all; difficulties in maintaining relationships with customers, employees, regulators or suppliers; and other risks and uncertainties.
This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. You should also carefully consider the information contained in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed by the Evergy Companies with the SEC, and from time to time in current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed by the Evergy Companies with the SEC. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. The Evergy Companies undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law
