American Water Releases Corporate Responsibility Report

American Water Works Company, Inc., including PA American Water, announced Monday it has issued its third biennial corporate responsibility report, covering performance in 2013 and 2014.

The company also announced its inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. The DJSI tracks the performance of the top 20 percent of the 600 largest United States and Canadian companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index.

In the Multi and Water Utilities category, 14 North American companies were evaluated and four were selected, including American Water, which was the only water utility named to the Index.

"American Water's corporate responsibility report provides a detailed account of our performance, outlining the ways in which we are driving corporate responsibility across our business. This includes delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable water to our customers; developing our people to meet their fullest potential; leveraging technology and innovation to meet water challenges across our footprint; and demonstrating stewardship within the communities in which we operate," said Susan Story, president and CEO of American Water. "Being named to the DJSI is a tremendous accomplishment by all of our 6,800 employees who come to work every day committed to our customers and our environment, and reinforces American Water's goal to be a sustainability leader in the water industry."

In selecting the content for its corporate responsibility report, American Water used the Global Reporting Initiative Reporting Principles of materiality, sustainability context and stakeholder inclusiveness.

Some of the key accomplishments highlighted in the report include the following:

-- American Water continued to score greater than 99 percent for drinking water compliance and is 15 times better on water quality and 20 times better on water quality monitoring than the industry average.

-- American Water's move to Internet-based water quality reporting and customer notification by postcard has saved or eliminated 113 tons of wood, almost 75,000 pounds of solid waste, over 800,000 gallons of wastewater, and 225,000 pounds of CO2 equivalents of GHG emissions, and saved over half-a-million dollars from 2013 to 2014.

-- American Water's paperless billing program saved more than eight tons of paper in 2013-2014, and is reducing postage costs for customers and the company.

-- In 2009, American Water made a public commitment to achieve a 16 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2017 from its 2007 baseline. In 2014, the company's total GHG emissions were 17.1 percent lower than in 2007.

-- American Water's Environmental Grant Program offers funds for innovative, community- based environmental projects through partnerships. In 2014, a total of 96 projects throughout American Water's service areas in 12 states were awarded funding to improve, restore, or protect community water supplies and watersheds.

-- American Water's annual AmerICANs in Action! Month of Service, established in 2011 to foster community service among employees and encourage them to volunteer in communities, continued to grow. More than 3,000 employees provided in excess of 10,000 volunteer hours during this event in 2013 and 2014 combined.

A copy of the report is available online.

Visitors are encouraged to share ideas on how American Water can improve upon our corporate responsibility progress and performance by sending email: aw.corporateresponsibility@amwater.com.