Apr 8, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

American Water Receives Highest ESG Evaluation Score for U.S. Based Company From S&P Global Ratings

American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly-traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced today it received a score of 87 (out of 100) as reported in the S&P Global Ratings ESG Evaluation Report, the highest evaluation score given by S&P in the U.S. and the 2nd highest globally.

“We are extremely proud to have been recognized for our commitment to Environmental Leadership, Social Responsibility, and Governance (ESG) and our best in class preparedness,” said Walter Lynch, president CEO of American Water. “Today, companies must do more than just put words down on paper, they need to show defined and measured actions and results that are reflective of a company’s commitment to ESG.”

According to S&P Global Ratings, “American Water's ESG Evaluation score of 87 reflects our view that the company prioritizes commitments to safety, environmental stewardship, and public health in its strategy, and that ESG goals are a natural fit for and align well with its business model. Additionally, we view American Water's preparedness assessment of best in class as reflective of its ability to identify, assess, and act on risks and opportunities its business faces, such as climate change, infrastructure replacement, water contamination, and an aging workforce.”

American Water’s dedication to sustainability and being an environmental leader in the water industry includes having already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 31% through 2018 and reducing 40% by 2025. The company has reduced annual water usage by 3.3 billion gallons through conservation, recycles over a billion gallons of water a year, and will invest more than $8.5 billion to address aging infrastructure, reduce or eliminate leaks, improve cyber and physical security, and increase resiliency of critical assets against the impacts of climate variability.

Earlier this year, American Water was named as one of the 100 Most Sustainable Companies by Barron’s Magazine. The company was the highest ranked utility of any type, coming in at #22.

American Water was also recently named on Corporate Knights 16th annual Global 100 list of the World’s Most Sustainable Corporations. American Water was ranked number 16 and is the only U.S. based utility on the list.

The full S&P Global Ratings American Water ESG Evaluation Report can be found here.

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.