ESG and corporate social responsibility examples to guide conversations with your energy provider.
Businesses can and should expect more from their energy provider when it comes to delivering positive sustainability impact in the communities where they work. For energy consumers, only 40% are confident their energy provider will create future value for the community. A business’ energy provider can help you meet your consumer and stakeholder demands for increased sustainability action.
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AES is proud to deliver impact in our communities beyond just providing renewable energy. Here are 65 ways that AES achieves holistic sustainability across all areas in environmental, social, and governance that you can use to guide conversations with your energy provider and demonstrate your commitment to creating long-term value for both your business and the community
Environment
Driving a sustainable future through innovative environmental practices
Our commitment to environmental stewardship is demonstrated through our comprehensive initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and resilience. We are dedicated to reducing our and our customers’ carbon footprint, fostering biodiversity, advancing the circular economy, and innovating renewable energy.
1. Decarbonizing their own portfolio
We are strategically removing coal from our portfolio while increasing renewables. Renewables make up 53% of our generation portfolio, including solar, hydro, wind and energy storage.
2. Climate risk and resilience
AES became the first publicly-traded US utility to publish a Climate Scenario Report per TCFD guidelines and third-party scenarios for physical risk and transition risk from climate change in 2018. We have since updated our risk analysis, highlighting AES' strategy to lead sector decarbonization. Using IEA and IPCC scenarios, AES stress-tested our portfolio's resilience against climate risks, aiming to meet energy needs with innovative solutions.
3. Net zero targets
Our net-zero targets include net zero carbon emissions from electricity sales by 2040* and net zero carbon emissions for entire business portfolio by 2050.*
*Actions assume new policies that facilitate transition to low emissions energy systems, such as a price on carbon. Includes scope 1 and 2 emissions for 2040 and scope 3 for 2050.
4. Carbon intensity targets
The target for our generation portfolio carbon intensity is in line with a well-below 2˚C scenario by 2030.
5. Carbon emissions reduction
During 2022, AES operating businesses implemented emission reduction projects, such as energy efficiency programs, equipment replacement and low carbon energy installation, that represented a reduction of ~1,000 metric tons of annual CO2.
6. Coal reduction
In 2023, we exited or announced the sale or closure of 2.1 GW of coal generation in Vietnam, the US, and Chile. We intend to have zero coal in our portfolio by year-end 2027.
7. Comprehensive decarbonized solutions
Customers are at various stages in their energy journey, from focusing on Energy security to transitioning to Green electricity to pioneering Electrification of industries. Our solutions cover all aspects of the journey to achieve a net-zero future.
8. Clean energy production
The 3.5 GW of renewable projects we completed in 2023 are expected to annually produce the amount of electricity equivalent to the consumption of ~700,000 people in the United States.
9. 100% renewable energy
Sierra Gorda SCM runs on 100% renewable energy, supplied with 1,310 GWh of clean energy by AES Andes. The use of 100% renewable electricity at the operation is the next step in mining of the future.
10. Renewable energy additionality
Located in the Atacama Desert of Chile, we completed one of largest battery energy storage systems in Latin America, utilizing 180 MW solar and 112 MW energy storage.
11. International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) options
I-RECs are one way for corporate buyers to credibly support renewable energy. Cervecería Nacional received renewable energy supply from AES Panamá in the form of IRECs, supporting the business’ goal for 100% renewable energy by 2025.
12. Diversifying energy mixes with greener capacity
To address the Dominican Republic’s reliance on oil, AES Dominicana introduced natural gas to the country over 20 years ago, saving customers over $500M and avoiding 4M tons of CO2 annually. Today, AES Dominicana has continued to diversify its portfolio and has over 400 MW of solar, wind and batteries in operation or construction in the country.
13. Carbon neutral operations
AES constructed the Great Cove Solar project, the largest solar project in Pennsylvania, to provide energy to the University of Pennsylvania. The project aims to support the university's goal of achieving a 100% carbon-neutral campus by 2042 and is expected to power 70% of the electricity demand for Penn's academic campuses and the University of Pennsylvania Health System in the Greater Philadelphia area.
14. Fossil fuel transition
Since the 1980s, AES has worked to meet Hawaii’s growing energy needs. To support Hawaii’s 100% renewable energy goal by 2045, we partnered with local entities to retire the 180 MW Barbers Point coal plant in O’ahu while simultaneously developing over 300 MW of solar and wind projects across the state.
15. Net neutrality
Carbon-neutral LNG, a pilot solution introduced by AES Dominicana, offset 100% of GHG emissions from natural gas supply. In 2021, the team presented the Verra carbon offset credits to 42 customers for offsetting a total of 134,500+ tons of CO2 since the country received its first carbon-neutral natural gas shipment in July of the same year.
16. More innovative and impactful clean energy solutions
Google and AES partnered together to develop a world-leading 24/7 carbon-free energy solution to supply Google’s data centers with time-matched carbon-free energy through a custom mix of solar, wind, hydropower and battery-based energy storage resources.
17. Meet growing energy needs
US data center electricity demand is set to nearly double in three years, and we expect the majority will be met through renewables. AES has been consistently rated as one of the top two largest sellers globally of renewable power to corporate customers according to BNEF, with a focus on data center providers and large technology companies. We’re meeting these growing demands with diverse green solutions like renewable PPAs & VPPAs, Green Tariff Sleeves and 24/7 carbon-free energy.
18. Decarbonizing industries
AES is transforming Chile's large-scale mining sector to emissions-free energy with 8 TWh/year in renewable contracts. Globally, AES has over 4.2 GW under development to support mining companies' energy transitions.
19. Decarbonizing hard to abate sectors
Together with Air Products, we are jointly investing in a $4B mega-scale green hydrogen project paired with 1.4 GW new wind and solar power in Texas that will supply 200 metric tons per day of green hydrogen for the transportation and industrial markets in the US.
20. Energy efficiency
In our US Utilities, AES Indiana customers will save $240M over 20 years through smart grid and sustainability improvements; AES Ohio is projected to invest $1.2B in capital projects, including smart grid, new transmission and distribution projects, from 2024-2026.
21. Helping businesses be more energy efficient
Through Clean Energy Navigator, AES’ energy management portal, customers can access personalized information to increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and reduce time spent analyzing their bill.
22. Promoting a circular economy
In partnership with SOLARCYLCE, we are sending damaged or retired solar panels to SOLARCYCLE’s advanced recycling facility in Odessa, Texas, where they will be responsibly recycled and repurposed. A similar initiative was launched in El Salvador in partnership with Geocycle to transform solar panel components into new raw materials.
23. Recycling and waste reduction
Whenever possible, AES businesses recycle their Coal Combustion Residuals (CCRs), which represent almost 99% of our non-hazardous waste. Many AES facilities participate in recycling programs to benefit the communities in which we operate; for example, our AES Panamá location provides clean metal barrels to be used as solid waste containers for the community.
24. Endangered species recovery & biodiversity
Together with our partners, AES México implemented an America bison reintroduction program into their former habitat in Mexico where they are in danger of extinction. The herd grew 50% in less than one year, helping restore the ecological balance in this habitat.
25. Coastal wetlands restoration
Through AES’ Coastal Enhancement Program, we allocated $1M to Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority for the planning, engineering, restoration and rehabilitation of nearby wetlands and $500K allocated to TreePeople and Bolsa Chica Conservancy to expand environmental education programs and outreach.
26. Infrastructure resilience for remote communities
Our Meanguera del Golfo Solar + Storage Plant, the first of its kind in Latin America, integrates distributed generation with advanced battery storage to provide uninterrupted, carbon-free electricity to isolated island communities. The plant’s 1,929 solar panels and 208 solar-charged batteries serve nearly 800 families on El Salvador’s Meanguera del Golfo, Conchagüita, and Zacatillo islands, transforming local energy infrastructure and promoting environmental preservation, economic prosperity, and social development.
27. Regenerative and dual-use agriculture
We have more than 6,500 acres under active sheep grazing at more than 35 projects across the US.
28. Agrivoltaics advancement
Agrivoltaics (a term combining “agriculture” + “solar photovoltaics”) projects like our Grafton solar project combine solar energy and agricultural production by placing crops or livestock beneath or between solar panels. Partnering with the DOE SETO and UMass-Amherst, we use part of this project as a research site to explore agrivoltaics' benefits and demonstrate dual-use solar’s potential for clean power and agriculture.
29. Encouraging native pollinators
At our 2 MW Elizabethtown solar project, we installed pollinator-friendly ground cover to support bumblebees and butterflies This habitat promotes pollinator health across 20-100 square miles in Pennsylvania's dense farmland, as honeybees forage 2-5 miles in each direction.
30. Transparent ESG goals, commitment and policies
An overview of AES’ ESG goals, commitments and policies can be found in the ESG Indicators report, with further details in our Annual Report. Our Environmental Policy sets the principles and foundation of our Environmental Management System (EMS), which is based on the principles of the ISO 14001 Standard.
Social
Empowering communities – globally and locally – through social initiatives
AES is deeply rooted in local culture and customs. We invest in our communities in a way that makes the best sense for them. We learn, grow, expand and share the experiences we have in order to bring innovation from one market to another, changing the future of energy, together.
31. Social partnerships
We’ve conducted 250+ social impact programs partnerships aligned with UN SDGs benefiting over 2M people. Together with community partners, we co-create and tailor social impact programs that align our strategy and local priorities and aim to deliver long-lasting benefits. We partner with stakeholders, such as government agencies, communities, nonprofits and unions to address the most pressing social challenges in communities, while supporting just and responsible energy transitions.
32. Employee care for local communities
With thousands of AES volunteer hours completed since 2020, we care deeply about investing time and resources into local communities. In one initiative, our AES Dominicana Foundation partnered with the Dominican Rehabilitation Association to provide support services for people with physical disabilities in the Dominican Republic.
33. Economic development through renewables
We developed the Delta wind farm in partnership with Amazon in Mississippi, the state's first utility-scale wind farm. The 184.5 MW wind farm is expected to generate enough clean electricity for over 80,000 homes while supporting the area's farming traditions and generating tens of millions of dollars in local tax revenue.
34. Promoting gender equality in renewables
Through Mujeres Con Energia (“Women in Energy”), we prioritized the hiring of women for the construction of our Castilla Solar Park in Colombia. 111 women participated, representing 29% of the total workforce. These efforts will expand to our Jemeiwaa Kai project, Colombia’s largest wind project to date.
35. Entrepreneurship training
50 small business owners over the past two years received entrepreneurship training through a program by AES Puerto Rico and Trust for the Americas to strengthen local businesses and promote economic growth. Participants also received 40 hours of face-to-face training in entrepreneurial skills and virtual monitoring in their business model.
36. STEM educational programs
AES partnered with Discovery Education and other corporations to form the STEM Careers Coalition, a large-scale STEM education and workforce development initiative to address critical gaps that exist in early education today, prepare the next generation for the future of work, and build an inclusive talent pipeline. 7.9M students and teachers have been impacted by the Coalition since its founding in 2019.
37. Renewable energy education
Our AES México team collaborated with a local university to launch EnerLab, a renewable energy challenge for students. The program tasked 30 students with designing renewable energy solutions to provide reliable electricity to a rural school in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
38. Safety education & protection
100 households and 9 public facilities benefited from AES Vietnam’s electricity safety program, which aims to increase awareness and prevent electric shock incidents. The program combines educational sessions with home electric system renovations for low-income households and public facilities in the Cam Hai commune.
39. Protection of local customs and traditions
AES developed the 454 MW Chevelon Butte wind farm in Arizona – the state’s largest and first new wind farm developed in over 10 years – in a manner that ensured compatibility with the land’s century-long tradition of raising livestock. The project will operate one of the oldest working cattle ranches in the state at the Chevelon Butte Ranch in Coconino and Navajo Counties. We also engaged with local Indigenous groups, recognizing their distinct relationship to the land, and partnered with Solar Energy International (SEI) to provide solar workforce training programs to Arizona residents.
40. Rural electrification
2,500 people received electricity for the first time through an AES Panamá initiative that built 31 miles of electric lines and home installations in neighboring communities to our Changuinola hydro power plant.
41. Community healthcare programs
Cam Pha city, home to an AES Vietnam power plant, has 16 healthcare clinics that provide basic health services to approximately 200,000 people. The city launched a program to upgrade all 16 local clinics, including a key initiative to develop a database of the city’s entire population that can be shared among local clinics. AES Vietnam provided support by donating 17 high-quality computers and printers to enable the city authorities to execute the program.
42. Resilience in emergency
AES Indiana received the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Assistance Award by sending 200+ lineworkers to Florida post-Hurricane Ian ,while AES Ohio won the EEI Emergency Recovery Award for swiftly restoring service to 43,000 customers after severe storms in June 2022.
43. Disaster relief aid
AES provides funding and support to the Red Cross Disaster Responder Program, which strengthen the organization's capacity and readiness to respond to more than 60,000 disasters each year. During the Maui wildfires, AES volunteers also contributed 100 volunteer hours in addition to our program support and partnered with community organizations for the short- and long-term recovery of the island.
44. Retraining local workforce in the just transition
In Chile, the AES Chile Training Plan for Labor Reconversion forms part of the plant retirement plans. The training program has had more than 325 participants and was designed to help employees assume new roles in the future of energy. In Hawaii, a similar renewable energy re-skilling training was offered when AES closed the last coal plant in the state, and nearly half of AES people in the state participated in the course.
45. Social-economic responsibility in workforce development
AES held a job fair for our Oak Ridge solar project, in partnership with the project EPC contractor, to connect community members with local job opportunities. The job fair was attended by over 150 members of the Morehouse Parish, Louisiana community. This attendance resulted in AES partnering with the Louisiana Delta Community College to provide scholarships to job seekers interested in pursuing a Heavy Equipment Operator certification through the College.
46. Social development through education
Since 2007, the AES El Salvador program “Energía Mágica” (“Magic Energy”) has educated 670,000+ children in schools and communities on how to use electricity safely through lectures, videos and live demonstrations.
47. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Our approximately 9,600 people bring knowledge and unique backgrounds and perspectives. In 2022, 60% of new hires in the US were from under-represented groups overall including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and 34% of new hires globally were women. In age diversity, 13% of our workforce are under 30, 59% are 30-49, and 28% are over 50 years of age.
48. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in leadership
We are committed to actively seeking women and minority director candidates as part of our succession and recruitment planning. Our Board of Directors reflect 45% gender diversity and 36% racial and ethnic diversity.
49. Inclusive benefits and programs
AES offers domestic partner benefits in the US for anyone in a committed relationship regardless of gender or marital status. Similarly, AES has a parental leave program in the US to provide equal benefits to all parents, including the birth mother and father, adoptive parents and nonbiological parents. In 2021, AES launched a fertility program that anyone in the US can utilize. We expanded that benefit to include adoption benefits as well in 2022, and in 2023, we expanded parental leave eligibility to include those seeking time off for long-term foster placement.
50. Employee wellbeing & mental health
Through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), AES people have access to programs like Spring Health, a modern mental health support for our people and their dependents, and Virgin Pulse, which promotes overall health through nutrition, movement, and sleep improvements.
51. Reputation and integrity
We’re proud of how we work together at AES to be a leader in innovation, culture, ethics and strategy to accelerate the future of energy. Some awards with which we’ve been honored include: Just Capital “Just Companies in the US 2023”, Ethisphere Institute’s “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and Fast Company’s “Best Workplaces for Innovators”.
Governance
Commitment to robust governance for sustainable growth
At AES, our governance practices are foundational to our commitment to integrity, transparency, and accountability. We prioritize risk mitigation, cybersecurity, innovation, employee well-being, safety, human rights, and ethical conduct, ensuring a strong and sustainable governance framework.
52. Risk management and mitigation
At AES, management is responsible for assessing and managing risks at AES, communicating material risks to the Board. The Board oversees risk management practices, receiving reports from Committees and the Chief Risk Officer (CRO). The CRO chairs the Risk Oversight Committee (ROC), overseeing strategy and business risks. Risk management functions report to the CFO and are independent from operations and business lines.
53. Transparency in information and long-term commitment, honesty, ethics, policies, stability
We take pride in ensuring that ethics is a priority for all aspects of AES business in line with our Code of Conduct. Between the end of 2023 and early 2024, AES leaders participated in our Preventing Harassment and Discrimination training. Our AES Helpline is always open for reports, and our Ethics and Compliance team works with relevant business areas and defines appropriate remedial action to resolve existing issues, fix past issues when appropriate, and avoid recurrence of the same or similar issues in the future.
54. Good management practices
Drucker Institute and Wall Street Journal recognized AES in the “Top 250 Best Managed Companies” ranking. We are proud to have multiple AES locations ranked as a “Great Place to Work” according to Great Place to Work® (GPTW) including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the United States.
55. Safety first practices
At AES, safety is at the core of everything we do. To prevent incidents we track leading metrics, including safety walks, unsafe behaviors and conditions, reporting and investigation of near-miss incidents, and setting of and tracking the progress of Safety Management System goals and action plans. Our businesses consistently perform 33,000+ safety walks each year. We also track lost time incident (LTI) rates for employees and contractors based on OHSAS standards to be comparable across industries. For LTI rates, we aim to be below the US utility industry’s top quartile benchmark LTI rates (0.21) and we continued to exceed the benchmark in 2023.
56. Cybersecurity training
AES people receive continuous awareness training, including phishing and tabletop exercises for rapid cyber incident response, ensuring a vigilant workforce. Our transformative cyber awareness model won the 2023 CSO 50 Award for its business value and thought leadership.
58. Employee innovation
4,550+ innovative projects have been implemented under our AES Performance Excellence (APEX) innovation program, generating over $1.2B in value to the organization. For almost two decades, our employees have trained in efficiency, problem solving, and performance improvement through methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma.
59. People development
We use a comprehensive 70-20-10 Learning and Development framework, to manage our talent and develop leaders to ensure our people have the right skills for today and tomorrow. The Energy4Talent program hires recent graduates for a two-year rotational program, with thousands applying each year. Through our online learning program, our people have access to over 16,000 courses to support their personal and career development.
60. Human Rights commitments
AES has a Human Rights Policy aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In 2022, our Human Rights Campaign score was 90. Several AES businesses are UN Global Compact signatories and members of human rights organizations. AES Colombia engages in Collective Action for Ethics in the Electricity Sector, AES Chile participates in Pride Connection to support sexual diversity, and AES Panamá collaborates with UN Women and Sumarse to address gender economic gaps and promote corporate social responsibility.
61. Preventing forced labor
We are a proud member of the American Clean Power Association, and as a member, have pledged our commitment to preventing forced labor.
62. Corporate governance practices
Operating under the highest standards for corporate governance is an essential element to the success of our company. Highlights of our corporate governance practices include separation of the roles of CEO and Chairman, limit on director tenure to ensure fresh board perspectives, and a diverse pool of director nominee candidates.
63. Trusted energy partner to government entities
AES is proud to be a trusted energy partner to various US government entities. We partnered with KIUC and the US Navy to meet the Navy's energy renewable, reliability and resiliency goals. The result was a design for a 14 MW solar plus 70 MWh battery energy storage system sited on the US Navy land which during typical operation will feed the local grid. The project also features a microgrid functionality which will immediately switch to providing the Navy base local stable renewable power in the event of a grid outage.
64. Zero tolerance for corruption
Our Anti-Corruption Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct encourage internal and external stakeholders to bring matters of concern to the company’s attention for prompt resolution. AES people, contractors, business partners and others can ask questions and are encouraged to report concerns or alleged improper behavior directly, or they can submit reports anonymously through the AES Helpline, a global confidential channel available 24/7 in every AES language
65. Human rights training in partnership with suppliers
During 2022, AES Colombia suppliers were included in the development of the second phase of the human rights management training program. This program consisted of five individual virtual work sessions to identify and evaluate risks, develop scenarios, and define actions to create a roadmap to measure progress and risk management around human rights.
Get the full list
Read our 2022 Improving Lives Report and ESG Indicators for complete information on our ESG and sustainability impact.
