SAN DIEGO, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy
(NYSE: SRE) has been recognized as a Trendsetter in political
disclosure practices and accountability in the 2020 CPA-Zicklin
Index.
The CPA-Zicklin Index is released annually by the Center for
Political Accountability (CPA) and the Zicklin Center for Business
Ethics Research at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The index measures
political disclosure and accountability policies and practices for
election-related spending by S&P 500 companies, including
political spending policies and board oversight. Companies that
score 90 points or higher on the index are considered
Trendsetters.
Highlights for Sempra Energy's recognition this year include the
following:
- Sempra Energy was named a Trendsetter with a score of 95.7 out
of a possible 100 and was among the top-performing companies in the
utility sector. Of the 492 companies studied this year, the average
score on the index was 50.1.
- Sempra Energy was recognized for the fifth consecutive year as
a Trendsetter on the index and this year's ranking marked the
seventh consecutive year that the company has been ranked in the
first tier, representing businesses that scored 80 points or
higher.
"At Sempra Energy, we are committed to engaging with our
regulators, elected officials and community leaders to support the
needs of all our stakeholders, including our customers and
employees," said Lisa Alexander,
senior vice president of corporate affairs for Sempra Energy. "Our
Trendsetter rating recognizes our company's strong governance as
well as our robust policies and practices that support responsible
stakeholder engagement."
"The heightened risk posed by engaging in political activity
makes it paramount that companies adopt disclosure, transparency
and oversight policies to govern their political participation and
manage and mitigate risk," said CPA President Bruce Freed. "Sempra, one of only 35 Trendsetter
companies in the 2016 CPA-Zicklin Index and one of 79 Trendsetters
in 2020, has been a leader in making corporate political disclosure
and accountability the norm."
Sempra Energy and its operating companies have numerous policies
in place to help ensure transparency and accountability in
political engagement. Sempra Energy has a stakeholder engagement
policy, which defines expectations for employees who engage
externally, spelling out the importance of sharing our views,
listening to the perspectives of others, and considering the input
received, where possible. The company also has a strong political
activities policy and maintains a robust training program dedicated
to compliance with political reporting rules and requirements. The
company's board of directors has a Corporate Governance Committee
that reviews public policy priorities on an annual basis, along
with political contributions, and the company also discloses its
political contributions biannually on its website.
About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be
North America's premier energy
infrastructure company. With more than $60
billion in total assets at the end of 2019, the San Diego-based company is the utility holding
company with the largest U.S. customer base. The Sempra Energy
companies' more than 18,000 employees deliver energy with purpose
to over 35 million consumers. The company is focused on the most
attractive markets in North
America, including California, Texas, Mexico
and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy has been consistently
recognized for its leadership in sustainability, and diversity and
inclusion, and is a member of the S&P 500 Utilities Index and
the Dow Jones Utility Index. The company was also named one of the
"World's Most Admired Companies" for 2020 by Fortune Magazine.
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SOURCE Sempra Energy