MILWAUKEE, Aug. 9, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today released its
2022 Corporate Responsibility Report. The report provides a
comprehensive overview of the company's environmental, social and
governance (ESG) performance. The report outlines the progress made
by WEC Energy Group and its family of companies on major projects
and the company's commitment to the environment and the economies
of the areas it serves.
The report also examines the company's climate strategy and the
research and development of emerging technologies such as hydrogen
power and long-duration battery storage.
"We're pleased to report that we're well on our way to achieving
some of the most aggressive targets in our industry for reducing
carbon and methane emissions. An important step in our plan is to
eliminate coal as an energy source by the end of 2035," said
Gale Klappa, executive chairman. "We
have served the people of the Midwest for more than a century.
Today, from our perspective, the future has never been
brighter."
Report highlights
The report highlights how WEC Energy Group's investments in
sustainable technology — including zero-carbon energy and renewable
natural gas — are helping the company meet its aggressive carbon
and methane reduction goals. The company is targeting a 60 percent
reduction in carbon emissions from electric generation by the end
of 2025 and an 80 percent reduction by the end of 2030, both below
2005 levels. The company is also planning to eliminate coal as an
energy source by the end of 2035 and have a carbon-neutral electric
generation fleet by 2050.
WEC Energy Group also has a goal to achieve net-zero methane
emissions across its natural gas distribution operations by the end
of 2030.
The report details the company's ESG Progress Plan, a
$20.1 billion plan to invest in
efficiency, sustainability and growth. The five-year capital plan
has $7.3 billion allocated for
renewables and $7.3 billion for grid
and fleet modernization and reliability.
Additional highlights in the report:
- Received the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's
Vets Ready Award for outstanding support of military veterans.
- Conducted a comprehensive Scope 3 emissions study in accordance
with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting
Standard.
- Spent nearly $300 million in 2022
with diverse suppliers.
- Provided $20 million in
charitable grants and contributions to nonprofit organizations,
including significant support to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Moon Shot for
Equity initiative, which promotes equal access to higher
education.
- Announced the company updated its diversity and inclusion
mission statement and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
business competency to include equity — a focus on fairness and
removing barriers to success.
- Unveiled a new timeline in the "Climate strategy" section to
highlight key initiatives and progress in the transition of the
company's power generation fleet.
The 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report and additional
information on WEC Energy Group's ESG efforts can be found online
at www.wecenergygroup.com/csr/.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier
energy companies, serving nearly 4.7 million customers in
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin
Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas
Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy
Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds
and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC
Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation
facilities in states ranging from South
Dakota to Texas.
WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500
company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has
approximately 37,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees
and $43 billion of assets.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management's
current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in the statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements
include, among other things, statements concerning management's
expectations and projections regarding capital plans and emission
reduction goals. In some cases, forward-looking statements may be
identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "may,"
"objectives," "plans," "possible," "potential," "projects,"
"should," "targets," "will" or similar terms or variations of these
terms.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated in any forward- looking statements include,
but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including
business and competitive conditions in the company's service
territories; timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and other
regulatory decisions; the company's ability to continue to
successfully integrate the operations of its subsidiaries;
availability of the company's generating facilities and/or
distribution systems; unanticipated changes in fuel and purchased
power costs; key personnel changes; unusual, varying or severe
weather conditions; continued industry restructuring and
consolidation; continued advances in, and adoption of, new
technologies that produce power or reduce power consumption; energy
and environmental conservation efforts; natural gas reduction or
electrification initiatives, mandates and other efforts to reduce
the use of natural gas; the company's ability to successfully
acquire and/or dispose of assets and projects and to execute on its
capital plan; terrorist, physical or cyber-security threats or
attacks and data security breaches; construction risks; equity and
bond market fluctuations; changes in the company's and its
subsidiaries' ability to access the capital markets; changes in tax
legislation or our ability to use certain tax benefits and
carryforwards; federal, state, and local legislative and regulatory
changes, including changes to environmental standards, the
enforcement of these laws and regulations and changes in the
interpretation of regulations by regulatory agencies; supply chain
disruptions; inflation; political or geopolitical developments,
including impacts on the global economy, supply chain and fuel
prices, generally, from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the impact from any health crises,
including epidemics and pandemics; current and future litigation
and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; changes in
accounting standards; the financial performance of American
Transmission Company as well as projects in which the company's
energy infrastructure business invests; the ability of the company
to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices;
goodwill and its possible impairment; and other factors described
under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital
Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings
"Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and
"Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2022, and in
subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Except as may be required by law, the company expressly
disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking information.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wec-energy-groups-corporate-responsibility-report-highlights-sustainable-progress-for-an-enduring-enterprise-301896070.html
SOURCE WEC Energy Group