JUNO BEACH, Fla. -- FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL) was honored as “Best in Class” for its approach to climate change in a report released today by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a coalition of global investors with more than $31.5 trillion in assets. The company was one of only four entities in the North American Electric Power sector named in the prestigious “Climate Leadership Index”, an honor roll of global corporations addressing the challenges of climate change. This is FPL’s third consecutive inclusion in this ranking of leaders responding to this environmental challenge.
“We are delighted that our efforts in reducing carbon emissions resulted in our inclusion in the Climate Leadership Index for the third time,” said Lew Hay, CEO and chairman of FPL Group. “The company’s success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is supported by adding efficient combined cycle natural gas-fired plants and re-powering older, less efficient oil-fired units as well as a strong corporate commitment to renewable resources and energy conservation programs. Our actions have led to lower CO2 emissions, resulting in our being one of the cleanest electricity generators in North America.”
The Climate Leadership Index is comprised of the top 50 of the world’s largest 500 companies that showed distinction in their responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project survey based on their reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and an independent assessment of FPL Group’s climate change strategies. The CDP report was written by the consulting firm Innovest, an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm specializing in performance on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues. Climate Leadership Index members in this sector were distinguished by the disclosure of their strategic awareness of the risks and opportunities of a carbon constrained environment, as well as the quality and effectiveness of programs put in place to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.
“FPL is very proud to be recognized as Best in Class for our climate change strategy,” said Randy LaBauve, FPL’s Vice President of Environmental Services. “Our goal is to continue to be a leader in this arena as we respond to the energy needs of our customers, serve our national interest and contribute to the global community.”
Candidates for the Climate Leadership Index were assessed relative to their peers in ten highest carbon-impact clusters. Innovest used a proprietary carbon risk model to analyze the net carbon exposure of all industry sectors represented in the Fortune 500. On the basis of this analysis, Innovest selected the ten industry clusters with the highest exposure to carbon risks and opportunities. The methodology used to score company responses can be found in Appendix II of the online report, which is available at www.cdproject.net.
In a separate ranking, Innovest rated FPL Group number one for environmental performance among 23 electric utilities for the fourth straight time in 2005.
FPL Group is a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders Program, committed to achieving an 18 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2008. FPL Group is also the largest U.S. power company to have joined the World Wildlife Fund’s Powerswitch! Pioneers Program, where it intends to achieve a 15 percent improvement in energy generation efficiency by 2020.
FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $11 billion, is nationally known as a high quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in 26 states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves 4.4 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, an FPL Group competitive energy subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.fplgroup.com, www.fpl.com andwww.fplenergy.com.