Initiative recognizes U.S. utilities with the most aggressive voluntary carbon reduction targets
Avangrid committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 and is one of the country’s cleanest utilities with an emissions intensity over six times lower than the U.S. power sector average
ORANGE, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CarbonReduction–Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced today that it has been named to Smart Electric Power Alliance’s (SEPA) 2030 Club for being among the country’s leading utilities with the most aggressive carbon reduction commitments. This initiative aims to not only recognize these utilities for their targets, but also provide benchmarking and best practices for utilities that are preparing to meet their own carbon reduction targets.
The 2030 Club currently includes 25 utilities that have voluntarily committed to achieving at least an 80% reduction in carbon emissions, or a generation supply of at least 80% clean energy resources by 2030. Avangrid has committed to reaching carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and is developing a strategy to address scope 3 emissions. This commitment is aligned with Iberdrola’s emissions goals, which have been certified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
“Avangrid is one of the country’s cleanest utilities and we’ve been prioritizing decarbonization for many years,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “Avangrid has maintained an emissions intensity that is at least six times lower than the U.S. power sector average since 2015 and we were the first U.S. utility to commit to carbon-neutral goals in 2017. We’ve strengthened our emissions goals since then as we work toward carbon neutrality. I’m very proud that these commitments and our actions have earned us membership in the 2030 Club. We look forward to collaborating with SEPA and other members to pave a path forward toward a cleaner energy future.”
As part of the 2030 Club initiative, SEPA will explore the characteristics that enabled these utilities to become early adopters and innovators in the utility carbon reduction arena. SEPA intends for this initiative to provide benchmarking and best practices for utilities that are preparing to meet their own carbon reduction targets. In 2024, SEPA plans to engage with 2030 Club and other interested utilities to explore best practices, lessons learned and remaining barriers to achieving carbon reduction goals.
“Avangrid’s leadership in this critical effort to reduce carbon emissions demonstrates the value of innovation and collaboration to solve really complex challenges,” said Lakin Garth, SEPA Director, Research and Industry Strategy.
To compile its 2030 Club, SEPA collected each utility’s 2030 target and recent progress from publicly available data sources, including utility sustainability reports and other utility-specific information. SEPA then compared these utilities to national averages in areas like energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed solar. They also include information related to each utilities’ plans, investments and strategies.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs more than 7,500 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2023, Avangrid ranked first within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2023 for the fifth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit avangrid.com.
Contacts
Media:
Sarah Warren
sarah.warren@avangrid.com
585-794-9253
