Southern Company is committed to meeting customers’ current and future energy needs, with a long-term goal to transition to net-zero GHG emissions from enterprise-wide operations by 2050 and an intermediate goal to reduce GHG emissions from 2007 levels by 50% by 2030. At the end of 2022, we reduced Scope 1 GHG emissions 46% from 2007. We are committed to transparency in our reporting and in recent years have expanded our Scope 3 reporting. We continue to evaluate opportunities to expand our emissions reporting.
Our strategy is composed of three key pillars to drive our GHG emissions reductions:
Providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to customers is fundamental to Southern Company’s mission. Our growing portfolio of zero-carbon resources plays an integral role in helping us meet these objectives as well as our net zero by 2050 goal, which is in direct alignment with the commitments of the Paris Agreement. We are transforming our business as we build a diverse energy portfolio, develop innovative programs and services for our customers, and research new clean energy technologies.
We recognize the value our stakeholders place on transparency, and we are committed to continued enhancements. Our ongoing dialogue with stakeholders helps to inform our disclosures and ensure we are providing meaningful information.
Southern Company has a long-standing commitment to providing climate-related disclosure, including GHG reduction targets, measurement and reporting, which provide transparency into our strategy and performance. We have demonstrated a willingness to set GHG emissions targets and to consistently enhance our climate-related disclosure when this information would be decision-useful for stakeholders.
Southern Company is focusing on the full value chain of GHG emissions. In addition to reducing emissions from operations, we are committed to driving upstream and downstream emissions reductions. We report all relevant sources of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, and we obtained 3rd party limited assurance for 2022, 2021 and 2020 Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as for the 2007 Scope 1 baseline.
For more than five decades, Southern Company’s world-class R&D organization has led the U.S. utility industry in the research, development, funding and demonstration of innovative technologies necessary to provide clean, safe, reliable, resilient and affordable energy. The organization’s diverse research portfolio spans technology development for energy production, delivery and use, exploring a full spectrum of solutions that includes CCUS, advanced nuclear, hydrogen, fuel cells, microgrids, renewables (including tall wind) and energy storage, plus next-generation power delivery and end-use innovations. The program’s primary focus is on advancing transformational solutions for both utility and economy-wide decarbonization – delivering on Southern Company’s goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Our R&D organization is on the front lines developing a range of clean energy technologies that eliminate carbon emissions while delivering maximum value and benefit to customers and communities.
Our R&D organization leverages a robust and diverse research portfolio and collaborates with the U.S. government, other utilities, academia and industry on new technologies for energy production, delivery and use for a net-zero energy future. We are engaging with policymakers, investors, customers and other stakeholders to help shape an energy policy that enhances optionality across the entire energy value chain and supports the development and deployment of more carbon-free energy sources, while ensuring each state we serve retains the ability to adequately plan and deploy resources that meet the needs of citizens and communities.
We acknowledge the challenge of reaching net zero emissions and we are committed to finding solutions. Our path toward net zero includes continued coal transition, utilization of natural gas to enable fleet transition and support our customers’ direct energy needs, aggressively growing our investment in renewable energy, modernizing the grid, completing construction and bringing online the first new nuclear generating units in a generation, solving energy challenges through robust R&D, incorporating negative carbon solutions, and investing in energy efficiency for savings on both sides of the meter.
Southern Company is a leading energy company, which, through its subsidiaries, has 43,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity and 822 billion cubic feet of natural gas throughput volume serving nine million customers. The Company provides clean, safe, reliable & affordable energy through electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states and complementary natural gas businesses, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America, a leading distributed energy infrastructure company, a fiber optics network and telecommunications service business. For more than a century, Southern Company has been building the future of energy, delivering the energy resources & solutions our customers & communities need to drive growth & prosperity.
Schedule a call with us to receive a free demo of the Net-Zero Portal and learn how we can support your organization’s net-zero goals.
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