SOURCE: Vistra
DESCRIPTION:
IRVING, Texas, May 13, 2021 /3BL Media/ — Vistra (NYSE: VST) today published its 2020 Sustainability Report, showcasing its commitment to all of its stakeholders and highlighting significant progress toward its sustainability goals. The report provides increased transparency on the company’s numerous environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives.
"When it comes to our primary business function, we understand that we are providing an essential resource – electricity – and it is a responsibility we take seriously. We are committed to balancing our goals to continue to provide affordable and reliable electricity while also doing our part to combat climate change as we transition our generation fleet to low-to-no carbon resources," said Molly Sorg, Vistra's chief purpose and sustainability officer and senior vice president of investor relations. “One of our core principles and a guiding benchmark for our company is ‘We care about our key stakeholders.’ We are excited to highlight several of our ESG initiatives and accomplishments from the past year in our 2020 Sustainability Report as we continuously strive to better our communities, our workplace, and our relationships with our customers, suppliers, and investors."
Highlights include:
- Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship
- Achieving a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a 2010 baseline; on track to achieve a 60% reduction by 2030 with a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 20501
- Advancing the transformation of its generation portfolio to newer, more efficient, and less environmentally impactful technologies through the launch of Vistra Zero, a generation portfolio comprised of existing and under development nuclear, renewable, and energy storage facilities, as well as announcing plans to retire an incremental ~8,000 MW of fossil-fueled assets in the MISO, PJM, and ERCOT markets by 2027
- Adopting a sustainability governance framework
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Naming a chief diversity officer, establishing an employee-led diversity, equity, and inclusion advisory council, and expanding employee resource groups
- Creating multiple pathways for employee advancement and expanding diverse hiring practices, including through enhanced external recruiting efforts and relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- Increasing diversity amongst its Board members
- Health and Safety
- Prioritizing the health and safety of employees and contractors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
- Enhancing our Best Defense safety program, resulting in an improved Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.61, which was ~40% lower than the rate in 2019
- Supporting Our Communities and Customers
- Committing $10 million over the next five years to support organizations that grow minority-owned small businesses, enhance economic development, and provide educational opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds
- Supporting customers and communities throughout the pandemic by donating $2 million to non-profits and social service agencies and providing electric bill payment assistance to customers
- Investing in communities where we live and work with an additional more than $4 million in charitable giving, for a total of $8 million in 2020
(1) Assuming necessary advancements in technology and supportive public policy.
In addition, the report discusses cybersecurity, supply chain sustainability, and Vistra's innovation initiatives and leading advocacy efforts, both of which support our country's progress toward lowering GHG emissions. This year's report adheres to the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) frameworks. Also included in the appendix of this year's report is Vistra's voluntary, annual report of its employee PAC contributions, corporate political contributions, and membership dues to trade organizations.
For additional information about our 2020 ESG initiatives and to download a copy of the report, please visit the Vistra website at vistracorp.com/sustainability.
Media
Meranda Cohn
214-875-8004
Media.Relations@vistracorp.com
Analysts
Molly Sorg
214-812-0046
Investor@vistracorp.com
About Vistra
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading, Fortune 275 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas, providing essential resources for customers, commerce, and communities. Vistra combines an innovative, customer-centric approach to retail with safe, reliable, diverse, and efficient power generation. The company brings its products and services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia, including six of the seven competitive wholesale markets in the U.S. and markets in Canada and Japan, as well. Serving nearly 4.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and natural gas, Vistra is one of the largest competitive residential electricity providers in the country and offers over 50 renewable energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive power generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 39,000 megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio, including natural gas, nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. In addition, the company is a large purchaser of wind power. The company is currently constructing a 400-MW/1,600-MWh battery energy storage system in Moss Landing, California, the largest of its kind in the world. Vistra is guided by four core principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we compete to win, and we care about our stakeholders, including our customers, our communities where we work and live, our employees, and our investors. Learn more about our environmental, social, and governance efforts and read the company's sustainability report at https://www.vistracorp.com/sustainability/.
KEYWORDS: NYSE: VST, Vistra, Stakeholder engagement
