SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SJW Group (NYSE: SJW), among the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility companies in the U.S., announced the release of its 2020 Sustainability Report, Coast to Coast. It is SJW Group’s first report since its 2019 acquisition of Connecticut Water Service, Inc., which now includes all of its water and wastewater utility operations in California, Connecticut, Maine and Texas. The organization’s newly adopted Human Rights Policy is among the highlights of the report.
In addition, Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) review of the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities resulted in significant improvements in year-over-year Environmental and Social scores. The best rating in the ISS scale is a 1, and 10 is the lowest. The company’s overall Environmental score moved from 7 to 5 and the overall Social score from 8 to 3 in 2020. The Governance rating remained best in class at a 1 in 2020. The company is recognized with Prime status by ISS ESG. Prime status is awarded to companies with an ESG performance above the sector-specific Prime threshold.
“We are proud of our continuing achievements shared in our 2020 Sustainability Report,” stated Eric W. Thornburg, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SJW Group. Thornburg added, “The commitment of our employees, management, and Board to sustainability excellence reflects our longstanding commitments and mirrors SJW Group’s core values of serving customers, communities, and employees while protecting the environment. Among the specific achievements in 2020 that we are most proud of is the adoption by our Board of a Human Rights Policy that firmly states that human rights are fundamental rights, freedoms, and standards of treatment to which all people are entitled.”
The report highlights the company’s focus on:
- Employee health and safety
- Environmental stewardship
- Customer assistance programs
- Supplier diversity
- Social responsibility
- Infrastructure investments
The company’s nearly 50% female representation on its Board of Directors has also been recognized by Women on Boards 2020 as a “Winning” company for achieving gender parity.
In 2021, SJW Group plans to build on the solid ESG foundation outlined in its 2020 report, developing a long-term sustainability plan and focusing on greenhouse gas emissions with a baseline survey of current emissions levels.
SJW Group’s 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report and the Human Rights Policy can be found at www.sjwgroup.com.
About SJW Group
SJW Group is the second-largest investor-owned pure-play water and wastewater utility, based on estimated rate base, in the United States, providing lifesaving and high-quality water service to nearly 1.5 million people. SJW Group’s locally led and operated water utilities — San Jose Water Company in California, The Connecticut Water Company in Connecticut, The Maine Water Company in Maine, and SJWTX Inc. (dba Canyon Lake Water Service Company) in Texas — possess the financial strength, operational expertise and technological innovation to safeguard the environment, deliver outstanding service to customers and provide opportunities to employees. SJW Group remains focused on investing in its operations, remaining actively engaged in its local communities and delivering continued sustainable value to its shareholders. For more information about SJW Group, please visit www.sjwgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “strategy,” or “anticipates,” or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
The accuracy of such statements is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, but not limited to, the following factors: (1) the effect of water, utility, environmental and other governmental policies and regulations, including actions concerning rates, authorized return on equity, authorized capital structures, capital expenditures and other decisions; (2) changes in demand for water and other services; (3) the impact of the Coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic on our business operation and financial results; (4) unanticipated weather conditions and changes in seasonality; (5) climate change and the effects thereof; (6) unexpected costs, charges or expenses; (7) our ability to successfully evaluate investments in new business and growth initiatives; (8) the risk of work stoppages, strikes and other labor-related actions; (9) catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist acts, physical attacks, cyber-attacks, or other similar occurrences; (10) changes in general economic, political, business and financial market conditions; (11) the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, changes in interest rates, compliance with regulatory requirements, compliance with the terms and conditions of our outstanding indebtedness, and general stock and debt market conditions; and (12) legislative and general market and economic developments.
In addition, actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to our overall business, including those more fully described in SJW Group’s filings with the SEC, including the most recent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
