Commitment to 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

New vendor code of conduct and employee health and safety policy

SJW Group (NYSE: SJW), which provides life-sustaining water and wastewater services to more than 1.5 million people in the U.S., has announced the release of its 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report. The report summarizes the environmental, social and governance achievements across the company’s local operations that serve customers in California, Connecticut, Maine and Texas.

“For SJW Group, 2021 can be summed up in one word — resilience. It is evident in our employees and the communities we serve. Our employees know that tap water touches the lives of people and communities every day and that it is our shared mission to deliver high-quality, reliable water service despite various challenges,” said President, Chair and CEO Eric W. Thornburg. “In the past few years, we have confronted the pandemic, stresses on some of our water supplies, changing weather conditions, economic struggles of our customers, and social and societal issues around race and violence in our country. We responded to those challenges and delivered on our commitment to be a leader across the environmental, social and governance issues in 2021. We are more resolute than ever to deliver on our mission and be a trusted partner and force for good in the communities we serve, as documented in the 2021 report.”

Among the highlights of the report:

• Completion of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory in 2021, and a pledge to reduce GHG emissions by 50% from 2019 levels by the year 2030. This science-based target is aligned with the Paris Agreement to limit total global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• A newly adopted vendor code of conduct, aligning the company’s supply chain practices with the company’s 2020 human rights policy.
• A formalized health and safety policy that affirms the company’s commitment to put health and safety at the center of day-to-day operations.
• Updates on the continued work of the company’s employee-led Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, including CEO Eric W. Thornburg’s signing of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ CEO Pledge.
• Environmental stewardship efforts from coast to coast, including water conservation programs, land and forest management initiatives, support for wildlife, and employee-led litter cleanups.
• Commitment to equitable water rates through water rate assistance programs in our largest utilities, including a first of its kind program in the state for water utilities at Connecticut Water, and other customer assistance programs.
• Continued community involvement through educational programs, events, charitable donations and employee volunteering.

In addition, Institutional Shareholder Services’ review of the company’s environmental, social and governance activities resulted in improvements in environmental and social scores. Among its water utility peers, SJW Group is tied for the best overall social score, and tied for second in the overall environmental score. The company has the best overall governance score possible and has been recognized with a Prime status by ISS ESG. Prime status is awarded to those companies with an ESG performance above the sector-specific Prime threshold.

The company has achieved a “gender balanced” rating for its board of directors from 50/50 Women on Boards. Further, according to 50/50 Women on Boards, only 6% of the 3,000 largest U.S. traded companies can claim a gender-balanced board.

SJW Group’s 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report and Policies can be found at: www.sjwgroup.com/2021CSR.

Source: Business Wire