HOUSTON, Aug. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- To better serve its customers, investors and stakeholders, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) today announced it is incorporating the Edison Electric Institute's (EEI's) Version 1 environmental, social, governance, and sustainability-related (ESG/sustainability) reporting template into its annual sustainability reporting. This approach is part of an ongoing EEI-led initiative to help provide the financial sector with more uniform and consistent ESG/sustainability data and information.

Version 1 of the EEI ESG template is the first and only industry-focused and investor-driven ESG reporting framework.

"We recognize that key ESG-related issues are integral to our performance and are important for our investors and other stakeholders," said Scott M. Prochazka, president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy.  "We believe the EEI ESG template complements the Corporate Responsibility Report we published earlier this year.  Combined, these disclosures highlight our approaches on supporting environmental stewardship, enriching our communities and providing a safe, inclusive workplace." 

In order to develop industry-focused and investor-driven ESG/sustainability reporting practices, CenterPoint Energy joined an EEI working group comprised of financial industry specialists in asset management, ESG/sustainability, and investment banking; buy-side and sell-side analysts; and electric company officials from various disciplines, including accounting, environmental, ESG/sustainability, finance, treasury, investor relations, and legal.

"The electric power industry is leading the way to a clean energy future, having reduced carbon dioxide emissions nearly 27 percent below 2005 levels as of the end of 2017," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "EEI's ESG/sustainability template will enable CenterPoint Energy to present its ESG and sustainability-related efforts in an accurate, timely, and concise manner that is favored by investors."

Over the past two years, CenterPoint Energy and EEI-led stakeholder working groups developed the EEI ESG template, which encourages voluntary reporting of ESG/sustainability information in both quantitative and qualitative formats. Within the quantitative section, companies are able to report sector-specific information, including data on a company's portfolio, emissions, capital expenditures, and resources. The qualitative section provides an opportunity for companies to elaborate in greater detail regarding their governance and strategy. The EEI ESG template provides information in a measurable and consistent format for investors and customers to accurately assess the long-term ESG/sustainability progression toward a clean energy future.

As a participant in Version 1 of the EEI ESG template, CenterPoint Energy is publishing its 2017 data today under the Environmental, Social and Governance section of our Investor Relations website.   

More information is available here on EEI's website.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also owns 54.0 percent of the common units representing limited partner interests in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, a publicly traded master limited partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp. Enable Midstream Partners, LP owns, operates and develops natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With more than 8,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

For more information contact
Media:
Leticia Lowe
Phone  713.207.7702
Investors:
David Mordy
Phone  713.207.6500

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.