Southern Company Gas 2022 Sustainability Executive Summary Final 4.19.23 - Flipbook - Page 14
Biodiversity and
Environmental Stewardship
We rely on natural resources to successfully operate our
impacts altogether, then minimizing and mitigating
business. Because of our interconnected relationship
unavoidable impacts, and where necessary, restoring the
with the environment, natural resource stewardship
environment to address any lasting effects.
is critical to our purpose. We have a long history of
doing our part to avoid or minimize environmental
We engage with organizations such as the National Fish
impact by complying with environmental regulations,
and Wildlife Foundation and The Nature Conservancy to
implementing conservation projects, reducing our
develop local solutions for eliminating invasive species,
emissions and minimizing our waste.
climate-proofing prairies, restoring coastal ecosystems
and protecting endangered native plant and animal
Environmental Principles
and Compliance
species. By practicing conservation and promoting
biodiversity, we protect our valuable shared natural
resources, which enables us to continue providing clean,
safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers.
Southern Company’s Environmental Principles guide our
commitment to environmental responsibility as we
provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to
our customers. Compliance is the foundation of this
commitment to protect the environment. We are
dedicated to meeting or exceeding all applicable local,
state and federal environmental laws and regulations.
This pledge to the environment applies to every
employee every day.
Southern Company Gas implements an Environmental
Management System to uphold compliance, ensure
consistent application of our policies and set forth a
methodology to define and achieve policy
implementation and performance goals. The EMS
applies to all activities and operations that have
potential environmental impacts.
Environmental Remediation
From the 1830s to the 1950s, before natural gas was
widely available, gas was manufactured from coal and
other fuels primarily for lighting and heating.
Manufactured gas plants were marvels of technology,
even by today's standards, but their operations left
byproducts and residues behind.
Our local distribution companies have worked with
state and federal environmental agencies and local
communities to investigate the MGP sites they once
owned and operated and to design and implement
cleanup programs.
Today, two-thirds of our MGP sites have been
remediated and restored to productive use. Our
Environmental Protection
aggressive MGP cleanup program is a reflection of our
As part of our commitment to environmental
communities we serve. Remediated MGP sites meet
stewardship, we partner with local conservation
state and federal health and environmental clean-up
organizations to implement projects and increase
standards. Our companies will continue to work with
awareness around the importance of protecting the
the relevant environmental agencies to monitor, test
diverse habitats found throughout our service territory.
and/or remediate our remaining MGP sites, according to
Across our operations, we act to minimize our impacts
each site's state-approved clean-up programs.
from the start: first endeavoring to avoid environmental
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Southern Company Gas
commitment to the health and safety of the
