How 2020 Shaped Our Environmental, Social, and Governance Priorities
I’m pleased to announce the publication of Clearway’s 2020 ESG report. The report and associated disclosures provide a comprehensive overview of how Clearway responsibly approaches environmental, social, and governance and outlines our plans for continued progress.
Environmental stewardship, social impact, and sound governance have been a priority at Clearway since we were founded in 2018. Yet when we first reported on our sustainability performance in our first year as a standalone company, we were faced with a big step for a young enterprise of clarifying those priorities as we laid the foundation of our identity and aspirations.
This time, reflecting and reporting on our 2020 ESG practices proved yet another significant undertaking in a year that posed countless challenges across the world and in our own communities. The global pandemic, social uprisings, and multiple climate-related challenges compelled us to re-examine our impact on the world and our opportunity to do more. Once again, compiling this report helped us reflect on how those events sowed the seeds of change within our company and sharpened our focus on what’s most important.
When the coronavirus first began to take its toll, our colleagues from across the company recognized our stability as reason to provide relief where we can in the communities where we live and operate. Because of that effort, Clearway donated almost $1 million to organizations working to combat food insecurity, support education, assist elderly and youth populations, and provide many other much-needed services. This type of community support builds on the economic benefits inherent in the renewable energy sites we open and operate, which last year also included more than $35.4 million in property taxes and $12.6 million in landowner payments.
Similarly, last year’s profound social justice movement catalyzed our desire to act boldly within our company and in the broader energy industry. That companywide effort became the launch of our Equity, Partnership, and Inclusion Council (EPIC). The Council focuses on our diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy and will chart Clearway’s course toward progress in three key areas: our people, our products and customers, and our purchasing.
People across the globe also faced the realities of a changing climate last year, reminding us of the importance of our core focus to accelerate the deployment of clean energy. In 2020, the 5 gigawatts of wind and solar generation we own and operate powered the equivalent of 1.3 million homes and avoided 8.8 million metric tons of CO2 for our customers, and we ended the year with a development pipeline of more than 10 GW that includes over 100 projects across 20 states.
Throughout Clearway there’s a shared sense of mission and purpose that guides us in our day-to-day business activities. Collectively, we want to leverage Clearway’s impact to create positive change in the renewables industry as well as in society at large. To that end, we have established an enterprise-wide ESG committee that will work to implement Clearway’s ESG strategy, which centers around environmental stewardship, positive societal impact, and good governance.
At the core of this effort is the support and encouragement of Clearway’s many stakeholders. We thank everyone involved for their continued interest in Clearway’s progress, particularly the many members of our team who contributed to the ESG report. I believe it accurately presents our commitment to environmental, social, and governance issues, and I look forward to sharing what we accomplish next in our 2021 report.