Sustainability Principles

American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) and its member communities are committed to the balance of being responsible corporate citizens, governmental entities, employers, and environmental stewards while maintaining a supply of cost-competitive, reliable electric power. The best way to achieve balance is through the consistent application of sustainability as a business practice.

In 2005, the AMP Board of Trustees adopted Environmental Stewardship Principles to help guide the organization. The principles were revised as Sustainability Principles and re-adopted in 2011 to expand the scope of the principles to encompass broader corporate sustainability goals and objectives, thus better reflecting the organization’s definition of sustainability as a business approach that creates long-term member value by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental, and societal developments.

AMP defines its “corporate sustainability” as a business approach that creates long-term member value by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental, and societal developments. To that end, the AMP Board of Trustees affirms the following Sustainability Principles, to guide and support its actions.

Principle #1 – Providing a Balanced and Sustainable Power Supply Portfolio

AMP is committed to providing our members with a variety of options for meeting their power supply needs. This includes maintaining a balanced portfolio of generation projects, power purchase agreements, and a project development pipeline that includes cost-effective fuel and generation technology options. This also means using energy efficiency and load control as meaningful tools in power supply planning to reduce the need for new generation resources.

Principle #2 - Reducing Our Overall Emissions Profile

AMP is committed to reducing its overall emissions profile. Reductions of airborne emissions can be achieved through the use of efficient coal and natural gas and other lower- or zero-emission generation technologies (including hydroelectric and other renewables), supply-side or end-use efficiency improvements, and conservation activities. Improvements in energy and operational efficiency and use of efficient coal and natural gas technologies at the generation level will also reduce water usage and need for landfill space. Mindful that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) will be limited at some point in the future, AMP will prudently invest in projects to offset carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions from our fossil generation resources. AMP also encourages efforts to account for and reduce GHG emissions by individual AMP member communities, which promotes balancing their system needs with other stewardship and customer values.

Principle #3 – Using Less

AMP recognizes that electricity not generated – because it is not needed – yields the greatest environmental benefit and is essential to a truly sustainable business approach. Reducing electricity demand through innovative conservation efforts and efficiency improvements offered to AMP member communities will help conserve natural resources as well as reduce emissions. AMP will also promote the “reduce, reuse, recycle” principles of sustainability to its membership and employees and throughout its operations.

Principle #4 – Making Smart Investments

AMP is faced with finding new power supply options to meet member needs. Volatile energy markets and aging generation resources have spurred AMP to make smart investments in efficient coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, landfill gas, and solar generation assets to mitigate overexposure to the wholesale market. AMP will continue to pursue incorporating other cost-effective renewable resources as an important part of our generation portfolio and will endeavor to use any available favorable local, state, or federal regulatory treatment when siting and financing these projects. 

Principle #5 – Assisting Member Communities

AMP member municipal electric systems are critical components in the success of the communities they serve. Investment of capital – both financial and human – in AMP member communities is essential to ensuring a good quality of life and encouraging economic development and growth. AMP provides ongoing employee training, safety instruction, project engineering, and other technical services to ensure that member communities have access to the most up-to-date services in these areas. Environmental enhancements (planting trees, creating green space, etc.) are also valuable assets to local communities, and AMP will provide technical support and work with interested member communities to identify energy efficiency, carbon management, and sustainable investment and development opportunities consistent with local needs. 

Principle #6 – Reaching Out to Stakeholders

AMP will reach out to other stakeholder entities – including (but not limited to) government, business, academia, media, and other utility organizations – to ensure that they understand AMP’s mission and vision and AMP’s approach to sustainability. This outreach is intended to help AMP identify potential future collaborative opportunities beyond those traditionally associated with providing electric power supply. AMP encourages member communities to identify potential partnership opportunities as well.

Principle #7 - Leading by Example

AMP encourages its officers and employees to lead by example through increased efforts to reuse and recycle home and office products and conserve energy, both at home and in the workplace. To the extent practicable, AMP will strive to use its headquarters building to demonstrate the use of green materials and energy efficient products, thus leading by example. AMP will report its sustainability and environmental stewardship actions on both a quarterly and an annual basis and, where possible, measure its success in achieving the goals laid out by these Sustainability Principles.