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, and updated in 2018, 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 power supply options to best satisfy their respective preferences, values and needs. This includes maintaining a balanced portfolio of generation projects, power purchase agreements and a potential project development pipeline that includes cost-effective power supply options. In addition, AMP will ensure that energy efficiency, demand response and distributed energy resource (DER) options are available for members to integrate into their portfolios.

Principle #2 - Reducing Our Overall Emissions Profile

AMP is committed to minimizing pollution, reducing waste and conserving natural resources by designing, constructing, operating and maintaining its facilities in an environmentally sound and responsible manner in compliance with all environmental obligations. AMP also prudently invests in projects to offset GHG emissions from its fossil generation resources.

Principle #3 – Using Less

AMP recognizes the importance of energy efficiency as a strategy for improving system cost effectiveness, customer retention and business development. Reducing electricity demand and usage through innovative conservation efforts and efficiency improvements offered to AMP member communities results in conservation of natural resources and emissions reductions. AMP promotes the “reduce, reuse, recycle” principles of sustainability to its members and employees, and throughout its operations.

Principle #4 – 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 ensure a good quality of life and foster economic development and growth. AMP provides ongoing employee training, safety instruction, project engineering and other technical programs to ensure that member communities have access to the most up-to-date information and services in these areas. AMP also collaborates with interested member communities to identify and provide economic development services, energy efficiency opportunities and sustainable development opportunities consistent with local preferences, values and needs. Looking to the future, AMP’s member-led Focus Forward Advisory Council strives to inform and prepare members for the evolving electric utility industry.

Principle #5 – Reaching Out to Stakeholders

AMP engages with stakeholder entities – including (but not limited to) government, business, academia, media and utility organizations – in an effort to ensure that they understand the purpose, role and value of public power, along with AMP’s mission and vision. AMP leverages this outreach to promote AMP and member interests. AMP encourages member communities to identify potential partnership opportunities as well.

Principle #6 - Leading by Example

AMP encourages its officers and employees to lead by example through increased efforts to recycle and conserve energy, both at home and in the workplace. To the extent practicable, AMP uses its headquarters to demonstrate the use of green building principles, distributed energy resources and energy efficient technologies, thus leading by example. AMP assists members as they pursue innovations in the rapidly changing electric utility industry, increase environmental stewardship and meet customer needs. Through AMP’s internal Innovation Team and industry group memberships, AMP strives to be informed and engaged as power sector technological advances and trends progress. AMP reports its sustainability and environmental stewardship actions on both a quarterly and an annual basis and, where possible, measures its success in achieving the goals laid out by these Sustainability Principles.