Fort Collins Utilities First Municipal Utility to Register with Global Reporting Initiative

Dated Press Release
NOTICE: This press release was released 264 days ago!
(Release Date: Mar-03-2009)

Contact:
Customer and Employee Relations Manager Patty Bigner
Fort Collins Utilities, (970) 416-2432

Fort Collins Utilities http://fcgov.com/utilities is the first municipal utility registered as a member of the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) http://globalreporting.org, an organization that developed the leading reporting framework to benchmark organizational performance and commitment to sustainable practices.

“Sustainability” is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The United Nations Bruntland Commission crafted the accepted international definition in 1987.

Essentially, sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organizational performance toward the goal of sustainable development, Brian Janonis, Utilities Executive Director, says.

“Utilities adopted the GRI guidelines to ensure we meet the highest standards with respect to new choices in the way our operations, products, services and activities impact the environment, customers and operational economies.”

Utilities’ year-long benchmarking and assessment process is captured in its first-ever Sustainability Report, recently accepted by the GRI as meeting rigorous international standards.

Janonis says, using the GRI guidelines is a major step in Utilities’ implementation of a comprehensive, organization-wide initiative called, “Utility for the 21st Century.” Utilities launched the initiative in 2007 to help frame a purpose, issues and strategies for its overall long-term sustainability design and direction.

Utilities worked with a representative cross-section of Utilities employees, community members and Fort Collins city staff, to develop a purpose statement for its 21st Century sustainability initiative: “Inspiring community leadership by reducing environmental impact while benefiting customers, the economy and society.”

“As we began to anticipate and plan for the many interdependent needs of the future, our adoption of GRI guidelines has become an essential part of our business strategy,” he continues.

City Manager Darin Atteberry says, “The Utility for the 21st Century initiative aligns with the City’s goal to be one of the leading sustainable cities in the nation. I am encouraged by the progress my Utilities colleagues have made with this project.”

Janonis points out, the GRI is a multi-stakeholder network of 30,000 experts in dozens of countries worldwide. To date, more than 1,500 companies, including many of the world’s leading brands, have declared their voluntary adoption of the GRI guidelines.

Specifically, the GRI contains six areas of focus: economic, environmental, labor, human rights, society and product responsibility.

Utilities used the guidelines and applicable electric and water utility sector supplements to develop a baseline sustainability audit for the fiscal years 2006 and 2007. This served as the foundation for its benchmarking and

“The overarching goal of our sustainability work is to build a safer, more secure and more reliable Utilities operation by anticipating, preventing, deterring, neutralizing or mitigating effects of our operations so we support a sustainable community and future,” Janonis says.

“We believe this goal holds immense value to our customers, our community, our state and our world environment because it will help us continue to improve our operations and be more accountable to ourselves and our stakeholders.”

For more information or to view the Sustainability Report, visit http://fcgov.com/gri, e-mail , call (970) 221-6700 or TDD (970) 224-6003.