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Hello, and thank you for your interest in the Pinnacle West Environmental, Health and Safety Report (You can also request a printed summary of this report).
Our title, "Our Roots Run Deep," refers to the special connection we at Pinnacle West have with our Arizona home. Our roots, like those of the Palo Verde tree, run deep in Arizona. For the past 117 years, we have been intertwined in our state’s communities and in its environmental health. In everything we do, we understand we are part of our environment.
Each year, savvy investors and consumers become more attuned to the broader analysis of business performance. In essence, they’re finding environmental and social performance is far more than just corporate window-dressing. Companies that show concern and care for the communities they serve also tend to deliver value for shareholders. Some refer to this as sustainability. Others call it the "triple bottom line." At Pinnacle West, we just consider it doing business the right way.
This may sound simple, but strong performance in each of these areas can be anything but simple. Each year provides new challenges. In 2002, a struggling economy affected nearly every American business – including Pinnacle West. Our earnings, while down from the near record levels we reached in 2001, were still strong. And while the economy performed weakly, we remained focused on our core values.
- Our focus on safety continues, and while the number of recordable accidents remained the same as in 2001, the severity of the incidents was down significantly. This improvement was negated as we lost one of our employees in a traffic accident on icy roads in early 2002.
- The people of Pinnacle West and its subsidiaries donated more than $5.8 million to local non-profit organizations, schools and worthy causes. In addition to giving with their pocketbooks, our 6,000 employees volunteered more than 125,000 hours to community causes.
- In 2002, APS continued to focus on future non-polluting fuels that can support a vibrant economy. We installed another megawatt of solar generation and began construction of the Prescott (Ariz.) Airport Solar Power Plant, which, when completed, will be one of the largest photovoltaic solar plants in the world. We also installed a hydrogen and compressed natural gas fueling station designed to explore the benefits of using hydrogen as fuel in combustion engines.
- Pinnacle West earned the top rating (AAA) for environmental, social and economic performance from Innovest, an international investment advisory firm, and won the Better Business Bureau of Central and Northern Arizona’s Business Ethics Award.
We believe that operational, environmental, social and safety excellence, combined with our knowledge of the dynamic, growing western region, promises a strong future for our company. And our focus on performance excellence in all areas is integral to continually creating value – for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities we serve.
Thank you again for your interest in this report and in Pinnacle West.
Edward Z. Fox
Vice President of Environmental Health, Safety and Communications |
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Ed Fox
Vice President of Environmental Health, Safety and Communications
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