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Welcome to the 2008 Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Corporate Responsibility Report. Our company has produced an annual environmental, health and safety report each year since 1994. We expanded the breadth of the reporting in 2004 to create a Corporate Responsibility Report in which we strive to provide comprehensive and transparent information to our stakeholders on our sustainability practices and performance. The Pinnacle West Corporate Responsibility Report was highlighted in the July, 2008 issue of Chartwell's Best Practices for Utilities & Energy Companies newsletter in the area of sustainability reporting. Over the past two years, Pinnacle West's on-line Corporate Responsibility Report has averaged more than 50,000 individual Web visitors per year. In May 2009, The Roberts Environmental Center at Claremont McKenna College released an extensive analysis of the corporate environmental and social reporting of the world's largest companies. In its Utilities, Gas and Electric Industry Report, Pinnacle West was ranked first among utilities in the United States for sustainability reporting.
ln developing this report, we used international reporting guidelines from Ceres and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI Content section offers links to data in our report that corresponds to GRI indicators. Additionally, in some instances, we have gone beyond these guidelines to provide information asked for by our external stakeholders, such as socially responsible investment research groups. While this results in a somewhat lengthy report, we believe this level of detail allows our stakeholders to more fully understand and evaluate our sustainability goals and progress. This on-line report is written as a "point-in-time" report and is not updated after its online publication. | Pinnacle West believes this Corporate Responsibility Report is written in accordance with Application level B of the Global Reporting Initiative. | |
Our Subsidiaries Section provides information on Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and its major subsidiaries, Arizona Public Service Company (APS) and SunCor Development Company. We also provide information on our retail subsidiary, APS Energy Services. Since our most significant environmental issues are associated with Pinnacle West's largest subsidiary, APS, the Environmental Performance section of this report focuses on APS' environmental performance. External assurance has not been conducted on this report, due primarily to budgetary reasons. We participate in the Ceres report review process as described below. Internal assurance includes the use of the Enablon electronic corporate responsibility reporting system to manage data, and internal review. 
In 1994, APS becameقthe first utility to join Ceres and adoptقtheقCeres Principles, a ten-point code of corporate environmental and sustainabilityقconduct that helped establish our ongoingقleadership position in environmental stewardship and corporate sustainability.قThe Ceres principles, which include strong positions on sustainability, areقincorporated into our EHS Policy.ق ق Under Ceres review, APS has issued an annual EHS report since 1994, whichقevolved into a Corporate Responsibility Report in 2004. The Ceres stakeholder review process allows Pinnacle West to interact with a number of stakeholders from across the nation, including environmental organizations, investment companies, other businesses and Ceres professionals, to obtain input into the content and organization of our report.قEach year we receive detailed comments and recommendations from the Ceres review on our draft report, which allows us to continue to improve our report and meet evolving stakeholder expectations. Learn more about Ceres.
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| Continuous improvement is a critical component of our sustainability effort. In 2008, the company made important changes to its sustainability efforts including the following: |
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| APS submitted a long-term Resource Plan Report (RPR) to the Arizona Corporation Commission that envisions producing nearly half of our customers’ new energy needs through 2025 with solar and other renewable energy sources. This plan would meet our total new energy requirements in 2025 with no increase in CO2 emissions over the 2009 baseline. The RPR is discussed in our Integrated Resource Planning section. |
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| APS developed a new Climate Change Management Plan which provides detailed discussion about APS' climate change issues, risks, green house gas inventory, and the company's strategic response. This Plan is discussed in the Climate Change section of this report. |
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Pinnacle West has adopted specific sustainability metrics for inclusion in the Corporate Business Plan.
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In 2008, APS joined the Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance. The Alliance will help APS further develop sustainable supply chain practices and also provide value for our customers and shareholders.
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Recognizing the increasing importance of water resources in our sustainable energy future, in 2008 APS formed a new corporate Water Resource Management Department, with the mission of ensuring more sustainable, cost-effective and efficient use of water.
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| The company increased its annual expenditures in its Demand Side Management programs from $18.5 million in 2007 to $24 million in 2008, achieving about $3 in net benefits for each dollar invested and reducing over 3.2 GWh of electricity use. |
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Sustainability efforts focused on the employees in October 2008 as we celebrated Sustainability Month. We looked to anchor sustainable business concepts into our daily corporate culture and actions through site visits by officers, who discussed sustainabity. The effort was supported by activities and daily articles in our employee communications. Sustainability Month raised awareness and encouraged all employees to work and live sustainably.
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APS added a Spanish-language information section to aps.com to enhance communications with more than 32,000 customers who have indicated a preference for Spanish-language communications. These customers have always also had the option to reach a Spanish-speaking associate at our Call Center.
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