PG&E Named One Of America's Top 50 Community-Minded Companies

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been recognized as one of America's most community-minded companies in The Civic 50 ­survey—the first comprehensive ranking of S&P 500 corporations that best use their time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

The survey was conducted by the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and Points of Light, both experts on civic engagement, in partnership with Bloomberg LP. The full Civic 50 ranking is posted at Bloomberg Businessweek's website.

"It's an honor to achieve national recognition for the work we do every day to serve our communities, beyond the basics of delivering safe, reliable and affordable gas and electricity," said Ezra Garrett, vice president of community relations and chief sustainability officer for PG&E. "Our corporate charitable giving—focused on advancing the causes of education, environmental stewardship, and community and economic vitality—is just the start for PG&E. Our employees demonstrate a selfless spirit of giving, which we embrace and encourage by linking them with opportunities to donate their time and dollars."

"Today, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we can see clearly how much corporate America pitches in—with expertise, talent, time and money—to help communities meet critical needs," said Jackie Norris, executive director of the Points of Light Corporate Institute. "In times of disaster and in relative calm, The Civic 50's work is transformative, innovative and critically important."

To assist those affected by Hurricane Sandy, PG&E is one of several utilities nationwide that have sent electrical workers and equipment to help restore power in the hardest-hit areas. Additionally, PG&E extended its annual employee giving campaign to allow time to donate to relief efforts, and the company announced it will match cash donations up to a total of $50,000 to the American Red Cross' Hurricane Sandy response.

To identify The Civic 50, companies' civic engagement programs were evaluated on seven specific metrics: leadership, measurement and strategy, design, employee civic health, community partnerships, cause alignment and transparency. Winning companies employed increasingly sophisticated tools to measure the impact of community engagement and alignment of these programs with their business's core competencies.

More than two-thirds of the top 50 companies, including PG&E, say they "frequently" or "always" use the professional skills of their workforce to address social issues and real community challenges. PG&E is also among the 66 percent of the top 50 that say they have "mission-level" alignment with the community partners, meaning they work with them on the highest strategic level, not just on individual programs or events.

"NCoC is proud to be part of The Civic 50 launch," said Ilir Zherka, executive director of NCoC.  "The Civic 50 demonstrates that the best companies in America are deeply committed to strengthening their respective communities. Leaders of these companies are aligning the expertise of their companies and people with the needs of their communities, and then measuring the impact of their programs. NCoC hopes The Civic 50 will spur companies throughout our country to do the same."

An article about The Civic 50, looking at the philanthropic efforts of some of the top companies, appears in the Nov. 12-18, 2012, issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)