ATLANTA, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company has been selected as a finalist for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award – Diversified Program at the 21^st annual S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards. The 2019 finalists were announced by program host S&P Global Platts, the global provider of energy and commodities information and spot market benchmarks.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award emphasizes the convergence of profitability and company values. The award recognizes the organization that best demonstrates leadership, commitment to sustained action and real-world impacts from across its business. The judges are seeking a high-performing organization that has evidenced its positive influence on surrounding communities, promotes teamwork toward sustainable, long-term impacts and encourages active employee participation beyond financial contributions.

Southern Company and our subsidiaries recognize the responsibility that comes with our privilege to develop energy solutions and are steadfast in our commitment to our customers, neighbors and communities.

We were one of the first energy companies to publicly set goals to reduce carbon emissions. In 2018, we established an intermediate goal of a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from 2007 levels by 2030 and a long-term goal of low- to no-carbon operations by 2050. As of the end of 2018, the Southern Company system has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than 35% as compared to 2007 levels. Since 2010, Southern Company and its subsidiaries have invested $20 billion in developing low-carbon and carbon-free energy resources.

In 2018, corporate and foundation giving by Southern Company and its subsidiaries totaled $63.6 million. Also, employees across the Southern Company system raised $2.1 million for numerous organizations that serve our local communities. Since 2003, we have facilitated the investment of more than $14.2 million in 306 grants that have restored or enhanced 1.7 million acres of forests, rivers, coastal areas and wetlands.

Established in 1999 and often described as "the Oscars of the energy industry," the S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership and superior performance in 21 categories spanning the entire energy complex. Hundreds of energy industry representatives are expected to attend the 2019 Global Energy Awards black-tie dinner on December 12 in New York City.

About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a leading energy company serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy through electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America, a leading distributed energy infrastructure company, a fiber optics network and telecommunications services. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices below the national average. For more than a century, we have been building the future of energy and developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, advanced carbon capture technologies, natural gas, renewables, energy efficiency and storage technology. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation and a low-carbon future, Southern Company and its subsidiaries develop the customized energy solutions our customers and communities require to drive growth and prosperity. Our uncompromising values ensure we put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and govern our business to the benefit of our world. Our corporate culture and hiring practices have been recognized nationally by the U.S. Department of Defense, G.I. Jobs magazine, DiversityInc, Black Enterprise, Forbes and the Women's Choice Award. To learn more, visit www.southerncompany.com.

About S&P Global Platts
At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping. S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global, which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com.

Certain information contained in this release is forward‐looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward‐looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning emission reduction goals. Southern Company cautions that there are certain factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from the forward‐looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward‐looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Southern Company and its subsidiaries; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company's and its subsidiaries' Annual Reports on Form 10‐K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward‐looking information: the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory changes, including tax and environmental laws and regulations and other laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries are subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; variations in demand for electricity and natural gas; the ability to complete necessary or desirable pipeline expansion or infrastructure projects, limits on pipeline capacity, and operational interruptions to natural gas distribution and transmission activities; transmission constraints; the ability to control costs and avoid cost and schedule overruns during the development, construction, and operation of facilities, including Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, which includes components based on new technology that only recently began initial operation in the global nuclear industry at this scale, and including changes in labor costs, availability and productivity; challenges with management of contractors, subcontractors or vendors; adverse weather conditions; shortages, delays increased costs or inconsistent quality of equipment, materials, and labor; contractor or supplier delay; nonperformance under construction, operating, or other agreements; operational readiness, including specialized operator training and required site safety programs; engineering or design problems; design and other licensing-based compliance matters, including the timely submittal by Southern Nuclear of the Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria documentation for each unit and the related review and approvals by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC") necessary to support NRC authorization to load fuel; challenges with start-up activities, including major equipment failure, system integration or regional transmission upgrades; and/or operational performance; the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits and licenses (including satisfaction of NRC requirements), to satisfy any environmental performance standards and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon completion of construction; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including rate actions relating to return on equity, equity ratios and fuel and other cost recovery mechanisms; legal proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions related to construction projects, such as Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 and pipeline projects, including Public Service Commission approvals and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and NRC actions; under certain specified circumstances, a decision by holders of more than 10% of the ownership interests of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 not to proceed with construction, and the ability of other Vogtle owners to tender a portion of their ownership interests to Georgia Power following certain construction cost increases; and catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other storms, droughts, pandemic health events or other similar occurrences. Southern Company and its subsidiaries expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward‐looking information.

SOURCE Southern Company

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