Southern Company Overview
Southern Company is a leading energy company supplying clean and safe energy to homes and businesses across the country. Our name is consistently associated with excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices below the national average. We are committed to supporting and improving our communities and environment at the local level and beyond, while conducting business with honesty, integrity and fairness. Through industry-leading innovation and a commitment to a net zero future, we are delivering the customized sustainable and resilient energy solutions our customers and communities require to help drive growth and prosperity. Our uncompromising values put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and govern our business for the benefit of our world.
Sustainability Highlights
Our Companies
Southern Company is a holding company that conducts its business through its subsidiaries, including 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.
Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power
Traditional electric operating companies that provide service to both retail and wholesale customers in the Southeast.
Southern Power
A leading wholesale energy provider that develops, constructs, acquires, owns and manages power generation assets, including large renewable and energy storage portfolios to provide wholesale energy in 14 states.
Southern Company Gas
An energy services holding company that provides natural gas through local distribution companies (LDCs) in four states, including Atlanta Gas Light (Ga.), Chattanooga Gas (Tenn.), Nicor Gas (Ill.) and Virginia Natural Gas (Va.), as well as other complementary natural gas businesses.
Southern Nuclear
An operator and service provider to the Southern Company system's nuclear power plants and construction manager for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
PowerSecure, Southern Linc and Southern Telecom
Complementary non-utility businesses.
About Our Sustainability Website
In September 2021, Southern Company published its 2019/2020 Corporate Responsibility Executive Summary. The publication highlights key areas of interest to help stakeholders access Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures and other meaningful information on various sustainability topics.
Our sustainability website expands on topics in the Executive Summary and highlights the company’s efforts across our core sustainability priorities: Net Zero and Environmental Priorities; Reliability, Resilience and Affordability; Innovation; Workforce Sustainability; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Community Relationships.
"The term ESG has been used increasingly by investors and others over the past few years, but the ESG concept is not new to us. Since our inception, Southern Company and its operating companies have prioritized responsibility, sustainability, commitment to community and transparency. We have long believed corporate responsibility and corporate strategy are inextricably linked."
Thomas A. Fanning
Chairman and CEO
Southern Company
Priority Sustainability Issue Assessment
Beginning in 2021, Southern Company embarked on a Priority Sustainability Issue (PSI) assessment with the assistance of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which will help us prioritize the ESG and sustainability issues that are most important to our stakeholders. The assessment will inform our sustainability strategy moving forward, help structure meaningful reporting, prioritize resource allocation, and increase engagement with various parts of the business and the public in raising our sustainability profile. Preliminary results of this assessment will be shared in 2022, once available.
Sustainability Awards / Recognitions
Southern Company is consistently recognized by our customers, investors, employees and broader communities as exemplary in our service offerings and satisfaction of our promises. Some of our recent sustainability-related awards and recognitions include the following:
2021 Local Distribution Company (LDC) of the Year in the state: Virginia Oil and Gas Association
2021 Top 24 Most Trusted Business Partners in the utility industry: Cogent Reports Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement Study
2021 Top Project: Environment + Energy Leader
2021 Best Employers By State: Forbes
2021 Best Employers for Women: Forbes
2021 Best Employers for Diversity: Forbes
2021 Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion: The Disability Equality Index
2021 Top 50 Companies for Diversity: Diversity Inc.
2021 Perfect Corporate Equality Index Score: Human Rights Campaign
2021 Stevie Awards for Alabama Power’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting: International Business Awards
2022 Top 100 Military-Friendly Employer, GI Jobs
More details about these awards, previous recognitions, and other awards can found on our Accolades page.