SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2008 SECTION 9:  Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Summary

Report Scope and Boundaries

Green Mountain Power elected to draft this annual sustainability report using the GRI 2006 Reporting Guidelines (G3).  The sections and content of this report were based on the Economic, Environmental, Social, Labor Practices and Decent Work, Human Rights, Society, and Product Responsibility Indicators of GRI.  The report also addresses the G3's Strategy and Profile Standard Disclosures.  During report preparation, we considered GRI's Draft Electric Utility Sector Supplement.  While we did not choose to include all of these in this year's report, this year's report does include many of these indicators.  To facilitate comparison with the GRI indicators, this report references specific indicators throughout, as well as including a GRI index at the end of this section, which explains why certain indicators are not applicable to us or are not addressed due to data deficiencies.

There is very little change in the scope and boundary of this report compared to last year's report.  This year's report reports on the same locations, facilities, and operations of Green Mountain Power as last year's report, with one exception.  Our new Westminster facility, which was sustainably designed, effectively replaced our Bellows Falls location.  SD 3.6, 3.8, and 3.11

It is important to note that our report continues to evolve.  This is the fifth year that we have prepared a sustainability report based on the GRI guidelines, and the past several years have been more of a challenge because we are determining the best ways to address the G3 guidelines, including some of the Electric Utility Sector Supplement Draft Indicators.  SD 3.7

Questions on this report should be directed to: Dorothy Schnure, Manager of Corporate Communications, Green Mountain Power, Colchester, Vermont; (802) 655-8418, or schnure@greenmountainpower.com.  SD 3.4

Report Content

Prioritization of report topics was based on materiality and stakeholder feedback.  Early in 2009, we performed a materiality determination and throughout 2008 and early 2009 we engaged stakeholders to ensure that our sustainability report reflected the issues that are of greatest concern to our stakeholders.  The results of the materiality determination are presented in the Material Issues section of the report.  Outcomes of our various stakeholder engagement efforts are described throughout this report in pertinent sections.

In some areas of the report, we have included more information on a particular topic (e.g., safety) and less information on some of our programs that were described in detail in previous years' reports (e.g., impacts on native species).  In some instances, we encourage readers to refer to previous years' reports for more information.  SD 3.5  There have only been a few very minor information corrections to the information in previous years' reports.  These corrections are noted where they occur.  SD 3.10

Materiality and Stakeholder Engagement

Green Mountain Power held a Materiality Determination meeting early in 2009.  The goal of the meeting was to update the list of material issues first developed in 2006.   Identifying the material issues is crucial to Green Mountain Power's sustainability strategy, as well as guiding the content and focus of the Sustainability Report.  Material issues are issues that can significantly impact one or more aspect of Green Mountain Power's commitment to financial responsibility, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.   Collaboration occurred between various Green Mountain Power employees, including:

• External and Customer Affairs
• Manager of Corporate Communications
• Purchasing
• Information Technology
• Safety & Environmental Manager
• Field Operations Manager
• Administration Manager (including Fleet and Facilities)
• Human Resources

SD 1.2, SD 1.2.5, SD 3.5

In addition to the materiality determination meeting, we also held employee engagement sessions to gain feedback on the company and its sustainability performance.  The results of the employee engagement sessions were used to add depth, relevancy, and authenticity to the materiality determination.  Additional stakeholder engagement conducted in 2008 included:

• Customer Telephone Surveys - to gauge customer satisfaction and probe customers on specific aspects of our energy strategy.
• Renewable Energy ("Green Zones") Collaboration - we convened various Vermont agencies, NGOs, developers, and consultants to talk about reducing the obstacles to increasing the number and size of significant renewable energy installations within the State. The result of this meeting was a working group that successfully introduced State legislation.
• Community Energy Fair
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys
• Choose2BGreen Blog

How this Year's Report is Different

The primary difference in this year's report is that we have separated the report sections on-line, so that people can quickly drill-down to the information they are most interested in (e.g., operations, material issues, power profile, community, etc.).  In the past, we have published one long report with an extensive table of contents.  Our stakeholder feedback indicated that our audience wanted quicker access to various parts of our report.  Other stakeholder feedback has indicated that previous reports have been too narrative, so this year we have tried to further distill information into bullets, charts, tables, and figures.

The content of this year's report is primarily based on data and information from FY 2008, which was from September 2007-September 2008.  Where appropriate, we have compared recent data with previous years to identify trends and track progress against performance targets.  It is very important to note that comparisons between years were a little awkward because of our decision to make our sustainability reporting consistent with our fiscal calendar.  Also, where appropriate, we have included information and updates from 2009 to add relevancy to report topics.  Last year's report, which addressed 2007, was published in September 2008.  SD 3.1 - 3.3

Report Audience

Our primary focus for this effort is to create accountability through an accurate, structured report that provides a transparent view of our successes, communicates our challenges, and identifies areas for improvement.  This document is intended for a diverse audience of stakeholders that includes customers, shareholders, and anyone else interested in learning about Green Mountain Power.

We hope that this report is received by a wide variety of our stakeholders, including community members, concerned citizens, employees, and other groups.  Part of the reason we have elected to publish this report on our website is so that readers can access individual sections easily and select the topics that interest them the most.  We have also elicited stakeholder feedback through our blog, which helps us develop better ways of ensuring that the report remains accessible, readable, and interesting.  SD 3.5

Assurance

We hired an outside environmental sustainability consultant to help us prepare this report.  The report preparation process involved the consultant assisting Green Mountain Power with a materiality determination, stakeholder engagement, gathering information and data, and serving as the repository for all of the data and information necessary to respond to the GRI indicators.  The consultant also convened the stakeholder engagement sessions, prompted discussion, and gleaned issues to add to the GRI report.  Our consultant analyzed the data and information closely to: compare it with the G3 guidelines; trend it with data from previous years' reports; challenge any inaccuracies or discrepancies; consider the input of stakeholders; critically analyze information in light of the materiality analysis; and assess the need for clarification of additional information from Green Mountain Power.  In this way, our consultant was able to provide limited assurance services to Green Mountain Power.  Assurance-type activities were performed based on several different protocols, including the GRI G3 Guidelines and AccountAbility's Assurance Standard AA1000. 

We recognize the limitations inherent in seeking assurance from a consultant who is primarily responsible for preparation of the sustainability report.  Green Mountain Power is currently exploring ways to seek fully independent, impartial, third-party assurance for its Sustainability Report in accordance with established guidelines and criteria.  Our sustainability consultant has been assisting Green Mountain Power with strategic sustainability services since 2005 and is committed to ensuring that the sustainability reporting remains accurate, transparent, considerate of stakeholder needs, and a true reflection of Green Mountain Power's challenges and successes as it travels the path towards sustainability. 

It should also be noted that certain data elements included in this report have already been audited/verified by external third parties.  For example, the carbon emissions data that we report to the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is audited by NASD, and the emissions data we submitted to The Climate Registry is verified by a third party.  Also, our financial information is audited annually by KPMG.

SD 3.9 and 3.13

GRI Reference Table

[3]Please note that when this report was prepared, the EU Sector Supplement was still in its draft form. It has since been finalized, and we will work with the finalized version in our next report.

 

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SECTION 1: PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW                                         

SECTION 2: OUR MATERIAL ISSUES                                                

SECTION 3: THE SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR POWER PROFILE                     

SECTION 4: RESOURCE USE AND OPERATIONS                            

SECTION 5: EMPLOYER                                                                      

SECTION 6: CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY                                               

SECTION 7: FINANCIAL                                                                

SECTION 8: COMPANY FACTS & FIGURES                                       

SECTION 9:  GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE (GRI) SUMMARY