Aqua America Releases Inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility Report
Utility acts to further reduce environmental footprint, highlights achievements
Aqua America Inc. (NYSE: WTR) today issued its
corporate social responsibility report, highlighting the company’s standards for sustainable business practices, environmental
performance, employee safety, customer experience and community engagement. The report marks the first CSR report by the company,
which had previously released sustainability reports on a biennial basis.
“As one of the largest publicly regulated water utilities in the nation, Aqua has long believed that our day-to-day operations
inherently include the immense responsibility to protect the very resource we provide – water,” said Aqua America Chairman and CEO
Christopher Franklin. “Each day, our sustainable and environmentally friendly processes provide safe and reliable water and
wastewater services to more than 3 million people.”
Aqua’s corporate social responsibility commitment extends to all aspects of its business, from reducing energy consumption and
lowering greenhouse gas emissions to a belief in supplier diversity and providing an inclusive and safe workplace for the company’s
1,600 employees, according to Franklin.
The release of Aqua’s CSR report reflects the company’s enhanced commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices.
In the period covered by the report, Aqua has taken a deliberate approach to sustainable business practices and introduced new
sustainability goals, utilizing 2017 as a baseline year for reporting metrics.
The report highlights achievements in four areas: conservation and stewardship, infrastructure, people and community engagement.
Key accomplishments include:
- Removing an estimated 8,148 metric tons of suspended solids, and another 8,000-plus metrics tons of
organic material, from wastewater through Aqua’s treatment processes. This is the equivalent of keeping approximately 340 dump
trucks of waste material from entering streams and rivers.
- Investing more than $2 billion from 2012 to 2017 to renew and improving aging water and wastewater
infrastructure across the communities Aqua serves.
- Recording the company’s best-ever safety metrics in 2017, including an average lost time injury rate
of less than 1 day.
- Protecting more than 7,600 acres of lands and habitats at over a dozen locations across eight
states.
Aqua’s full corporate social responsibility report and more information about Aqua’s initiatives are available online at:
https://csr.aquaamerica.com.
About Aqua America
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded water utilities and serves more than 3 million people in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR. Visit
AquaAmerica.com for more information, or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at
@MyAquaAmerica.
Forward-looking statement
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including, among others: that the legislation may result in municipalities selling their water and/or wastewater systems. There are
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements including: general economic business conditions; the company’s ability to leverage its compliance expertise, purchasing
power, and operational experience; the company's ability to fund needed infrastructure; changes in regulations or regulatory
treatment; availability and access to capital; the cost of capital; disruptions in the credit markets; and other factors discussed
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. For more information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Aqua America's business, please refer to Aqua
America's annual, quarterly and other SEC filings. Aqua America is not under any obligation—and expressly disclaims any such
obligation—to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
WTRG
Aqua America Inc.
Brian Dingerdissen
Investor Relations
O: 610-645-1191
BJDingerdissen@AquaAmerica.com
or
Stacey Hajdak
Marketing and Communications
O: 610-520-6309
M: 267-294-1866
SMHajdak@AquaAmerica.com
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