Natural Gas ESG and Sustainability
In response to growing interest in the role of natural gas in a sustainable energy future, the American Gas Association (AGA) has partnered with Edison Electric Institute (EEI) to develop a voluntary reporting template with the goal of helping electric and gas companies provide the financial sector with more uniform and consistent ESG/sustainability data and information.
In order to develop investor-driven ESG/sustainability reporting practices, EEI and AGA assembled a broad working group comprised of finance sector specialists in asset management, ESG/sustainability, and investment banking; buy-side and sell-side analysts; and industry representatives from various disciplines, including accounting, environment, ESG/sustainability, finance, treasury, investor relations, and legal.
The electric and gas companies using the ESG/sustainability template will publish data by the third quarter of each year. For those interested in the information, EEI and AGA member companies typically will post it on the investor relations or sustainability sections of their websites. See below for links to AGA member company websites where their template materials are posted.
In February 2021, AGA and EEI released the Natural Gas Sustainability Initiative (NGSI) Version 1 Protocol for calculating methane emissions intensity for operations across the natural gas supply chain. Participating members will have an opportunity to link to their NGSI methane metric from their ESG qualitative discussion. For further information about NGSI, see Natural Gas Sustainability Initiative.
On May 18, 2021, EEI and AGA made the updated Version 3 ESG Template available for use by participating companies. The AGA metrics tab for the quantitative section adds human resources metrics for board and workforce diversity. As in the Version 2 Template, the methane intensity metric is based only on emissions and sources reported to EPA under the greenhouse gas reporting rules in 40 C.F.R. Part 98, Subpart W. However, participants are encouraged to report their methane intensity using the more comprehensive NGSI methane intensity Protocol and to provide a link to their posted NGSI reporting template within their ESG qualitative narrative.
EEI and AGA ESG/Sustainability Template – Version 3 (2021)
- Qualitative Section: View the introduction and qualitative section.
- Quantitative Section: View the quantitative metrics and definitions.
EEI and AGA ESG/Sustainability Template – Version 2
- Qualitative Section: View the introduction and qualitative section.
- Quantitative Section: View the quantitative metrics and definitions.
Additional Resources
AGA Contacts
Adam Kay
Manager, Public Relations
akay@aga.org, 202-824-7263
Jennifer Golinsky Baseman
Associate Counsel, Environment
jbaseman@aga.org, 202-824-7340
Tim Parr
Deputy General Counsel
tparr@aga.org, 202-824-7072
Edith Naegele
VP, Membership and Strategic Development
enaegele@aga.org, 202-824-7087
EEI-AGA Version 2 ESG Template, including Gas Metrics – Participating Companies:
** Slightly Different Format
AGA ESG Gas Metrics (earlier Oct. 2018 Version) Participating Companies:
*Now Using Version 2. See link above.