Entergy Corporation Named Among the Top 100 Climate Innovation Leaders

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Apr 23, 2012, 03:10 ET

NEW ORLEANS, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new rating of the largest U.S. companies places Entergy Corporation among the top 100 best performing companies in the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CIIs) Cycle 3 Universe.

Inclusion in this index demonstrates superior management, mitigation and adaptation in the field of Climate Innovation. More than 360 U.S.-listed companies with free-float market capitalization of more than $1 billion have been rated and reviewed by Maplecroft, a risk analysis firm.

The Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes are described as the most exhaustive study of the United States' largest multinational companies and how they manage and adapt to climate change, with a special focus on innovation. Maplecroft rated each company against more than 100 criteria, including: technological innovation and new working practices to combat climate change impacts; management of climate-related issues; adaption to physical climate-related risks, such as flooding or more extreme weather events throughout the supply chain; and, the reduction of GHG emissions. Within the energy sector, Entergy Corporation's performance in measured areas was consistently rated well above industry averages.

"We are pleased by our inclusion in Maplecroft's list of top 100 best performing companies," said Chuck Barlow, vice president environmental strategy and policy, Entergy Corporation. "The ranking reflects the hard work of many people within the company to make a practical difference in confronting and adapting to both local and global climate issues."

Among the strengths Maplecroft noted were Entergy's identification of physical climate change risks, such as sea level rise, and establishment of a business continuity team to assess potential impacts. The company commissioned a widely-cited evaluation of climate change adaptation measures for the U.S. Gulf Coast region and has conducted a series of workshops with community partners on enhancing coastal community resiliency to weather events and rising sea levels. As a part of its overall environmental strategy, Entergy has also established a long term target to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at 20 percent below year 2000 levels through 2020.

According to Maplecroft, the CIIs enable investors to identify the most resilient and innovative companies with the best long-term growth prospects. They do so by highlighting firms that are innovating products, services, processes or partnerships in order to re-shape markets and position themselves to succeed in the climate-changed, low-carbon environment of the future. Since the CIIs conception in 2009, the firms at the top have consistently outperformed their peers and competitors, as demonstrated by the indexes' performance on the Bloomberg terminal.

"Climate change will affect business in unexpected ways, such as altering demand for existing products based on their climate-related impacts and by driving the demand for innovative sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, usage and recycling," states Maplecroft Director Dr. Kevin Franklin. "With growing legislation and regulation in the U.S. around emissions and climate change disclosure, companies must innovate or be left behind. The CIIs favor front-runners that are engaging proactively to shape the future growth environment, that have clear and efficient business processes and robust governance / business models."

The full report of the results and findings, available with the launch of the CIIs, is available at www.maplecroft.com/cii/.

Entergy has been a top 100 Maplecroft CII-ranked company since 2009.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

Entergy' online address is www.entergy.com

Twitter: @Entergy

SOURCE Entergy Corporation