New sustainability reports demonstrate Ameren's commitment to a cleaner energy future

Reports highlight sustainability performance and climate strategy

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May 06, 2021, 10:30 ET

ST. LOUIS, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) announced the publication of five data-driven reports showing the company's commitment to a cleaner, sustainable energy future, including its plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The reports, utilizing the frameworks most sought after by investors and other stakeholders, quantify and provide further insight into Ameren's approach to important environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

"We've made significant progress in the last year on our transformational changes toward clean energy, helping customers control their energy use, increasing adoption of electric vehicles and taking impactful steps to make our communities better and more inclusive," said Gwen Mizell, vice president of sustainability and electrification at Ameren. "These accomplishments all occurred amid the great challenges of the pandemic. The reports are just one of the ways we're demonstrating Ameren's vision, Leading the Way to a Sustainable Energy Future, for the customers and communities we serve."

"While much has changed in our world, Ameren's focus on putting our customers at the center of everything we do has remained constant," said Warner Baxter, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren. "We are steadfast in our commitment to achieve our mission, To Power the Quality of Life, for the more than six million people we serve in Missouri and Illinois. Our ability to deliver superior long-term, sustainable value for our customers, communities and shareholders is directly linked to successfully executing our four key sustainability pillars: environmental stewardship, social impact, governance and sustainable growth."

The reports, which address varying topics, issues and reporting needs are available at AmerenInvestors.com. They include:

2021 Sustainability Report: Ameren's latest sustainability report covers Ameren's progress in 2020, including establishing a net-zero carbon emissions goal and substantial investments in clean energy. The report details how funding from AmerenCares and programs supported by Ameren's Illinois and Missouri regulators resulted in Ameren providing more than $23 million to help those in need in the communities we serve in both Missouri and Illinois during the pandemic. It also updates the company's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; ESG governance practices; and plans for sustainable growth.

Committed to Clean: Transformational Changes Toward Net-Zero: Ameren's 2021 climate risk report is based on recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This report provides information about the company's management of climate-related risks and opportunities, including its expansive plan to add 5,400 MW of clean energy in the coming decades. It also details how that plan is consistent with meeting the 1.5° Celsius goal, the target established by the Paris Agreement.

2021 EEI-AGA ESG/Sustainability Report: This report is based on the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and American Gas Association (AGA) ESG and sustainability reporting template. Ameren is a pilot member of this initiative, and uses this report annually to provide quantitative data related to a number of topics, including energy generation, capital expenditures and environmental impact.

Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB): This is Ameren's first SASB report, which provides investors with a better understanding of how ESG topics are guiding Ameren's business strategies and performance.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Ameren's business activities are mapped to the SDGs, which address the global challenges society faces. This inaugural effort also reflects Ameren's collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute to identify the sustainability issues most important to the company and its stakeholders.

Additional information about how Ameren manages sustainability topics, such as biodiversity and diversity, equity and inclusion, is also available at Ameren.com/Sustainability.

About Ameren Corporation
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric transmission and distribution service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois operates a rate-regulated electric transmission business in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this Framework not based on historical facts are considered "forward-looking" and, accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Although such forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the expected results will be achieved. These statements include (without limitation) statements as to future expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, strategies, targets, estimates, objectives, events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in addition to those discussed under Risk Factors in Ameren's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and elsewhere in this Framework and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations suggested in such forward-looking statements:

regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, and any changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, that may change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the plant-in-service accounting regulatory mechanism, including an extension of use beyond 2023, if requested by Ameren Missouri and approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission ("MoPSC");
the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy policies;
the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws, regulations, interpretations, or rates, and challenges to the tax positions taken by us, if any, as well as resulting effects on customer rates;
the effects on energy prices and demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in customer energy efficiency, electric vehicles, electrification of various industries, energy storage, and private generation sources, which generate electricity at the site of consumption and are becoming more cost-competitive;
the effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer energy-efficiency programs and the related revenues and performance incentives earned under its Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act programs;
our ability to control costs and make substantial investments in our businesses, including our ability to recover costs, investments, and our allowed returns on equity within frameworks established by our regulators, while maintaining affordability of our services for our customers;
the cost and availability of fuel, such as low-sulfur coal, natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost and availability of purchased power, zero emission credits, renewable energy credits, and natural gas for distribution; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities and credits;
the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to satisfy Ameren Missouri's energy sales;
the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of financial and derivative instruments;
business and economic conditions, including the impact of such conditions on interest rates;
disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit metrics, or other events that may have an adverse effect on the cost or availability of capital, including short-term credit and liquidity;
the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and our customers, including the impact of system outages and the level of wind and solar resources;
the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
Ameren Missouri's ability to recover the remaining investment and decommissioning costs associated with the retirement of an energy center, as well as the ability to earn a return on that remaining investment and those decommissioning costs;
the impact of current environmental laws and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act and carbon dioxide, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion residuals, and energy efficiency, that could limit or terminate the operation of certain of Ameren Missouri's energy centers, increase our operating costs or investment requirements, result in an impairment of our assets, cause us to sell our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or natural gas, or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
the impact of complying with renewable energy standards in Missouri and Illinois and with the zero emission standard in Illinois;
Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind, solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities, retire energy centers, and implement new or existing customer energy efficiency programs, including any such construction, acquisition, retirement, or implementation in connection with its Smart Energy Plan, the 2020 Integrated Resource Plan, or our emissions reduction goals, and to recover its cost of investment, related return, and, in the case of customer energy-efficiency programs, any lost margins in a timely manner, which is affected by the ability to obtain all necessary regulatory and project approvals, including certificates of convenience and necessity from the MoPSC or any other required approvals for the addition of renewable resources;
the availability of federal production and investment tax credits related to renewable energy and Ameren Missouri's ability to use such credits; the cost of wind, solar, and other renewable generation and storage technologies; and our ability to obtain timely interconnection agreements with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. or other regional transmission organizations at an acceptable cost for each facility;
advancements in carbon-free generation and storage technologies, and constructive federal and state energy and economic policies with respect to those technologies;
the impact of negative opinions of us or our utility services that our customers, investors, legislators, or regulators may have or develop, which could result from a variety of factors, including failures in system reliability, failure to implement our investment plans or to protect sensitive customer information, increases in rates, negative media coverage, or concerns about environmental, social, and/or governance practices;
the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures;
legal and administrative proceedings; and
acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally disruptive acts.

New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events.

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SOURCE Ameren Corporation