2012 Sustainability Report

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Sustainability Reporting

Con Edison voluntarily discloses its sustainability strategy, targets, performance and other related metrics through multiple channels. Publicly, the company issues an annual sustainability report which provides public transparency of the company’s sustainability performance in accordance with its own methodology and alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index. The company also discloses further data and detail of its sustainability profile to investor and industry stakeholders through the Carbon Disclosure Project’s climate and water questionnaires, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index questionnaire, and both bank and utility peer third-party assessments.

Carbon Disclosure Project

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a not-for-profit organization that looks to reduce the risks of climate change and drive emissions reductions through reporting. As the organization has grown, it has moved beyond reporting of carbon emissions to other areas such as water, forests, and supply chain. In 2012, Con Edison responded to the Climate Information Request as well as to the Water Information Request.

CDP Climate

According to its 2012 S&P 500 Climate Change Report, the Carbon Disclosure Project Climate Information Request is supported by 655 investor signatories with assets of $78 trillion. Six thousand companies from around the globe were asked to respond to the 2012 Climate Information Request; a total of 343 S&P 500 companies responded, 22 of which were utilities. Con Edison responded to the 2012 request for 2011 information with an emissions reduction of 44 percent from 2005 baseline and outlined the programs that were enacted to obtain those reductions and continue to reduce emissions moving forward. The company’s response is public and can be found on their website. The company received a disclosure score of 92, a performance score of B and was proud to be named once again to the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).

CDP - Water

The Carbon Disclosure Project began requesting information related to water in 2010 and held its first request in the United States in 2012. According to their report, the Water Request is supported by 470 investors with assets of $50 trillion. A total of 141 of the 345 companies invited to participate responded, 13 of which were utilities. Con Edison responded to the request identifying over 380,000 megaliters of water withdrawals in 2012, as well as risks and opportunities associated with our water-related activities. There is no scoring or rating associated with the water request; however, the company’s response is public and available on the CDP website.

Dow Jones Sustainability Index

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index evaluates and ranks the sustainability performance of the largest 2,500 Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index companies. Con Edison has disclosed its financial performance, environmental initiatives, and social responsibility to the DJSI for the last three years.

The Climate Registry

Con Edison became a founding reporter of The Climate Registry in 2008. The registry helps organizations calculate and report greenhouse gas emissions, and has developed standardized reporting and third-party verification protocols for creating an inventory of emissions. Con Edison has voluntarily submitted to third-party verification of its greenhouse gas emissions under the registry’s reporting protocols for four consecutive years. The most recent verification, completed in 2012 for emissions occurring in 2011, was completed for the second straight year under the registry’s Electric Power Sector Protocol, which requires disclosure of all direct and indirect sources at company locations. All emissions reports are available on the registry’s website, theclimateregistry.org.