Duke Energy has been named to Fortune magazine’s 2018 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Duke Energy was ranked 5th among gas and electric utilities, up from 9th last year.
“We are pleased and humbled to receive this recognition on behalf of our talented team of more than 29,000 employees who work every day delivering a smarter and cleaner energy future for our customers,” said Lynn Good, Duke Energy’s chairman, president and CEO. “We plan to continue to improve in all areas of our business and deliver even greater value to our customers in the years ahead.”
In determining the industry rankings, approximately 3,900 executives, directors and industry analysts are independently surveyed and companies are rated on nine attributes: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services and global competitiveness.
Recent company performance highlights
- Delivering value to customers – Duke Energy’s more than 7.5 million electric customers continue to benefit from rates below the national average in all customer classes and all service areas, while also receiving strong reliability.
- Offering new products and services – Duke Energy is offering a number of new enhanced services in some of its service areas that will provide customers with more control over their energy use as well as offer tailored bill payment options.
- Reducing emissions rates – Since 2005, Duke Energy’s U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decreased by 29 percent, sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions decreased by 94 percent and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions decreased by 70 percent. By 2030, the company plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 40 percent from 2005 levels.
- Investing in renewable energy – Since 2007, Duke Energy has grown its renewable generation portfolio and now has more than 5,400 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass capacity – owned or under contract. Duke Energy is on track to meet its goal of owning or having under contract 8,000 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar and biomass capacity by 2020.
- Leading in energy efficiency – The company is on track to reduce customer energy consumption by 15,000 GWh by 2020, which is equivalent to the annual usage of 1.25 million homes.
- Supporting its communities – The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to address the needs of the communities where customers live and work. The Foundation annually provides more than $30 million in charitable grants, with a focus on three areas: K to career, the environment and community impact.
