05168
March 30, 2005   

Firm includes PC(USA) views in annual report

Cinergy shareholders weigh in on global warming, greenhouse gases

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE — Cinergy Corp. is addressing the problem of global warming by making plans to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from its plants.

     The global energy company also invited some of its stakeholders to be partners in the effort and to suggest ways of getting it done.

     In its 2004 annual report, the Cincinnati, OH-based company outlines its plans  to address the warming problem. It also has interviewed a host of stakeholders — among them the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — about finding common ground on the issue.

     “We wondered what our stakeholders thought about global warming and our voluntary plans to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” Cinergy said in its report. “Do they believe it is vital that we find common ground? We decided to find out by interviewing people who represent our stakeholders.”

     One of the people interviewed was the Rev. Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, associate for Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) and Environmental Justice for the PC(USA). The church, a long-term investor in Cinergy, has expressed concern about global climate change since 1987, and has been working with Cinergy on the issue for almost three years.

     Cinergy’s focus on global warming in its report is “a significant sign that the company is serious about trying to find solutions to this problem,” Somplatsky-Jarman said Wednesday. “We all have to take a part in it, and we are very pleased that they are taking the lead.

     “I know of no other company that has done this.”

     Cinergy collaborated with MRTI last year in creating the company’s Air Issues Report to Stakeholders. It also has taken steps to reduce its dependence on coal, including the conversion of one of its oldest coal-powered plants to natural gas, and has co-sponsored a national summit on the future of coal.

     “The key thing here is recognizing that it (global warming) is a major problem that needs addressing,” Somplatsky-Jarman said. “They (Cinergy) recognize the need for immediate action.”

     Along with investors, Cinergy also has customers, employees, policymakers, regulators and others weighing in on the issue in its annual report.

     “I’m sure you might expect us to duck this issue. After all, we burn 25 to 30 million tons of coal each year,” James E. Rogers, Cinergy’s president and board chairman, said in a letter to stakeholders included in the report.