American Electric Power 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report

2008 Corporate Sustainability Report 5 dous progress toward achieving our ultimate goal of zero environmental enforcement actions. We had fewer incidents of non-compliance last year than in 2006 and, more importantly, when something did occur we reached out to regulators and advocates to work with them to prevent future incidents. It would be wrong for AEP to advocate energy efficiency as part of the climate change solution and not practice it ourselves. With more than 400 facilities in 11 states, we have a unique opportunity to be more energy efficient and to demonstrate the value and cost-effectiveness of “green” buildings, especially in an industrial setting. Through the Clinton Global Initiative we committed that, as we invest approximately $100 million during the next five years to build or update existing facilities, we will do so according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards as those opportunities arise. We are also working toward achieving greater efficiencies through more efficient electrical transformers, heating and cooling equipment and other initiatives. We settled our New Source Review litigation in 2007, enabling us to move forward with plans to lessen our environmental impacts over time. The settlement provides for a broad range of environmental projects: reducing emissions from our coal-fired power plants, adding more hybrid cars and trucks to our automotive fleet, converting our river fleet to ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel and developing land conservation and restoration programs. The safety and health of our work force, our customers and the general public are always our top concern. We are very grateful that we had no AEP fatalities last year – the first time since 1997 and only the second time since 1970. We know we can work safely when we stay focused and look out for each other. Unfortunately, contractors working for us and members of the public were fatally injured after coming in contact with electrical facilities. We are concerned about the growing number of accident near-misses that are occurring within AEP, too. We must work harder to take the “luck factor” out of safety and health and replace it with the “on purpose” factor, which entails aggressive, relentless preventive action. Our focus on hazard recognition is changing how and when employees and contractors think about the risks associated with their jobs. By identifying all hazards and risks associated with any job, we can change tools or procedures and influence behaviors ing. That sounds easy, but we all know that changing human behavior is often a difficult challenge. We have renamed this report the AEP Corporate Sustainability Report based on stakeholder feedback. While similar to our first Corporate Responsibility Report, we believe the new title better reflects its content and orientation. Also, several stakeholders suggested we identify it as the 2008 report, rather than the 2007 report, because we look forward as much as we review past performance. Sustainability is a process of continuous change and improvement. We are on a pathway that bends and turns as we work with others to address the issues that face us. With hard work and dedication, we will move forward on that path so that we can be proud of what we have accomplished and give the next generation the ability to meet its needs. The constructive tension between non-governmental organizations, such as environmental groups, and the business community has helped each of us to improve who we are as people, as organizations and as corporations. What’s changed is that we now collaborate more frequently because we are more willing to listen to each other and have productive discussions on issues of mutual interest. We enjoy and continue to learn from our ongoing dialogue and collaboration with our stakeholders and I thank them for their efforts. To those who are new to us, we welcome your comments and invite you to join us – and to challenge us – as we move forward. Sincerely, Leadership, Management & Strategy to prevent injuries and occupational illnesses from happen- Dennis E. Welch Executive Vice President, Environment, Safety & Health and Facilities

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Electric Power 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report

American Electric Power 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report Contents Leadership, Management & Strategy A Message from Michael G. Morris A Message from Dennis E. Welch About This Report Environmental Performance Work Force Issues Public Policy Climate Change Energy Security, Reliability & Growth Stakeholder Engagement Glossary GRI Table of Contents

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.