American Electric Power 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report

8 Leadership, Management & Strategy CHANGES IN REPORTING mation on AEP’s web site or the company’s sustainability initiatives, please contact Sandy Nessing at smnessing@AEP.com. This report includes metrics for each material issue within each section of the report relating to that issue, eliminating the need for an overview section (formerly entitled “Challenges, Goals, Progress”). Many of our stakeholders asked for a shorter summary report and we will publish one starting this year. AEP is participating in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Electric Utility Sector Supplement Pilot designed to identify relevant performance indicators for the electric utility industry globally. This report incorporates more of the Supplement’s indicators than did last year’s report. COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY & ACCURACY OF REPORTING Strategy & Management OUR STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY Our corporate Vision, Mission, Strategy & Values statements outline the principles that guide our business. Our effort to integrate corporate sustainability with our business strategy and daily decision-making has prompted us to take a wider view of what a sustainable future looks like for AEP. For more details on AEP’s vision, mission and values, please visit www.AEP.com/about. We strive to put people first – the health and safety of our employees and contractors working for AEP and the welfare of the communities in which we operate are very important to us. AEP elevated oversight of environment, safety and health to the executive vice president level in 2007 to underscore the critical importance of safety and environmental sustainability to the company’s future and the increasing stature of AEP as a leader in corporate sustainability. Our customers and communities rely on us to meet their energy needs in ways that improve their quality of life and protect the environment today and for future generations. Our challenge is to help our customers understand the true value of electricity – from the raw materials to the impacts on the environment – and offer ways to encourage energy efficiency and give them greater control over use and cost. We also have to obtain adequate and timely recovery of AEP’s costs and earn a reasonable return for our shareholders on the investments we make in the company. OUR CHALLENGES & OUR OPPORTUNITIES Through AEP’s Enterprise Risk and Insurance Department and oversight by the Risk Executive Committee, AEP established a formal information collection and reporting process for GRI indicators that allows us to track our progress against our commitments. Reports to the Risk Executive Committee are made twice a year and are reported to the Board of Directors. Each business unit collects and verifies data for which it is responsible. Some of the data presented are required to be filed with other entities (e.g., Chicago Climate Exchange, U.S. EPA) and are verified accordingly. We continue to develop a more complete information management system as part of our sustainable development initiative. REPORTING PRINCIPLES & GUIDANCE We continue to follow GRI’s G3 Reporting Principles in an effort to provide a balanced and reasonable representation of AEP’s sustainability performance. These principles are materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, completeness, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity, reliability and boundary setting. CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS REPORT Our ability to address climate change will require new technology coupled with policies and regulations to support its deployment; legislative and regulatory support for energy efficiency programs and initiatives to help our customers decrease their demand and usage; expansion of the transmission grid to facilitate fuel diversity; renewable energy growth and For additional information about this report, the GRI infor- http://www.AEP.com/about

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

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