This is American Electric Power's third Corporate Sustainability Report containing
information about the company's economic, environmental and social policies and
performance. It is a comprehensive report offering frank discussion about our performance
and our strategies for sustainability. It is supported by substantive information
that identifies our challenges, risks and opportunities. In preparing this report,
we identified seven issues that we believe are most critical to our sustainability
and we have structured our report to reflect them.
AEP's report follows GRI's G3 Reporting Principles. The GRI Electric Utility Sector Supplement will provide greater insight into our specific industry and the issues we face. The performance indicators from this supplement were not final at the time this report was developed. Therefore, the indicators we are reporting on were still in draft form. AEP was one of two U.S. companies to pilot the indicators in the development of this supplement. We adhere to the GRI principles of materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, completeness, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity, reliability and boundary setting. Our report is checked by GRI.
For additional information about this report, the GRI information posted on the company's Web site or the company's sustainability initiatives, please contact Sandy Nessing at smnessing@aep.com or TaKeysha Cheney at tscheney@AEP.com.
The AEP Board of Directors has assigned the responsibility for monitoring and overseeing the company’s sustainability initiatives to the Board’s Committee on Directors and Corporate Governance. At two of the Committee’s meetings in the past year, the Committee and company management reviewed the company’s sustainability objectives, challenges, targets and progress. That Committee gave management input and guidance for the proposed approach to this report, and then reviewed and discussed the final text of this report before recommending its approval by the full Board of Directors.
The AEP Board of Directors has received periodic reports both from management and from the Committee on
Directors and Corporate Governance about the company’s sustainability initiatives. Many of the topics in this report have been the subject of active discussion at Board and Committee meetings. Members of the Board all received copies of this report before it was published, and several directors made suggestions that have been incorporated into this report.
Following its review, and upon recommendation of the Committee, the Board of Directors adopted a formal resolution
approving this report.
The Board believes this report is a reasonable and transparent presentation of the company’s plans and performance and of its environmental, social and financial impacts. The Board realizes that the company must be prepared to make
frequent adjustments in response to the difficult economic and financial situation that the nation is experiencing. The Board has emphasized to management that it will be evaluated by its success in executing the company’s strategic plan to meet stakeholders’ and the Board’s expectations, including being agile in responding to changing circumstances while respecting the commitments in this report.
Lester A Hudson, Jr.
Presiding Director of the AEP Board of Directors
April 2009
