Sustainability is not only about performance, it also is about being transparent and accountable to those who have a stake in the activities of your organization. Our decision to be more transparent, to listen and to consider others' viewpoints involved a significant culture change for us, which has helped to make us a better, stronger and more resilient company. Our stakeholder engagement process has influenced our thinking, altered business decisions and strengthened our daily operations. We are once again reporting on our work with stakeholders. This year, we agreed to publish an unedited letter from our Ceres stakeholder team. We appreciate the dialogue we have had with all of our stakeholders — we are a better company for it.

"AEP displayed great strides in inviting a wide range of interested parties to participate in the stakeholder meetings. I feel that these meetings have the potential to provide a significant insight into the needs of the stakeholders. I trust that AEP will recognize that, while a significant environmental movement has always been in place, times have changed and many parties now demand that business create change. The stakeholder meeting clearly identified the need for big business to change how they operate their business models."

Chris Bayne, electrical maintenance manager, Roanoke Cement Co.; AEP customer and AEP stakeholder