Each Earth Day, Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm, evaluates and ranks utilities on Environmental Dedication, determining which utilities are considered Environmental Champions. This year, Seattle City Light joined 31 utilities recognized as 2021 Environmental Champions. City Light, one of eight western electric utilities recognized, scored 726 points out of a 1,000-point maximum scale. These and other findings are based on the Cogent Syndicated 2021 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study.
“Utilities are raising the bar on being champions of the environment as their customers learn more about climate change,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Escalent. “Consumer demand for utility efforts and offerings that help protect the environment is increasing every year. Our Environmental Champion utilities are proving to customers they are up to the challenge.”
According to the study, consumers cited significant improvements from utilities nationally to support environmental causes and dedication to clean energy resources. City Light Chief Environmental Officer Tom DeBoer believes that this support is critical to the future of the utility industry itself.
“City Light’s commitment to providing its customers with affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy has been a cornerstone of our utility for more than a century,” said City Light Chief Environmental Officer Tom DeBoer. “In addition to direct impacts on health and quality of life, the effects of climate change are detrimental to how utilities operate and our ability to maintain safe, affordable and reliable service. We are proud to be recognized as an example of how utilities can serve, while also protecting and preserving the environment for future generations.”
Escalent conducted surveys among 74,224 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on US census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility’s customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. The Environmental Dedication index score is a composite based upon consumer ratings provided across five survey questions.
About Escalent
Escalent is a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.
About City Light
Seattle City Light, one of the nation’s largest publicly owned utilities, generates and delivers affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible power to the homes, businesses, and communities we serve. We provide carbon-neutral electricity, generated primarily from carbon-free hydropower, to over 900,000 residents in Seattle and the surrounding areas.