Group Surpasses Global Average ESG Evaluation Score

In its recently published Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Evaluation Report, S&P Global Ratings awarded California Water Service Group a score of 74 out of 100. Group performed on par with other utility networks in the United States (average score of 74/100), scored higher than the global sector average (72/100), and was rated even higher than the global average score (65/100) among more than 185 entities across 21 sectors.

According to S&P Global Ratings, “Group’s ESG Evaluation score of 74 illustrates our assessment of the company’s capable management of water services and sewage treatment…The company excels in infrastructure resilience and prioritizes capital allocation toward water conservation programs, maintenance of water quality in the face of emerging contaminants, and water affordability initiatives.” Additionally, S&P Global Ratings noted, “Group’s familial work culture embeds its values of water quality and accessibility for customers throughout its operations, which we view as an asset in support of long-term sustainability.”
“We continue to live by our long-standing culture of doing the right thing through our various sustainability and citizenship efforts across the business,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, Group Chairman & CEO. “We are pleased to have performed well in our first ESG Evaluation, and look forward to further progress and improving on our performance.”

In recognition of Group’s sustainability and citizenship efforts, the Company has been named one of the “World’s Most Trustworthy Companies” and one of “America’s Most Responsible Companies” by Newsweek, earned a Great Place to Work® certification for the eighth consecutive year, and its California subsidiary—California Water Service—was ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among large water utilities in the western United States* in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM.

Also, in May of this year, Group published its 2022 ESG Report and committed to setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by the end of the third quarter of 2024. The Company’s emissions reduction targets will build on existing objectives and initiatives to address material ESG risks to the business and its stakeholders, all of which are reported on in more detail in the 2022 ESG Report.
The California Water Service Group ESG Evaluation Report produced by S&P Global Ratings can be found at www.calwatergroup.com/esg-evaluation-2023.