Sempra Energy Recognized As Trendsetter In Political Disclosure And Accountability By 2020 CPA-Zicklin Index

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12/15/2020 - 04:59 PM

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) has been recognized as a Trendsetter in political disclosure practices and accountability in the 2020 CPA-Zicklin Index.

The CPA-Zicklin Index is released annually by the Center for Political Accountability (CPA) and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The index measures political disclosure and accountability policies and practices for election-related spending by S&P 500 companies, including political spending policies and board oversight. Companies that score 90 points or higher on the index are considered Trendsetters.

Highlights for Sempra Energy's recognition this year include the following:

Sempra Energy was named a Trendsetter with a score of 95.7 out of a possible 100 and was among the top-performing companies in the utility sector. Of the 492 companies studied this year, the average score on the index was 50.1.
Sempra Energy was recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a Trendsetter on the index and this year's ranking marked the seventh consecutive year that the company has been ranked in the first tier, representing businesses that scored 80 points or higher.

"At Sempra Energy, we are committed to engaging with our regulators, elected officials and community leaders to support the needs of all our stakeholders, including our customers and employees," said Lisa Alexander, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Sempra Energy. "Our Trendsetter rating recognizes our company's strong governance as well as our robust policies and practices that support responsible stakeholder engagement."

"The heightened risk posed by engaging in political activity makes it paramount that companies adopt disclosure, transparency and oversight policies to govern their political participation and manage and mitigate risk," said CPA President Bruce Freed. "Sempra, one of only 35 Trendsetter companies in the 2016 CPA-Zicklin Index and one of 79 Trendsetters in 2020, has been a leader in making corporate political disclosure and accountability the norm."

Sempra Energy and its operating companies have numerous policies in place to help ensure transparency and accountability in political engagement. Sempra Energy has a stakeholder engagement policy, which defines expectations for employees who engage externally, spelling out the importance of sharing our views, listening to the perspectives of others, and considering the input received, where possible. The company also has a strong political activities policy and maintains a robust training program dedicated to compliance with political reporting rules and requirements. The company's board of directors has a Corporate Governance Committee that reviews public policy priorities on an annual basis, along with political contributions, and the company also discloses its political contributions biannually on its website.

About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be North America's premier energy infrastructure company. With more than $60 billion in total assets at the end of 2019, the San Diego-based company is the utility holding company with the largest U.S. customer base. The Sempra Energy companies' more than 18,000 employees deliver energy with purpose to over 35 million consumers. The company is focused on the most attractive markets in North America, including California, Texas, Mexico and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy has been consistently recognized for its leadership in sustainability, and diversity and inclusion, and is a member of the S&P 500 Utilities Index and the Dow Jones Utility Index. The company was also named one of the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2020 by Fortune Magazine.