American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced today it issued its first full corporate responsibility report. This full report, which succeeds a partial report provided by the company in 2010, reaffirms American Water as the first U.S. water and wastewater company to report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance against Global Reporting Index (GRI) guidelines. The report can be found on the company's Web site at the following URL: http://www.amwater.com/CRReport.

"American Water was founded 125 years ago on a responsible and sustainable approach to business," said President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sterba. "As a trusted steward of our most precious resource "“ water "“ we believe having a corporate management approach oriented toward corporate responsibility is key to our long-term success and the ability to provide high-quality services to our customers and maintain trust with them as well as all our stakeholders."

American Water's first biennial report includes the company’s priorities, policies and approaches to corporate responsibility, and covers performance for the 2010 Fiscal Year, using GRI G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, including GRI's Reporting Principles of materiality, sustainability context, stakeholder inclusiveness and completeness. Additionally, the report uses the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Liquid Assets report to guide reporting and indicators specific to the water industry. The report is self-declared at GRI Application Level B.

Today's new water reality presents challenges to the entire water and wastewater industry, from climate variability and aging infrastructure to increasing water quality regulation and changes in water demand. Having a strategic approach to corporate responsibility that helps American Water address each issue from a sustainability perspective has never been more important.

The company sees this report as part of its overall corporate responsibility strategy and a way to regularly review our performance and engage with stakeholders. The following key accomplishments are among those included in the 2010 report:

• Water Quality Performance: American Water meets or exceeds all water quality standards established by the EPA and other regulatory agencies and conducts over 1 million water quality tests each year. The company has received more than 150 awards for superior water quality from regulators, industry organizations and environmental agencies. According to EPA statistics, American Water's performance for drinking water compliance over the last several years has been far better than the industry average, and in 2010, the company received a score of greater than 99.9 percent.
• Water Management: American Water has a comprehensive approach to Integrated Water Resource Management that entails maintaining a range of water resources and assets, both man-made and natural. The company reports that all of its regulated operations use acoustic leak correlators to pinpoint the location of leaks; all customers are metered to allow for measurement of water usage. American Water also owns or operates a total of 89 reuse operations in ten states with a total installed capacity of nearly 21.5 million gallons per day.
• Environmental Performance: American Water is committed to lowering its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per volume of water produced. To accomplish this goal, the company plans to invest significant capital over the next six years to decrease GHG intensity by 5 to 8 percent through a combination of increased pump efficiencies, purchasing cleaner generated energy sources, reducing its fleet, and increasing the use of onsite solar and other alternative energy sources.
• Ethics: American Water's Code of Ethics is its primary guidance document that includes important policies and standards for company employees. In 2010, approximately 97 percent of American Water employees completed Code of Ethics training, including 100 percent of employees in mid-level to top-level management positions.

About GRI
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organization that pioneered the world's most widely used sustainability reporting framework. GRI is committed to the Framework's continuous improvement and application worldwide. GRI's core goals include the mainstreaming of disclosure on environmental, social and governance performance. GRI's Reporting Framework is developed through a consensus-seeking, multi-stakeholder process. Participants are drawn from global business, civil society, labor, academic and professional institutions. For more information, visit www.globalreporting.org.

About American Water
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found at www.amwater.com.

In 2011, American Water is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a yearlong campaign to promote water efficiency and the importance of protecting water from source to tap. To learn more, visit www.amwater125.com.

American Water

American Water

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