5 Minutes with Kerry-Jane King, Senior Director of Sustainability

NYPA's second annual Sustainability Report was just published, so we spent a few minutes with Kerry-Jane King to gauge how important this release is for the Authority, our employees and the people of New York State.

What is one NYPA sustainability fact that is not as well-known as you would like it to be?

The breadth of topics that are included under the umbrella of sustainability at NYPA. We did an assessment in 2020 to determine which topics were most important to our internal and external stakeholders and identified fifteen issues across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas that are material to NYPA. We now track progress across all of those ESG material issues and report out through multiple outlets including our annual Sustainability Report.?

Which aspect of NYPA's sustainability efforts makes you the most proud?

It's a combination of factors, really. When I look at all the work the Authority is doing on protecting the environment, helping our customers, and partnering with our neighbors, I can't help feeling a strong sense of pride. The people at NYPA are doing impressive work across many different areas to benefit those living and working in New York State, and the Sustainability Report captures so many great aspects of that.

How does the Sustainability Report link to the Authority's VISION2030 goals?

The report is of course directly linked to our ten-year strategic VISION2030 plan. It provides updates on our programs and projects that support the ambitious goals of VISION2030 and contains metrics aligned with global disclosure standards that describe our progress. If readers want details on how precisely NYPA is preserving and enhancing hydropower, expanding our transmission capability, reducing our carbon footprint, reimagining New York State’s Canal System and helping our customers, the report goes into all of these areas. The report documents how NYPA really is 'walking the walk' of sustainability with concrete action.

How are NYPA's sustainability efforts paying off right now?

In 2021, NYPA was ranked in the top 15% of the cleanest U.S. electric power producers. By continuing to develop new ways to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, expanding our energy storage capacity, and assembling new programs to address our Scope 2 and 3 emissions like our pilot Responsibly Sourced Gas initiative, we will continue to decarbonize in the years to come.

These programs are in addition to many other efforts that support our customers, communities, and New York State climate goals, such as the EVolve program that installs electric vehicle chargers across New York State, the BuildSmart program that assists state entities in reducing energy consumption in buildings and more, all addressed in further detail in the report.

How does the Sustainability Report demonstrate NYPA being a good neighbor to the local communities located near its facilities and offices?

Readers will see in the report how NYPA meets with elected officials, sponsors community and outdoor recreation events, maintains visitors centers and even runs classes through our Environmental Justice group both for energy efficiency and for young students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) courses. The Authority's reach for doing good really is unique in New York State.

If readers can take away only one item from the report, what do you want it to be?

NYPA is powering the fight against climate change, and it’s our strong workforce that’s enabling that. We are very people-centered internally, and that’s clear in our training on climate science like our Sustainable U course, as well as our programs that are focused on making our facilities and offices accessible and open to all through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.?By supporting the education, diversity, and health and safety of our workforce we’re improving our resilience and making sure that we can rise to the challenges we face from climate change. With our workforce development programs we are not only building a better present, but are preparing for a promising future too.?