Aligning CSR with Corporate Business Objectives

Patty Riddlebarger

Entergy Corporation

Who is Entergy?

Electric utility and power generation company

Headquartered in New Orleans, LA

2.7 million customers in AR, LA, TX and MSWholesale nuclear

power generation in NY, MASS, VT

and MI.

•20 – 30 % of our customers live at or below the poverty level•40 % of children in New Orleans live in poverty•We serve 3 of 10 of nation’s counties with highest child poverty rates

Who Are Our Customers?

•MS ranks last in household income•LA ranks 49th

•AR ranks 47th

•TX is 42th

Who Are Our Customers?

Corporate Social ResponsibilityOur Scope:

Corporate Giving Entergy Charitable Foundation Volunteerism

Low Income InitiativesCustomer Assistance FundLow Income Customer AdvocacyPublic Policy Advocacy

Our Goals

To serve the communities where Entergy operates

To advocate internally and externally on behalf of low income customers

Advance corporate and business unit objectives through development and implementation of low income and charitable giving strategies that support business strategies

Contributions In 2007, Entergy and the Entergy Charitable

Foundation funded almost 3,000 grant requests totaling more than $14.5 million in cash contributions

5%

26%

46%

19%

4%

Arts & Culture

CommunityImprovement/Enrichment

Education/Literacy

Health & Social Svcs

Other

Entergy Charitable Foundation

Founded in 2000 Focused on helping individuals and

families break the bonds of poverty Education, literacy, job training, housing,

asset building Awarded grants totaling more than $2

million in 2007

What should be so simple?

What is the most pressing need in our communities? If Entergy could do one thing to make

a difference in our communities what would it be?

Hunger

Poverty

Homelessness

Education

Substance Abuse

Cancer

Unemployment

healthcare

Youth Programs

Social Responsibility: Entergy’s Approach

Developed a strategic approach to corporate giving and the charitable foundation

Created “Becoming the Best,” an initiative to make Entergy a recognized environmental leader in the business community

Created a Low Income Initiative, centered around our “most important customers”

Step: OneCommitment from the Top

“The Most Important Customer”

Wayne LeonardCEO Entergy Corporation

Sept./October 2002

Entergy’s Role

• Since 1999 Entergy has committed $40 million in the fight against poverty

• Low Income Initiatives• Low Income Champs• Low Income Summits• Entergy Charitable Foundation• Public policy advocacy• Fundraising

It was not always this way

• Entergy indifferent– Low Income customers were seen as burden– Bad credit and collection and shut-off policies– Insensitive (if not harsh) rate design

methodologies– Sat in silence as issues were debated– Pointed to regulators or elected officials as

the reasons nothing was accomplished

Step: 2Employee Engagement

Overcoming obstacles and achieving buy-in

Why low income?

It’s the right thing to do It makes good business sense More than 20 percent of our customers

live in poverty They represent more than $631 million in

revenues annually

Low Income Customer Profile

• Loyal, hard working and responsible

• Pay their bills on time (particularly elderly)

• Rarely complain

• High satisfaction scores

Low Income Customer Profile

• Energy costs can consume up to 40 percent of their income

Poverty Costs Per Household = $20,000 annually

It can be a matter of life & death

• The Center for Disease Control says that from 1979 to 1999, excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States

• More people die every year from heat-related illnesses than from cold

Employee Engagement

• Low income goals included in annual performance review for company presidents

• Low income champs for each state

• Volunteerism efforts – in 2007more than 3,000 homes weatherized; 5,000 weatherization kits and 25,000 CFLs distributed

Low Income Summits

Created in 1999 Forum for low income advocates to

discuss common problems, solutions Help us know how to best help low income

customers More than 1,000 advocates attend annual

summits

Step 3: Program Design

What are our Low Income Strategies?

• Increase the flow of assistance funds from all sources

• Move low income customers to economic self-sufficiency

• Provide customers with tools to help manage their bills

Increasing the flow of assistance funds from all sources

Lobbying for LIHEAP

Low Income Advocates March on the Hill

Washington Action LIHEAP Day 2006

Lobbying for LIHEAP yields big results

• 88,900 customers received assistance

• 18.5 million in revenues generated

$1,900,000.00

$2,000,000.00

$2,100,000.00

$2,200,000.00

$2,300,000.00

$2,400,000.00

$2,500,000.00

2004 2005 2006 2007

CAF Funds Raised 2003 - 2007

The Power to CARE Fund

Helping customers achieve economic self-sufficiency

Entergy Charitable Foundation

Founded in 2000 Focused on helping individuals and

families break the bonds of poverty Education, literacy, job training, housing,

asset building Award grants totaling more than $2 - 3

million annually

Entergy/IRS Partnership

• Energy discovered that many people in our area didn’t know about or understand EITC

• The purpose of Entergy's effort is simple: Make sure

low-income customers know:

– About the EITC program,

– Where to go for more information, and

– How they find out if they quality

• The goal is to get as many qualified people to apply for the program as possible

Outreach Implementation and Results

• Placed a message on Entergy’s Interactive Voice Recording (IVR)

• Added a link to the IRS Web site from entergy.com

• Low-income champions sent e-mail blasts to low-income advocates and faith-based contacts

• Provided posters and brochures at our customer service centers for low-income advocates and customers

• Contributed grants for media support

• Trained phone center operators to ask if callers qualified

• Distributed 2.3 millionbill inserts

• Provided free IRS “EITC Kits” to casemanagers, agenciesand volunteers

• Stories in “AdvocatePower” newsletter

Outreach Implementation and Results

Value of EITC efforts

• 2007 Refunds in states served by Entergy

$7 billion – this is a 17% increase over 2002, when Entergy first became involved in promoting EITC

• 60% of EITC recipients report using part of their refunds to pay utility bills

Mid South IDA Initiative

• Partnership with Foundation for Mid South

• $1.6 million investment

• IDA programs created in 66 communities served by Entergy

• More than 19,000 individuals directly impacted

Family IDA Savings Goals

1st HomePurchaseHigher Ed

Small Bus

Home Repair

37%

26%

20%

17%

ROI for Entergy

• Prepared workforce

• Increased disposable income

• Economic development

• Awards & recognition

• Corporate image

• Reduced bill delinquency

Mid South IDA Initiative Multiplier Effect

• Private Foundation Sources• Federal Sources• State Sources• For-Profit Sources• Ripple Effect

$1.6 million

$69 million

Early Childhood Education

• For every $1 invested in high quality early childhood education, society reaps $9 in benefits.

• Entergy funded a series of studies– The Economics of Education– Miles to go Arkansas– Miles to go Louisiana– Miles to go Mississippi

• Studies are being used as catalysts to unite the business community in support of early childhood education

Early Childhood Education

• Action: Entergy led charge in AR for an increase of $50 million in state funding pre-K for low income families.

• Result: AR has emerged as a new national leader in pre-K. Projected economic impact: $15 billion by 2035

Early Childhood Education

• Action: Entergy collaborated with the Southern Education Foundation, Success by Six and other organizations to push for increased funding for Pre-K

• Result: LA legislature approved universal Pre-K in 2008

Affordable Housing

Habitat for Humanity homes In LA, MS, NY and TX More than 300 employees involved;

10,000 hours Helped 22 families achieve the dream of

homeownership Awarded more than $600,000 Habitat

affiliates nationwide

Provide customers with tools to help them manage

their bills

Traditional Outreach Tools

• # Literature requests fulfilled

• # Homes weatherized

• # Weatherization kits distributed

• # CFLs distributed

• “Beat the Heat” fan and air conditioning unit giveaways

• Weatherization/energy efficiency workshops

LIHEAP: Getting the Word Out

Pilot launched to notify eligible

customers through

automated phone calls

LIHEAP: Getting the Word Out

Results:

• Revenues from LIHEAP in pilot area have tripled

• Uncollectibles are reduced

• Costs for ALL customers lowered

• Shareholder value is maximized

Credit Power

• Easy Start Package -- Removes barriers for low income customers who are establishing utility service for the first time

• Independence Package -- Removes barriers for low income first time homeowners/welfare to work

• Reconnect Package -- Helps low income customers recover from prior debts while maintaining dignity

Credit Power

• Safety Net Package – provides assistance for low income customers experiencing crisis that prevents them from making utility payment

• Senior Service Package -- ensures that low income seniors do not sacrifice quality of life

Photo courtesy John FordNational Wild Turkey Federation

Let’s talk turkey

Win-Win-Win Solutions• Entergy right of ways cleared at no

expense to ratepayers

• Increased service reliability

• Increased customer satisfaction

• Natural habitats restored

• Costs are reduced

• Shareholder value maximized

Our Environmental Commitment

Entergy pledges to lead our industry in environmental stewardship

Entergy is committed to promoting environmentally cleaner and more efficient generation, transmission, distribution and use of energy

Our Environmental Commitment

Voluntary commitment to contain CO2 emissions at 2000 levels through 2010

Pledged $25 million to fund CO2 reduction projects

Partner with the Environmental Defense Fund

Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace

Our Environmental Commitment

Nuclear power Wind power Fuel cell research Sustainable Forestry Plan Carbon Credits Public Policy Advocacy

Just Do It

Entergy Teams Up With Nike for Schools and the Environment

It ain’t easy being green!

ROI = SHOW ME THE MONEY

• Revenues generated $18.5 million• Customer bills paid/disconnects avoided 88,900• ECF/Corporate grants $14.5 million• Volunteer hours = 30,000+ valued at more than

$500,000• 3,232 homes weatherized• 25,000 CFLs distributed• 5,000 weatherization kits distributed

Increased Brand Equity

• 2008 CRO Magazine 100 Best Corporate Citizens

• Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2002 – 2007

• 2007 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award

• 2007 Storebrand SRI Best in Class Social & Environmental Performance

Increased Brand Equity

• Fortune 500 Most Admired Companies

• Community Action Partnership Corporate Champion Award

• Diversity Best Practices Award

• PR Newswire Corporate Social Responsibility Award

• National Fuel Funds Network Award

9,000 Advocate Partners

License to Operate = Priceless

License to Operate = Priceless

Unanimous

Settlement

Agreements

Improved

Regulatory

Climate

Improved

Credit Ratings

Reduced

Costs

License to Operate =Priceless

•9,000 Advocate Partners

•Win/Win Unanimous settlements

•Improved regulatory climate

•Improved credit ratings

•Community Goodwill/Elected Official Support

“The lasting legacy of Entergy will not be

measured in dollars, but by the number of

lives that we have positively affected.”

J. Wayne Leonard