A Triple-Bottom-Line Understanding of Value

At PG&E, the definition and pursuit of sustainability begin with our view of what it means for a company to create value. If there was once a time when value was something that could be reduced to financial calculus, that era is fast giving way to a world in which value is defined more broadly—and must be understood as such by companies that wish to be successful.

When stakeholders are taking inventory of the true value of a company today, they are taking into account a growing universe of interrelated benefits and costs associated with its business—tangible and intangible, large and small, near-term and long-term, direct and indirect. Moreover, they are doing so on a continuous, real-time basis. And they are doing so against a backdrop of generally rising expectations encompassing a multitude of economic, environmental and societal expectations.

In light of this, we know that in order to maximize the total value that PG&E brings as an enterprise—and, to be clear, that is our aim—we must be successful at discerning and accounting for these factors and their collective net impact across the so-called Triple Bottom Line, summed up by many as “People, Planet, Profit.”

Today, all of our strategic and operational choices are increasingly shaped by a recognition of their sustainability impact, and an appreciation of the implications of their various costs and benefits. We are striving to create and deliver value concurrently for our customers, employees, communities, shareholders and others.

This is the mindset with which we approach PG&E’s business today as we work to fulfill our vision to be the leading utility in the United States.