
Our Materiality Assessment
In keeping with emerging best practices among leading corporations, PG&E conducted its first materiality assessment for corporate sustainability in 2013—a strategic project to help us identify topics that are material to the long-term sustainability of our business. Conducted in coordination with PG&E’s strategic planning process, the materiality assessment was designed to engage stakeholders, identify opportunities and risks, and sharpen our corporate sustainability strategy and reporting.
PG&E’s Materiality Matrix
PG&E’s materiality assessment identified 18 issues. Every issue is material to PG&E’s long-term sustainability, regardless of its placement on the matrix.

Public Safety
Rate Structure and Affordability
Customer Engagement
Customer Energy Management
Community and Economic Vitality
Non-Renewable Energy Supply
Renewable Energy
Distributed Generation
Enabling Technologies
Environmental Footprint Management
GHG and Other Emissions
Water
Infrastructure Reliability and Resilience
Cybersecurity and Data Protection
Workforce Safety
Workforce Planning
Employee Engagement
Public Policy Engagement
About the Process
Defining a “Material” Issue
A material corporate sustainability issue is one that has the potential to impact PG&E’s long-term sustainability, based on the perspectives of internal and external stakeholders. This is different from, but related to, financial materiality, which is a threshold for influencing the economic decisions of investors. Material corporate sustainability issues are not limited to issues that could have a significant financial impact on the organization.
The materiality assessment was conducted by SustainAbility, an independent third-party consultant, and followed a structured process:
- Researched the landscape: Interviewed nearly 40 internal and external stakeholders, reviewed PG&E and industry research and reports, and reviewed media articles and related information.
- Identified material issues: Identified 18 material issues for PG&E’s long-term sustainability.
- Developed a materiality matrix: Assessed each issue on two scales: business impact to PG&E (both risks and opportunities) and degree of stakeholder concern. Used this assessment to create a matrix of material topics. A key goal of the assessment was to identify interconnections between the issues.
- Validated the results: Discussed, validated and finalized the results including engagement with PG&E’s Utility Strategy Committee, which is comprised of senior leaders from across our lines of business. The committee affirmed that each issue, regardless of its placement on the matrix, was material to PG&E’s long-term sustainability.
What We Learned
The materiality assessment revealed numerous insights, including:
- Reinforced our focus on the basics of our business. The assessment showed that safety, reliability, affordability and customer engagement are top priorities both for PG&E and our external stakeholders.
- Showed interconnections among issues. For example, the assessment illustrated that enabling technologies—such as those related to the smart grid, energy storage, electric vehicles and customer energy usage data—present many opportunities for PG&E and are connected to issues ranging from customer engagement to renewable energy. This interconnectivity provided insight into how we might approach issues in a more integrated way.
- Highlighted the importance of emerging issues. For example, the assessment identified infrastructure resilience (including adapting to the effects of climate change) and water conservation and management as important issues. Both of these have garnered increasing attention across PG&E and our industry due to recent weather and drought conditions. PG&E continues to make progress on addressing both of these issues across its operations.
Water’s importance to PG&E is notable in its many interconnections to other material issues, such as the reliability of our service. For example, PG&E’s active focus on the resilience of our extensive hydroelectric system is captured in the issue of Infrastructure Reliability and Resilience.
Using the Results
In the months since its development, the assessment and supporting analysis have been used in numerous ways, including as inputs to PG&E’s strategic planning process. They have also prompted modifications to our corporate sustainability reporting and focus, and will continue to inform our goals and strategies in the coming years.
However, we also understand that PG&E’s materiality matrix is a snapshot in time. We will refresh the assessment on a regular basis to capture other emerging risks and opportunities, inform PG&E’s strategic planning process and support our ongoing dialogue with external stakeholders.