Vaccine Rollout
Caring for our communities has always ranked among our top priorities. To best meet shifting needs during the pandemic, our ongoing proactive approach prioritized employee and customer safety. From sanitizing workspaces and working from home to encouraging employee vaccination, we continue to adapt. Our employees have always been regular volunteers in their communities. Now, as part of our commitment to helping prevent the spread of COVID-19, this includes donating their time at vaccination clinics.
As part of the accelerated nationwide vaccine rollout in February 2021, our business segments partnered with Dignity Health Foundation - East Valley to administer 18,500-plus COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona. Over five days, 276 employees, contractors, friends and family rallied together to assist with event registration, recipient screening and traffic control, volunteering over 2,600 hours of their time. The Southwest Gas Foundation further supported the event with a $7,500 contribution.
As part of the accelerated nationwide vaccine rollout in February 2021, our business segments partnered with Dignity Health Foundation - East Valley to administer 18,500-plus COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona. Over five days, 276 employees, contractors, friends and family rallied together to assist with event registration, recipient screening and traffic control, volunteering over 2,600 hours of their time. The Southwest Gas Foundation further supported the event with a $7,500 contribution.
Customers
Amid the hurdles COVID-19 presented in 2020, our Company maintained its course of constantly striving to provide the best possible customer experience. Since May 2020, Southwest Gas has worked with local and state governments to secure over $2.8 million in federal CARES Act aid to help financially impacted customers with their utility bills.
When delivering resilient natural gas service, our work remains essential to our customers’ wellbeing. With 2020 having been a year unlike any other, we’re humbled for customers to award our natural gas utility its highest-ever overall satisfaction rating of 96% for the second year in a row.
This recognition further validates our efforts to expand upon the exceptional service we’re known for. Throughout 2020, we rapidly progressed toward implementing a modernized customer information system, which launched on May 3, 2021. With the advent of this new technology, we are well positioned to meet evolving customer expectations into the future while delivering a higher-quality level of service.
Giving
Each year, our Company demonstrates its dedication to enriching the communities where we live and work by engaging in various humanitarian efforts. Through charitable contributions and volunteer activities, we can advance meaningful social causes and steward a responsible societal impact. We take it upon ourselves to ensure that we give back by helping those in need whenever and wherever we can.
2020 was no exception to living out this guiding principle, with 81% of our workforce participating in the FUEL for LIFE employee giving program. During this challenging time, Southwesters increased their average contribution to $1,205, generating $2.19 million in donations to 223 local nonprofit agencies supporting essential human and animal services. In recognition of FUEL for LIFE’s improvement of the lives of children and their families battling a congenital heart defect, the Children’s Heart Foundation of Nevada recently presented Southwest Gas with its Philanthropist of the Year award.
Energy Share
When unexpected financial difficulties arise, Southwest Gas' Energy Share program ensures customers’ natural gas service — and the comforts of home that come with it — remain affordable. Funded through the generosity of customer contributions, we administer the program through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations. In 2020, nearly 2,300 qualified customers received Energy Share assistance, and donations increased from the prior year, exceeding $977,000.
Employee and Pipeline Safety
Running deep through our Company's core is a proactive safety culture that takes great pride in doing things the right way every day. Our employees are family, and our commitment to keeping each other safe extends far beyond the workplace. Whether at home, in the field or anywhere in between, we act with purpose and responsibility.
At Southwest Gas, Risk Management and Safety developed a COVID-19 prevention program to ensure workplace safety across the utility’s service territory, conducting over 2,000 investigations into potential exposures to the coronavirus. In 2020, all service technicians received new flame-resistant uniforms, and we added self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) to our existing respirator program to increase emergency responder mobility and flexibility.
To bring awareness to heat-related illnesses at work and home, Southwest Gas kicked off its now-annual Summer of Safety campaign in 2020. In early 2021, we launched our Safety Recognition Program to acknowledge employees living out the values that exemplify our renowned safety culture.
At Southwest Gas, Risk Management and Safety developed a COVID-19 prevention program to ensure workplace safety across the utility’s service territory, conducting over 2,000 investigations into potential exposures to the coronavirus. In 2020, all service technicians received new flame-resistant uniforms, and we added self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) to our existing respirator program to increase emergency responder mobility and flexibility.
To bring awareness to heat-related illnesses at work and home, Southwest Gas kicked off its now-annual Summer of Safety campaign in 2020. In early 2021, we launched our Safety Recognition Program to acknowledge employees living out the values that exemplify our renowned safety culture.
In recognition of Southwest Gas’ efforts to promote safety within the company and the community, we were named winner for the internal and external video categories at the 2020 Safety Awareness Video Excellence (SAVE) awards. Internally, our employee-centered video promoted awareness of trench and excavation hazards while reinforcing the importance of using trench-protective systems to avoid serious injury. In contrast, our community-focused video informed customers in cold-weather climates about the importance of building shelters to protect meters from snow and other winter conditions.
At the center of Southwest Gas’ safety program is the ongoing implementation of a Pipeline Safety Management System or PSMS. As part of PSMS, we implemented the Achieving Continuous Excellence (ACE) program to quickly enable Southwesters to report safety concerns, good catches, near misses and process improvements.
Hiring/Company Culture
We are committed to building a culture where diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental values in the everyday business practices throughout our Company. We envision a diverse and welcoming workplace for all individuals, supported by a framework demonstrating our commitment to these values through words and actions.
At Southwest Gas, building upon our diversity council, champion network and employee resource groups have been top priorities. Driving these priorities forward is our newly hired diversity leader. By infusing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) into every aspect of our organization, we continue to advance a culture of belonging. Here, we maximize employees’ opportunities while uplifting, partnering with and investing in the communities we serve. In 2021, Southwest Gas pledged to uphold four new DE&I commitments to meet these goals — enhancing communication with internal and external stakeholders regarding DE&I key performance indicators, evolving our talent pipeline, providing cultural training to employees and investing further in external partnerships. Through this roadmap for the future, we continue to make strides in advancing our DE&I strategy by expanding employee resource groups, diverse employee hiring practices and professional development.
Supplier Diversity
Throughout 2020, our Company continued to deliver on a longstanding tradition of promoting supplier diversity and procurement opportunities for women, minority, LGBTQ and disabled veteran‐owned businesses. By growing our diverse supply chain, we create innovative pathways to reach our goals while contributing to the economic growth of the communities we serve.
With the pandemic testing global supply chain resilience, Southwest Gas’ supplier partners were pivotal in securing personal protective equipment for our workforce to assist customers impacted by COVID‐19. While we focused on increasing opportunities for diverse businesses in the changing environment, program staff pivoted quickly to conduct supplier diversity activities virtually. As a result of our efforts in 2020, Southwest Gas received awards from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Urban Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas and the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council.
With the pandemic testing global supply chain resilience, Southwest Gas’ supplier partners were pivotal in securing personal protective equipment for our workforce to assist customers impacted by COVID‐19. While we focused on increasing opportunities for diverse businesses in the changing environment, program staff pivoted quickly to conduct supplier diversity activities virtually. As a result of our efforts in 2020, Southwest Gas received awards from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Urban Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas and the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council.
Environmental
