Better Health for All

NRG Energy's W.A. Parish power plant emissions reportedly cause 178 premature deaths annually due to pollutants like sulfur dioxide

, indicating major health-harming externalities despite significant remediation efforts including a 57% reduction in CO2e emissions since 2014 and a 77% reduction in water withdrawal since 2014 . As of December 31, 2024, less than 5% of consolidated revenues came from coal-fired operating assets . The company's core products and services, primarily electricity generation, have no significant direct positive or negative health impact, as environmental pollution impacts are assessed separately under externalities and workplace safety is excluded. Other KPIs, such as those related to price accessibility, health innovation, healthcare data, and mental health initiatives, are not applicable as the company does not offer health-related products or services, collect health data, or its initiatives are focused on internal employee wellness. KPIs related to vulnerable reach, global health crisis response, and health equity programs lack the specific quantitative data required by the rubric for scoring.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

NRG Energy is an energy company and is not involved in high-interest rate lending.

The company does not offer lending or deposit services to consumers, nor does it have a loan or insurance book. NRG is not regulated as a lender and does not operate financial service access points. Consequently, it has no direct impact on customer credit or savings outcomes, and does not offer financial products requiring disclosure or explanation. While NRG offers electricity rates below the national average, the 'pricing_fairness' KPI is specifically structured for APRs and fees of financial products. Similarly, 'underserved_client_share' and 'data_accessibility' are omitted due to a lack of specific data points for NRG's customer base or financial data portability, respectively. 'Profit_reinvestment' and 'financial_literacy_initiatives' are omitted as the evidence does not provide the required percentage of pre-tax profit or customer-focused financial literacy programs.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

NRG achieved a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.20 in 2023, marking its fifth consecutive year of top decile safety performance.

A 2023 pay equity study found no statistically significant pay gaps after accounting for job level, experience, tenure, and location. For fiscal year 2024, the company reported a CEO pay ratio of 62:1. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 4% of NRG's U.S. workforce was covered by collective bargaining agreements. Between 2021 and 2023, NRG received 7 Notices of Violation (NOVs), with 3 resulting in fines totaling $15,780.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

NRG's subsidiary, Direct Energy, reported that approximately 99.4% of its reportable ESP expenditure was for power procurement, with no diverse supplier spend in this category.

For its non-power purchases, approximately 15% of expenditures were with diverse suppliers. resulting in an overall diverse supplier spend of less than 1% for Direct Energy. The company conducts on-site audits of its manufacturing facilities approximately every three years following a favorable audit.

Honest & Fair Business

NRG Energy incurred over $12.9 million in ethics-related regulatory fines between 2023 and 2025, primarily for consumer protection and energy market violations.

The company faces recurring customer complaints regarding billing errors and misleading marketing practices, including allegations of 'teaser rates' and undisclosed fees, leading to an investigation by a law firm. NRG has a comprehensive whistleblower policy, adopted in October 2015, which includes external and anonymous reporting channels, explicitly prohibits retaliation, and ensures reports are acknowledged and tracked. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, NRG's financial statements did not reflect any corrections or restatements. The company maintains an FCPA-compliant anti-corruption policy covering employees, non-employees, and suppliers, but details on training frequency and effectiveness metrics are not provided. As of March 15, 2025, 90.9% of NRG's board members are independent.

Kind to Animals

NRG Energy Inc. operates in the utilities sector, primarily focusing on energy production and distribution.

The company's operations do not involve direct animal usage or practices such as animal testing, farming, or the use of animal-derived products. Consequently, KPIs related to cruelty-free certification, alternative testing methods, humane certifications for animal operations, ethical animal input substitution, animal-related supplier audits, cage-free sourcing, animal testing policy and volume, innovation investment in animal-free technologies, animal agriculture ethics, animal-free R&D collaboration, and public policy engagement on animal welfare are not applicable to its business model. While the company has engaged in some conservation initiatives, investing approximately $325,325 and dedicating volunteer hours to habitat restoration and specific wildlife projects, and has also been associated with environmental violations impacting ecosystems, the provided articles do not contain the specific quantitative data points, such as percentage of revenue invested in conservation or measurable biodiversity impact metrics, required to score the 'wildlife_conservation_impact' KPI against the rubric's thresholds. Therefore, this KPI is omitted.

No War, No Weapons

NRG Energy Inc. derives approximately 0.24% of its revenue from natural gas supply contracts to U.S. military installations.

The company requires its manufacturers to adhere to Human Rights & Social Responsibility Standards, which mandate compliance with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and industry best practices. Supplier audits are conducted approximately every 3 years after a favorable audit. NRG conducts an annual review of its supply chain for conflict minerals. The company reserves the right to terminate supplier agreements if sources support conflict. The Audit Committee is regularly informed of due diligence results. The company has no exposure to controversial or banned weapons.

Planet-Friendly Business

NRG's reported Scope 1, Scope 2, and partial Scope 3 (business travel) greenhouse gas emissions for 2024 totaled approximately 25.15 million metric tons CO2e.

The company has certified science-based targets, validated in December 2023, aligned with a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway. NRG had signed agreements for 1.9 GW of renewable power capacity through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) by the end of 2024, all of which were operational, representing approximately 14.6% of its 13 GW generation capacity. In 2021, NRG's water withdrawal efficiency was 340.48 m³ per $1 million in revenue. In 2024, 59% of coal combustion residuals generated by NRG facilities were beneficially reused. NRG recorded 7 Notices of Violation (NOVs) and 1 reportable oil spill from events occurring between 2021 and 2023, with 3 NOVs resulting in fines totaling $15,780. NRG published its inaugural Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report in 2020-2021. Since 2014, NRG has retired or divested approximately 36 GW of fossil fuel generation, a 73% reduction, and has detailed plans for the retirement or divestment of several specific fossil fuel power plants by 2030. In 2023, 0.01% of NRG's water withdrawal and 0.10% of its water consumption were from areas with high or extremely high baseline water stress. NRG is committed to a just transition for employees affected by plant downsizing or closure, offering retraining, outplacement services, and prioritizing displaced employees for other roles.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No cultural appropriation incidents are reported in the provided articles.

The company achieved a 100% completion rate for unconscious bias training among its employees.

Safe & Smart Tech

NRG Energy reported no material cybersecurity incidents in 2024

and no material cybersecurity threats through December 31, 2023. The company has implemented a robust AI Governance framework , including comprehensive risk identification and management processes and rigorous evaluation frameworks , to ensure transparent, safe, ethical, and responsible use of AI with human judgment and oversight . NRG monitors compliance with evolving data privacy laws and maintains robust privacy and security practices in line with these laws, including compliance with NERC-CIP and PCI DSS.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

NRG's Chalk Point and Dickerson plants repeatedly discharged nitrogen into rivers at levels significantly exceeding permit limits from 2010 through 2025, with the Chalk Point plant discharging 5 to 20 times the allowed amount annually.

This resulted in a $1 million penalty and a requirement to upgrade wastewater treatment systems. In 2021, the company also received six Notices of Violation (NOVs), one of which included a $2,937.60 fine, and experienced four unauthorized discharges of cooling tower water and stormwater totaling approximately 4,230 barrels. A subsidiary also faced legal actions regarding groundwater contamination from coal ash. In 2024, 59% of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) generated by NRG facilities were beneficially reused. The company has implemented waste reduction initiatives, including a Mobile Wallet option that has avoided approximately 35 million sheets of paper, envelopes, and stamps since 2016. , and achieved a 77% reduction in total water withdrawal since 2014. All active plants implement annual econrgSM projects focused on resource reduction, reuse, or recycling, and NRG received the SEAL Award for Environmental Initiatives in 2021.