Better Health for All
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Unitil distributes natural gas and electricity, which are essential services but natural gas has inherent hazards (explosion, asphyxiation)
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and both contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, linked to respiratory issues
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. All of Unitil's revenue is from these activities, which have well-established negative health outcomes. However, the company has a clear transition strategy to healthier alternatives, including a target to reduce Scope 1 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050
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. Despite claims of an exceptional safety record and awards
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, the company incurred $4.397 million in safety-related penalties across 38 records since 2000, including two in 2020
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. The company demonstrates strong price accessibility and vulnerable reach through extensive programs. It offers heating assistance for families with incomes up to $75,201
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and single persons up to $39,105
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, budget billing
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, and discount rates (up to 34.5% for electric)
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. The Arrears Forgiveness Program provides up to $4,800 in relief annually
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. Through Mass Save, no-cost energy efficiency improvements are available for income-eligible households
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, with 90% incentives for others
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, and interest-free loans up to $25,000
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. Unitil explicitly targets Environmental Justice (EJ) communities, with 86.3% of the population in Fitchburg (65% of MA customers)
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residing in EJ blocks, and has developed an ESMP Equity Framework to ensure equitable benefit distribution
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. Interpretation services are provided at public meetings
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. Unitil's preventative health measures include pipeline integrity programs, aggressive leak repair
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, and energy efficiency programs that improve indoor air quality and reduce respiratory issues
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. Its GHG reduction efforts aim to prevent health conditions related to air pollution
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. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company adapted training with VR
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and contributed over $225,000 to relief funds and agencies addressing food insecurity, homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse
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. It supports United Way programs that include mental health support
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. Risk transparency includes reporting on pipeline integrity, disclosing emissions calculation methods
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, and conducting climate change scenario planning
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Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
0
Unitil Corporation is a public utility company engaged in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. The 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value specifically evaluates how financial institutions democratize access to fair financial services, including lending, insuring, moving, or storing money. As Unitil is not a financial institution, its core business operations do not involve the provision of general consumer financial products or services. While Unitil offers various customer assistance programs related to utility bills, such as income-based discount rates, arrears forgiveness, and an interest-free loan for energy efficiency, these are specific to its utility services and do not constitute general consumer financial products. Consequently, all KPIs related to financial product pricing, exploitative fees, loan books, financial data accessibility, fair lending compliance, wealth building outcomes, profit reinvestment in community finance, financial literacy initiatives, customer debt burden ratios from financial products, and financial service access points are not applicable to the company's operations in the context of this value.
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Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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The CEO-to-median employee pay ratio for Unitil was 23:1 in 2024.
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In 2023, an internal survey indicated that 91% of employees were proud to work for the company, and 93% felt their manager was interested in their well-being.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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No specific, quantitative data regarding fair trade certifications, supplier audit frequency, forced or child labor incidents, supply chain traceability, remediation speed for violations, ethical clause coverage in supplier contracts, spend on high-risk materials, or supplier diversity spend was found across the provided articles
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. While Unitil publishes annual sustainability reports
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and mentions general commitments to ESG priorities
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, the articles do not contain the concrete facts required to score any of the KPIs for Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Honest & Fair Business
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No relevant evidence was found in the provided articles to assess UTL.US against any of the Honest & Fair Business KPIs. The article mentioning a whistleblower policy referred to 'CoLabs' and not UTL.US.
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Kind to Animals
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As a utility company, Unitil's core business operations do not involve product manufacturing, animal testing, or animal agriculture. Therefore, KPIs related to cruelty-free certifications, alternative testing, humane operations, ethical sourcing, supplier audits, cage-free products, animal testing policies/volume, innovation in animal-free technologies, animal agriculture ethics, and animal-free R&D collaboration are not applicable and scored as 0. For public policy engagement, the company complies with existing environmental regulations impacting wildlife habitat but does not demonstrate active advocacy for higher animal welfare standards, resulting in a 0 score. Evidence regarding wildlife conservation impact includes donations of $500 to each of three wildlife conservation organizations
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and qualitative benefits from vegetation management practices, but lacks the specific, quantifiable metrics (e.g., measurable biodiversity impact, species recovery, or percentage of revenue) required by the rubric for scoring, leading to its omission.
No War, No Weapons
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Unitil Corporation is a public utility holding company engaged in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. The provided articles, including one about a water utility acquisition
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and others discussing general defense industry news
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, do not contain any evidence linking UTL.US to arms manufacturing, military contracts, dual-use technology, sales to embargoed regimes, or any other activities relevant to the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. Therefore, all KPIs are assessed as N/A, indicating no involvement in such activities within its core business operations.
Planet-Friendly Business
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Unitil Corporation's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions for 2023 were approximately 1.593 million tCO2e, representing a 2.24% decline from 2022.
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The company has not yet set SBTi-validated targets but anticipates doing so within the next two years.
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Its operational energy consumption from renewable sources is 0 MWh, although 26% of the electric power supply delivered to customers in 2022 was from renewable sources.
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The company reports zero environmental compliance violations for 2023
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and states it has integrated climate risk into its Enterprise Risk Management program, aligning with TCFD recommendations.
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It conducts qualitative and quantitative climate scenario analysis using RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 pathways.
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Unitil has a net-zero emissions target for Scope 1 by 2050,
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with an interim target to reduce Scope 1 emissions by at least 50% by 2030.
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However, the company reports no deforestation policy implementation,
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no packaging CO2 reduction,
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no climate justice initiatives,
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no just transition programs,
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and no climate adaptation financing.
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Less than 1% of its suppliers have SBTi-aligned targets,
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and no environmental impact assessments were conducted.
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The company does not use carbon offsets.
Respect for Cultures & Communities
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Unitil Corporation has 13 formal partnership agreements with local community groups.
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These include four specific United Way organizations (United Way of the Greater Seacoast, Granite United Way, United Way of North Central Massachusetts, and United Way of Southern Maine), the Red Cross, and eight local non-profit organizations such as Friends of Forgotten Children, St. Vincent de Paul (Exeter and Hampton), Gather, Hollis Community Pantry and Community Closet, The Gathering Place Warming Shelter & Mid-Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Wellspring Ecumenical Food Cupboard, and North Star Family Services.
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No cultural appropriation incidents have been reported in the provided articles. The company engages in general charitable giving, including employee-led initiatives for holiday toy drives, pet food collection, and donations of winter clothing and meals to various organizations, but there is no specific evidence of donations directed to cultural heritage organizations.
Safe & Smart Tech
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Unitil maintains an exemplary regulatory compliance program, monitoring IT compliance with SOX, NERC/CIP, Massachusetts Privacy, and PCI standards.
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It uses the Department of Energy's Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and Center for Internet Security Controls for annual assessments, and is a member of industry cyber committees.
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The company implements an advanced Cybersecurity Employee Awareness Program, providing mandatory quarterly training to all employees, conducting monthly phishing test exercises, and performing annual cyber knowledge assessments.
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Unitil reported no incidents of unauthorized data use by the company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and states it does not sell personal information.
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It collects data only for requested services, with "Remember Me" cookie retention limited to 30 days.
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Users have excellent control, able to access and delete data, update passwords, change security questions, and enable two-factor authentication.
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A minor data breach in May (likely 2025) affected approximately 10 subscribers, with personal data stolen via a third-party software flaw, though sensitive financial data was not compromised.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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The provided articles, which summarize Unitil's sustainability reports, explicitly state that no quantitative data or specific information related to waste diversion, product recyclability, packaging sustainability, recycled content, single-use plastic reduction, take-back programs, circular design, waste reduction initiatives, hazardous waste management, product durability, repairability, waste audit frequency, zero waste certification, waste disposal violations, material efficiency, packaging-to-product ratio, waste reduction targets, supplier waste requirements, or customer waste education is available.
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Therefore, no KPIs can be scored based on the evidence provided.