Exelon has a strong tradition of community involvement. We are committed to a wide range of educational, cultural, environmental, and community, and neighborhood development programs. Over the last five years, Exelon has donated more than $65 million to organizations and institutions in the communities that we serve and where we work.
As one of the nation’s largest utilities, it’s our business to make sure our customers and key constituents can depend on us to do more than keep the lights on. That’s why we have nurtured a culture of community involvement at all levels of our organization under the banner of “Energy for the Community.” In addition to serving the community, these activities provide valuable experience and enhance morale and teamwork among our most important resource – our employees. Their personal commitment to community service is a great source of pride. Our senior management team and other employees serve on numerous charitable boards throughout the Chicago and Philadelphia areas. Our generating stations also contribute at the local level in ways as individualized as the communities they serve. Through the company’s Employee Network Groups, we’re able to mirror the diversity of the communities we serve. Among the causes that benefit from our hands-on involvement are the arts, education, the environment and community development.
As we move forward into the coming year and beyond, we remain firmly committed to the principles of giving back – to our customers, shareholders, employees, community members and other stakeholders. That’s our promise; that’s our way.
Exelon is committed to improving the environment in which we all live and work, and to preserving it for generations to come. Exelon supports organizations and initiatives that enhance biodiversity and protect and improve the environment. Our efforts focus on promoting environmental education, conservation and preservation; developing cleaner sources of energy; protecting endangered species; and beautifying neighborhoods.
Environmental stewardship in Chicago
Exelon is the Chicago Park District’s primary environmental steward, providing major funding for restoration projects throughout the city, educational signage in parks and environmental education programs. In fact, the company’s partnership with the Chicago Park District earned a “Special Contributor Citation” from the National Recreation and Parks Association in 2005. Under this unique partnership, the Exelon Environmental Fellowship was created in 2002 to pioneer a new curriculum and teaching approach to science and math for students at Chicago’s public schools. The goal is to establish a new experiential approach to science while providing students with innovative and creative opportunities to study the environment around them and nurture conservation skills.
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
The company is a longtime sponsor of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. We took the lead in supporting Schuylkill’s new Discovery Center by funding interactive exhibits that interpret the various habitats on the center’s property. Every year, with Exelon’s support, the center offers educational programs in wildlife rehabilitation, land restoration and environmental art to students from hundreds of schools and other groups. Again with our company’s support, center staff members serve as adjunct faculty members at Arcadia University, Temple University and Swarthmore College, and they offer workshops to help teachers meet state standards in environmental- and ecology-related curricula.
LaSalle Labor of Love
As part of the annual LaSalle Labor of Love, employees of our LaSalle station and their family members repaired and helped winterize three homes in the Ottawa, Ill., area. LaSalle station and Exelon also contributed $10,000 to fund the repair and replacement of several roofs in the town, including those at two of the homes.
Sport Fish Fund
In New Jersey, we contributed $100,000 to support various aquatic enhancement projects, including the Sport Fish Fund’s construction of a 46-acre artificial reef offshore of Barnegat Lighthouse. The reef will provide a habitat for 150 marine species, enhancing the marine environment and fishery resources near our Oyster Creek nuclear station.
Preserving Open Space through PECO’s Green Region Grant Program
Recognizing that open space in our communities is crucial to the quality of our lives, PECO is committed to assisting municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania with their ongoing efforts to protect and improve open land. Through its PECO GREEN REGION program, PECO hopes to play an active role in the effort to preserve and protect farmland, parks and trails, and watersheds.
GREEN REGION grants can be used with other funding sources to cover a wide variety of planning and direct expenses associated with developing and implementing open space programs, including consulting fees, surveys, environmental assessments, habitat improvement, and capital improvements for passive recreation.
Economic Development
In addition to the corporate giving activities, Exelon also plays an active role in the community by promoting our service areas as business locations for new and expanding companies to enhance the economic vitality of the regions.
Promoting economic development in Philadelphia
PECO continued to partner with the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Select Greater Philadelphia program. By attracting and retaining businesses, the company generated $1.6 million in additional revenue and over 2,500 new jobs for the Philadelphia area. Most notably, PECO’s economic development personnel helped bring Gamesa, a wind-turbine parts manufacturer, and ExcelleRx, a medical fulfillment company, to the Philadelphia region.
For the sixth straight year, Site Selection magazine named PECO one of the top 10 utilities for its economic development efforts, recognizing the company’s assistance with corporate expansions or relocations, attraction of the annual Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) conference to the city, and support of Select Greater Philadelphia.
ComEd’s economic development in Illinois
In northern Illinois, ComEd worked closely with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other regional economic development partners to attract or retain 2,100 jobs. Through ComEd’s proactive business outreach and retention system, the company has connected with over 1,800 manufacturing companies, representing more than 178,000 jobs throughout northern Illinois over the last seven years.
For more information on what Exelon is doing in the community, visit:
http://www.exeloncorp.com/aboutus/community/