ARIZONA NEWS
Southwest Gas devoted to serving community through sustainable energy
Apr 5, 2023, 8:00 PM
PHOENIX — KTAR’s community spotlight this month focuses on a Valley energy company that is committed to serving the community through providing sustainable and reliable energy.
Southwest Gas, founded in Arizona in 1931, is devoted to pioneering pathways to attaining reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and climate goals in the community.
The company works to support those efforts by playing an integral role in driving down economy-wide emissions, improving air quality and providing long-term reliability.
“This month, which is also the month hosting Earth Day as well as Safe Digging Month, we are engaged in an initiative to plant trees and provide a beautification opportunity for a local school in partnership with a local nonprofit,” Laura Nelson, vice president of sustainability and public policy for Southwest Gas told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News show.
Following a $30,000 pledge to Trees Matter, Southwest Gas partnered with Glenn L. Downs School Social Sciences Academy on April 1 to plant 20 trees on campus, add new planters for the school garden, prune and clean existing trees and paint a 100-foot mural designed by a local artist.
The expanded tree canopy aims to help improve air quality, cooler temperatures, climate resiliency and ecological restoration.
As others might consider planting trees, the energy company urges those interested in any digging project to call 811 to ensure utility lines buried underground are not damaged in the process.
For those at Southwest Gas, the company’s mission extends past work.
“Eighty-percent or more of our employees put their hands in their own pockets and give funding for these local nonprofits to give back to our communities. These are the communities where we live, work and play and this is where our heart is,” Nelson said.
“It’s about delivering those safe, sustainable energy solutions but also creating the pathways for our communities to achieve all of their goals, their environmental goals, their local resiliency goals and also to achieve what they want for the future.”
