Xcel Energy was the first major U.S. power company to announce a vision to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. We’re already half-way to that goal. Additionally, we’re on pace to hit our goal of reducing carbon emissions 80% by 2030.

By 2030 we aim to greatly reduce emissions across all the ways our customers use energy: electricity, heating and transportation. We’re retiring coal plants, adding renewables, exploring new technologies and helping to electrify other sectors, while maintaining customer affordability and supporting our employees and communities. We expect to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 million tons compared to 2005 levels.

In 2022 we announced our vision to power 1.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) across our service area by 2030 - more than 30 times the number today. We’ve invested over $25M; we're partnering with automakers, tech and charging companies; and we're working with our communities and customers to expand the nation’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure in homes and public spaces.

Our engineers use drones to perform wind turbine inspections and perimeter checks. We also employ other advanced technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence to help us increase the quality and quantity of our data, enhance employee safety, and keep our best-in-class process at the forefront of innovation.

75% of our food crops rely on butterflies, bees, and other pollinators whose populations are shrinking. At Xcel Energy, we’ve spent 30 years developing 2,100 acres of pollinator habitats to help our nation’s farmers. We have other initiatives in place to protect raptors, eagles and other wildlife and wilderness areas.

Employees are encouraged to help make a difference in our communities through various programs throughout the year. Through our Day of Service and United Way campaigns, employees join together to get the work done that makes our communities stronger. Throughout the year, employees can take advantage of our Volunteer Paid Time Off, Dollars for Doing and Matching Gifts programs to further their efforts.

We donate millions of dollars so more than 800,000 K-12 students can receive hands-on education in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM). STEM students also receive mentoring from Xcel Energy employees who volunteer as members of our Business Resource Groups.

Employees proudly refer to our COVID-19 response as “compassionate, thoughtful, flexible and responsible.” Thanks in large part to our Safety Always work culture, we transitioned 7,000 office employees to remote work within 10 days, and quickly sourced protective safety equipment and sanitizing products for our frontline employees—our pandemic heroes who have worked tirelessly to ensure millions of people at home continue to have power.

Sustainability is ingrained in everything we do and is fundamental to our strategy. Our 2020 Sustainability Report provides insights into how we are managing our economic, environmental and social impact on issues important to our stakeholders. Together with those stakeholders, we are working to build a more sustainable energy future.