Leadership/Governance
The actions of our people define our company. Our model for corporate and professional values is called Southern Style, which includes these principles:
Unquestionable Trust
Honesty, respect, fairness, and integrity drive our behavior. We keep our promises and ethical behavior is our standard.
Superior Performance
We are dedicated to superior performance throughout our business. Our priorities are safety first, teamwork, diversity, and continuous improvement through strong leadership.
Total Commitment
We are committed to the success of our employees, customers, and shareholders and to citizenship and stewardship in all our actions.
Southern Company’s code of ethics applies to directors, officers, and employees of Southern Company and its subsidiaries. The code addresses behavior, safety and health, environmental performance, compliance, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, gifts and gratuities, political activities, competitive practices, financial integrity, and relationships with customers, vendors, shareholders, regulators, and others. Each year, employees complete a questionnaire affirming their personal compliance with the code of ethics. The company also requires periodic online ethics and compliance training for all employees and directors. Employee concerns may be reported using a confidential concerns line or Web site. Further information and detail on the company’s code of ethics can be found at: http://investor.southerncompany.com/governance.cfm.
Business Strategy
- Live Southern Style in all aspects of our business.
- Lead the industry in customer satisfaction and service.
- Continue to earn top-quartile returns with one of the lowest-risk profiles in the electric utility industry.
- Achieve a long-term earnings-per-share growth rate of 4-6 percent while delivering a sustainable and growing dividend to our shareholders.
- Make the communities we serve better places to live and work.
Working Together
"We will continue to meet the growing demand for electricity in the Southeast. It will take new ideas and approaches, which we will help champion, so that we can keep our costs to customers reasonable and continue to reduce our environmental impact. The United States soon will need more energy than we currently produce or buy from others. The U.S. energy industry cannot work in isolation in meeting this challenge. We all must work together. That includes the federal government and the states, business leaders, and environmentalists. A collaborative approach is the only way we can find the answers that will assure our children and grandchildren of a secure and sustainable energy future."
David M. Ratcliffe, CEO
