Alabama Power, the Alabama Power Foundation and the Alabama Power-affiliated Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund (ABC Trust) received multiple recognitions in the 2013 Green Progress Report, a digest of the year’s most successful green and sustainable initiatives and achievements across the state. The report is released annually by the nonprofit Green Resource Center for Alabama and Kelly Green Marketing.

“The definition of sustainability is no longer boxed into just ‘going green’ but rather, it accounts for economic development, education, smart building and design, innovation, technology, conservation, and much more,” said Natalie Kelly, President of Kelly Green Marketing, publisher of My Green Birmingham.

The Alabama Power Foundation’s “Good Roots” program was cited in the Green Progress Report’s section devoted to land conservation and preservation. In 2013, Good Roots distributed more than $20,000 through 24 grants to plant trees across the state. Also noted was the removal of a small dam on Turkey Creek in Jefferson County, which was restricting the endangered vermilion darter, a tiny fish found nowhere else in the world. Alabama Power is among the partners involved in the dam’s removal and restoration of the creek.

Alabama Power’s “My Power Usage” program was recognized in the energy efficiency category. The program empowers customers by providing them access to a range of information about their energy usage, via computer or mobile device. Customers can use the information to make informed choices that can make their homes more energy efficient, reducing their energy consumption and saving money.

The ABC Trust, which was established by Alabama Power, also received accolades in the energy efficiency section. The report praised the trust for its awarding of energy efficiency grants to nonprofit groups. It also cited the trust and Alabama Power for its efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the education center at the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson. That initiative included a service-learning component in which students from Birmingham-Southern College received hands-on training in energy efficiency techniques while making improvements to the Turkey Creek center.

In the report’s section devoted to parks, trails and recreation, the Alabama Power Foundation was cited for its support of the Moon River Canoe Launch on the Cahaba River in Jefferson County. The launch is the first recreational site being developed as part of the fledgling Cahaba Blueway. Alabama Power or the Alabama Power Foundation have also supported a number of other park and trail projects cited in the report, including the Alabama Scenic River Trail, as well as the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail and Red Mountain Park in Jefferson County.

Projects cited in other sections of the report have also received support from Alabama Power, including the Toyota Green Initiative and the AlabamaWISE home energy program.

It’s not the first year Alabama Power has been recognized in the Green Progress Report. In the 2012 edition, the company’s use of energy from wind farms in the Midwest was listed as one of the “Top 12 for 2012” green initiatives in the state. In prior years the company’s Renewable Energy Rate and Renew Our Rivers cleanup initiative have been cited, among other company- or foundation-connected projects.

To see the full 2013 Green Progress Report, visit www.mygreenbirmingham.com. Green Progress Reports from prior years can be viewed at www.greenalabama.org.

To learn more about Alabama Power’s environmental initiatives, please visit www.alabamapower.com and click on the “Environment” tab. To learn more about the Alabama Power Foundation and the ABC Trust, please visit www.powerofgood.com..