Engaging with stakeholders to build trust, strengthen relationships and make an impact in our service territory.

Stakeholder Engagement

Our major stakeholders include individuals and groups who impact – or are impacted by – our company and business operations. They include customers, communities, employees, investors, suppliers and regulators, among other stakeholders. Feedback from these stakeholders helps to inform our business plans and strategies.

Through CenterPoint Energy’s stakeholder engagement process, we define our key Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) material topics for ESG disclosures.

GRI MATERIAL TOPICS

Stakeholder	Key Topics	How We Engage
Communities	Community impact Community engagement Diversity and inclusion Environmental compliance Environmental stewardship Customer health and safety Effluents and waste Advocacy Economic Development	CenterPoint Energy Foundation Online grant applications Community events and sponsorships Employee volunteerism Community partnerships to revitalize low-income neighborhoods Low-income energy assistance City and county council meeting presentations
Customers: Residential, Commercial and Industrial	Electricity and natural gas emissions Effluents and waste Environmental compliance Non-discrimination Anti-corruption Customer health and safety Customer satisfaction Customer privacy	Community partnerships to revitalize lower-income neighborhoods Low-income energy assistance City and county council meeting presentations Call center CenterPoint Energy website Customer Service online webchat Social media, TV, radio, email and marketing campaigns Mobile application to report outages and make payments Speaker’s Bureau presentations Bill inserts/onserts Customer surveys and focus groups Energy efficiency/demand-side management initiatives Trade shows and large business customer forums Business and commercial account managers
Employees: Current and prospective employees, Retirees and labor unions	Economic performance Environmental compliance Employee recruitment, turnover, benefits and retention Employee health and safety COVID-19 Training and development Diversity and inclusion Non-discrimination Employee engagemen	Leadership meetings Employee meetings, video-streams and webcasts Training and skills development, including leadership development programs Informal, ongoing meetings Employee engagement surveys Professional affinity and employee resource groups Workforce recruiting programs Ethics Helpline for grievances or concerns Health and wellness programs and initiatives Retiree communications Labor and management joint engagement on key topics, such as safety
Government	Economic performance Indirect economic impacts Energy consumption and conservation Emissions Compliance Occupational health and safety Diversity and Equal Opportunity Public policy Customer health and safety Customer privacy	Regulatory participation with various federal, state and local governmental agencies on requirements and processes Workshops Industry and trade associations Legislative sessions Collaboration on community investment projects Comments on proposed rules Regulatory filings and hearings State and federal government affairs staff Corporate lobbying efforts
Investors	ESG matters: Carbon emissions reduction, human capital management, diversity and inclusion, corporate governance practices Executive compensation and succession planning Economic performance Energy consumption and conservation Environmental compliance Community engagement Customer satisfaction	Quarterly earnings conference calls Meetings, road shows and presentations Analyst/industry conferences Public disclosures Annual meeting of shareholders Website Governance outreach Shareholder services online and by phone Annual Report Investor Relations staff
Non-Governmental Agencies	Indirect economic impacts Energy consumption and conservation Compliance Customer satisfaction Customer privacy	Local-level consultations and meetings Website and communications Industry associations Collaboration on community development projects Impact assessments Sustainability reporting Annual reporting Stakeholder discussions
Suppliers	Economic impacts Compliance Supplier engagement Community investment Diversity and Equal Opportunity	Formal supplier diversity program and events Supplier Diversity Advisory Council mentoring and scholarship program Supplier Diversity Month – employees and vendors Participation in minority and women supplier development councils Recognition events Engagement with diverse business organizations Request for proposals Periodic meetings with suppliers to review Key Performance Indicators Industry trade show participation Fair dealing Timely payments Competitive bidding processes Supplier Code of Conduct Ethics Helpline