The company is awarded Platinum Status in Business in the Community's Corporate Responsibility Index for the third year in a row.

ScottishPower has retained platinum status in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index 2008 – the third year in a row it has been awarded the prestigious accolade. The index, which ScottishPower has participated in since its launch in 2002, is widely recognised as the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility.

Ann Loughrey, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at ScottishPower, said: “We are extremely proud to receive Platinum recognition from Business in the Community for the third year running, which demonstrates that we have a long-term commitment to our social responsibilities. CSR is embedded through all levels of our organisation, and we will continue to set tough targets and closely monitor our social and environmental performance.

“We recently published our CSR Annual Review for 2008 which measures our performance against 12 key impact areas. In the last year Iberdrola and ScottishPower invested £1.1 billion in the UK and announced plans to spend £39 million over the next three years to protect our most vulnerable customers. A further £1 million was also donated to the ScottishPower Energy People Trust, an independent charity set up to help end fuel poverty in Britain, which has now helped over 243,000 individuals in over 105,000 households across Britain.”

The Company’s success at Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence has also continued.  At an awards event hosted by Scottish Business in the Community in Edinburgh on Thursday evening (11th June), the company was presented with four individual ‘Big Ticks’, recognising its commitment to the environment, the community and its employees.

One of ScottishPower’s projects has also been recognised as a National Example of Excellence. As part of the North Staffordshire Warm Zone Partnership the company has helped to insulate over 73,000 homes in the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme areas.

Speaking of the awards, Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said:

“I congratulate all the winners of a Big Tick this year. In the current economic climate it is fantastic to see so many strong examples of businesses that recognise the benefits, both social, environmental and to their bottom line, of being a responsible business.

“The Big Tick is now recognised as both a valuable and difficult award to achieve. It means a company has demonstrated ways in which they positively make a difference to the environment, their workplace, the community or in the marketplace in which they sell, advertise or trade.”

Notes to Editors:

The four big ticks awarded to ScottishPower are:

• Power in Partnership Award - North Staffordshire Warm Zone in partnership with ScottishPower and National Grid - shortlisted for National Example of Excellence
• HBOS Responsible Marketing Award in Association with The Marketing Society - Commonsense from ScottishPower (re-accredited)
• Marketplace Innovation Award - Upcycling for Sustainability (ScotAsh) (re-accredited)
• Merrill Lynch Education Award supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families - ScottishPower’s School to Work Programme (re-accredited)

ScottishPower’s CSR Annual Review 2008 can be found at: http://www.scottishpower.com/CorporateResponsibility.asp

Further information on Business in the Community can be found at: www.bitc.org.uk

Media Information: Paul Ferguson – 0141 566 4515 / 07702 665 924