SAN DIEGO, Sept. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third consecutive year, Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) has been selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and, for the first time, the company is being added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. 

Established in 1999, the indices are compiled annually by S&P Dow Jones and the Zurich-based RobecoSAM, a sustainable investment specialty firm. They were the first organizations in the world to track the financial performance of companies that lead their respective industries in managing economic, environmental and social issues.  The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios.

"We are pleased to be ranked among the world's leading companies for our efforts in planning, developing and operating clean forms of energy while continuing to practice sustainability and transparency in our corporate responsibility practices," said Randall L. Clark, vice president of corporate responsibility and corporate secretary for Sempra Energy.

Since 2005, the Sempra Energy companies have made more than $20 billion in capital investments, many of which have expanded cleaner-burning natural gas and renewable energy infrastructure. As a result, the company's greenhouse-gas emissions rate (carbon dioxide emitted per megawatt-hour of energy generated) is about 40-percent lower than the national average.

The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index tracks the performance of the top 10 percent of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index while the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index recognizes the top 20 percent of companies on the continent. Sempra Energy will join the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Sept. 23.

Sempra Energy's four principal subsidiaries are San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Co., Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and Sempra International.

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2012 revenues of approximately $10 billion.  The Sempra Energy companies' nearly 17,000 employees serve more than 31 million consumers worldwide.

Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as the California utilities San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Sempra International, LLC and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

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SOURCE Sempra Energy