Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL), part of the US SBU, and its partners received a 2015 Indianapolis Sustainability Award for its Indianapolis International Airport (IND) solar farm. The project received recognition for using airport land to help build a sustainable community. IND has the largest solar farm of any airport in the world and it will generate enough electricity to power 3,200 average homes. The Indianapolis Office of Sustainability created the awards to inspire innovation, showcase impact, reward leadership and promote education around the principles of sustainability. It honors excellence in three categories: social, economic and environmental sustainability. The IND solar farm won the environmental category award. 

AES Eletropaulo, part of the Brazil SBU, received a golden trophy and two silver trophies for its customer relationship practices from the Smart Contact Center. AES Eletropaulo ranked first and second in the Respect for Customers category with the initiatives, AES Way of Providing Customer Service and the Connected Connection and Disconnection Cases. In the Corporate Relationship category, AES Eletropaulo was the runner-up with the Transformation of the Corporate Contact Center initiative. The Smart Award is the result of the tireless work of our people, who work hard to satisfy our customers. 

One way to create value within the business is to focus on near term replicable opportunities for growth such as energy storage. AES Mexico, in partnership with AES Energy Storage, is working to create value in Mexico by hosting an energy storage seminar to educate others about the benefits of energy storage. The seminar, held earlier this month in Mexico City, was attended by more than 140 leaders from private companies, regulatory organizations, energy associations and other potential clients. The one day seminar included nine presentations from five different countries. Participants were engaged and feedback was positive with many leaving thinking about energy storage as a true business opportunity. Click here to view one of the videos shown at the seminar (both English and Spanish is used).

AES locations throughout the Asia SBU recently celebrated and advanced efforts to promote an incident-free environment in the workplace and beyond. AES people engaged each other and the community through safety drills, recognitions and competitions highlighting the importance of being Always On for the environment, health and safety. In the Philippines, the Masinloc plant named their Safety Champion of the Year, and presented their annual award for Excellence in Team Safety. At the Asia SBU office, the importance of fitness and nutrition was highlighted with an AES Master Chef competition and Crossfit event. In Sri Lanka, AES Kelanitissa was named 2015 Outstanding Business Unit of the Year for Safety for the Asia SBU.

In the MCAC SBU, AES people in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico learned about this year's theme, Switch On and Stay On or Conectate through leadership presentations and the safety video. AES people were engaged through safety quizzes and contests, theatre plays and by giving back to the community.