Public Outreach and Strategic Communications Services, NYPA

The New York Power Authority (NYPA), the largest state electric utility in the United States, retained r6catalyst for a five-year agreement to provide strategic and tactical expertise for extensive internal and external communications initiatives.

Under this ongoing service agreement, r6catalyst has completed two hallmark projects – 2020 Annual Report and 2021 Sustainability Report, both completed under stringent deadlines and requiring engagement with several internal stakeholders including members of its Executive Management Committee (EMC) and NYPA leadership.

‍2020 Annual Report

NYPA’s 2020 Annual Report (AR) was an ambitious project with an incredibly short timeframe for completion. Working collaboratively with NYPA’s Corporate Communications team, r6catalyst provided a full suite of services, from visioning, design and layout, infographics to content development.  

Effective project and time management was the cornerstone of this project. With detailed planning, communication and coordination, the r6catalyst team conducted interviews with EMC members to get a deeper understanding of their insights, achievements, and philosophies. The editorial team developed interview guides, questions and had detailed discussions with the CEO, EMC members and senior leadership. These interviews underscored the human element of maintaining normalcy in running the utility’s massive operations while dealing with the disruption caused by COVID-19.  

With sheer creativity, the editorial team wove the information gathered from research and interviews into a heart-warming narrative inspired by NYPA’s bold new vision and foundational pillars, that culminated into the 2020 AR.  Titled “Resilience is Rooted in Our People,”, the 2020 AR was a celebration of NYPA and Canal’s innovation, preparedness, its diverse workforce and a testimony to their selfless heroism, agility, and deep-rooted resiliency to bounce forward while performing mission-critical duties throughout the year of the pandemic.  

Our graphics team captured the essence of the report with thought-provoking visuals and imagery that complemented the narrative.

NYPA and r6catalyst teams worked in cohesion, integrating tasks and activities, maintaining open communication, and displaying an incredible level of commitment & professionalism, to expedite the delivery of the final report by late April.    


‍2021 Sustainability Report

The 2021 Sustainability Report (SR) was pivotal as NYPA and Canals continued the path towards transforming into an ESG-driven (Environmental, Social, and Governance) organization. NYPA sought a solution provider with powerful communication skills and editorial capabilities, creative visual design as well as expertise in sustainability for developing this report. From our proven performance on the 2020  

Annual Report and subject matter expertise in sustainability and compliance, r6catalyst was assigned the task of delivering a comprehensive, engaging and informative SR to accurately reflect NYPA’s values and ESG goals.  

The underlying theme of the report was to demonstrate NYPA’s predominant role in energy and environmental stewardship and measures to accomplish its lofty goal of generating 100% carbon free electricity by 2035, ahead of the target set under the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).  

For this fast-tracked project, we assembled a team of SMEs well-versed in current sustainability standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB),  the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Working in close collaboration with NYPA’s Sustainability Team, the r6catalyst team worked diligently in creating relevant content to accentuate NYPA’s alignment and reporting with these frameworks.  

Data gathered from NYPA’s facilities and Assets was mapped against ESG material topics in NYPA’s Sustainability Plan and organized under three overarching and interrelated issues – Planet, Community and People. The 2021 Sustainability Report was developed as a detailed narrative of NYPA’s performance, progress and approach in in leveraging sustainability for long-term value creation and addressing climate change while taking substantive steps in protecting the planet, community and people.