CSO Insights: California’s biggest utility talks decarbonization, climate adaptation and AI energy demands

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're talking to the Chief Sustainability Officer of one of the largest utilities in the US — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). 

PG&E is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. During San Francisco Climate Week 2026, we sat down with Aaron Johnson, who took on the CSO role at the start of the year. 

Aaron explains PG&E’s long-term decarbonization strategy and the utility’s investments in adaptation measures to address climate hazards like wildfire and sea level rise, which are priorities in PG&E’s California markets.   

He also discusses growing energy demand from data centers to power booming AI usage — a topic that is front and center in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Aaron says PG&E is seeking to attract data center load to PG&E’s service territory while driving down costs for customers.  

Across all these topics, Aaron explains how PG&E is balancing sustainability, affordability and energy security.  

“I don't think it's an either/or,” he says. “They all come together. The organizing principle for us as a company is that triple bottom line concept of people, planet and prosperity.” 

This interview is the latest installment in our CSO Insights podcast series, where we talk to Chief Sustainability Officers around the world about how they’re navigating the changing sustainability landscape. Listen to all the episodes here: CSO Insights by All Things Sustainable - YouTube 

Further reading:  

How high-resolution data translates flood risk into financial risk | S&P Global 

Why climate adaptation is key to US energy expansion | S&P Global 

Upcoming events:  

The All Things Sustainable podcast will be live in London April 29. Learn more and register to attend: Sustainable1 Summit 2026: Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity | S&P Global 

All Things Sustainable is the official podcast of the inaugural Climate Week Zurich May 4-9. Learn more here: Climate week Zurich 2026 : Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity | S&P Global 

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