Northwest Natural Holding Co
NWN
Utilities
2
exclusion reasons
1 theme
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Northwest Natural Holding Co operates a natural gas distribution utility serving approximately 2.5 million customers in Oregon and Washington. Its core business is the transportation and storage of fossil gas through an extensive network of pipelines and storage facilities. The company owns and operates 21 billion cubic feet of underground gas storage capacity in Oregon and maintains LNG storage facilities, positioning gas infrastructure as a long-term strategic asset.
The company faces a 2024 lawsuit filed by Multnomah County, Oregon, which alleges NW Natural deceived the public about the climate impact of its products while knowing that burning natural gas contributes to global warming. Simultaneously, a separate class-action lawsuit filed by customers accuses the company of "greenwashing" in its carbon offset program, claiming it misled customers about completely offsetting the emissions from their natural gas use. These legal actions center on allegations that the company marketed its fuel as climate-friendly without adequate substantiation.
NW Natural's business model is fundamentally tied to the expansion and maintenance of fossil fuel infrastructure. Its integrated resource planning and forward-looking statements treat natural gas storage and pipeline capacity as critical, long-term investments. There is no company plan to phase out its gas distribution network or transition its core utility service away from fossil fuels.
Northwest Natural Holding Co operates natural gas distribution utilities serving approximately two million people across more than 140 communities in the Pacific Northwest and Texas. Its core business is the delivery of natural gas to end customers, with no announced plan to phase out this fossil fuel infrastructure.
In October 2024, Multnomah County, Oregon, became the first U.S. municipality to sue the company, alleging NW Natural “engaged in an enterprise of misrepresentation” about its products' role in the climate crisis. The lawsuit followed an August 2024 finding by Oregon environmental regulators that the utility was misleading customers about the climate impacts of natural gas. Regulators cited the company's marketing of carbon-offset programs, which they stated created a false impression that using natural gas could be climate-neutral. This pattern of alleged climate deception is documented in a trove of more than 100 internal company documents.
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