TransAlta recognized by EXCEL Partnership for outstanding corporate sustainability reporting in 2015

Press Release

CALGARY, Alberta (December 22, 2015) – TransAlta Corporation is pleased to be recognized by the EXCEL Partnership for achieving the highest score in its Corporate Responsibility report in 2015 as benchmarked against other leading Canadian companies.

Members of the EXCEL partnership include Air Canada, Bentall Kennedy, Bell, Cameco, Capital Power Corporation, Cenovus Energy, Canadian National Railway, Enbridge, Ontario Power Generation, Potash Corp., Royal Bank of Canada, Teknion, and TransAlta.

“We were evaluated against recognized top Canadian performers in sustainability practices and reporting. This recognition is a testament to TransAlta’s commitment to sustainability and embedding it in our planning and business decision-making,” said Don Wharton, Vice-President, Carbon Transition.

TransAlta was recognized in 2015 for:

• An overall score of 82% and comprehensive reporting in all categories
• Strong endorsement of sustainability reporting from TransAlta CEO, Dawn Farrell
• Use of social media integrated into sustainability reporting
• Setting performance targets for material issues
• 70% of material issues have complete “Line of Sight” within TransAlta’s set targets
• Clearly outlines a commitment to expand sustainability reporting in the future

Material reporting includes the most relevant, important, leading practices in sustainability reporting; for example, financial aspects of climate change risk, environmental risk, and other sustainability, governance or social risks.

“The EXCEL recognition tells us how we stack up against a diverse group in leading industries and provides input on how we can continue to improve and grow in our company’s sustainability efforts and reporting,” said Wharton.

In 2014, TransAlta established 17 sustainability targets, achieving the majority of them the same year. TransAlta reports on these targets annually.  In 2016 TransAlta will integrate its Annual Report and Sustainability Report, as part of the overall business analysis for the year. Sustainability targets and measurements will form part of the company’s financial metrics. It will also expand sustainability reporting on its corporate website.

An initiative of the GLOBE Foundation, a self-funded, non-partisan authority on environmental business, EXCEL was formed EXCEL in 1996 to accelerate excellence in corporate environmental leadership in Canada.  EXCEL is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)’s Regional Network.

As part of its mandate, the EXCEL Partnership fosters, stimulates and encourages environmental leadership and innovation. The EXCEL corporate sustainability reporting framework is intended to represent reporting elements that reflect best practices in sustainability reporting. Every year, a winner is selected who scores the highest against this framework.

For more information on the Excel Partnership: http://www.excelpartnership.ca/about-excel

About TransAlta:

TransAlta is a power generation and wholesale marketing company focused on creating long-term shareholder value. TransAlta maintains a low-to-moderate risk profile by operating a highly contracted portfolio of assets in Canada, the United States and Australia. TransAlta’s focus is to efficiently operate wind, hydro, solar, natural gas and coal facilities in order to provide customers with a reliable, low-cost source of power. For over 100 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud contributor to the communities in which it works and lives. TransAlta has been recognized on CDP’s Canadian Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) for 2015, which includes Canada’s top 20 leading companies reporting on climate change, has been selected by Sustainalytics as one of Canada’s Top 50 Socially Responsible Companies since 2009 and is recognized globally for its leadership on sustainability and corporate responsibility standards by FTSE4Good.

For more information about TransAlta, visit our web site at transalta.com, or follow us on Twitter @TransAlta.

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For more information:

Investor Inquiries:

Jaeson Jaman

Manager, Investor Relations

Phone: 1 800-387-3598 in Canada and U.S.

Email: investor_relations@transalta.com

Media Inquiries:

Stacey Hatcher

Manager, Communications

Toll-free media number: 1-855-255-9184

Email: ta_media_relations@transalta.com

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