NextEra Energy’s water withdrawal rate has steadily improved since it began tracking the metric in 2007, from 14,400 gallons per MWh in 2007 down 45 percent to 7,900 gallons in 2011. The rate for last year is also 20 percent lower than the 9,900 gallons per MWh in 2010.

This improvement is due to greater efficiency and proper maintenance of equipment at power generation sites that require water, as well as increased generation from renewables, the report says. Nearly 25 million MWh, or 14 percent of the more than 172 million MWh of electricity generated by NextEra Energy in 2011, came from wind or solar photovoltaic energy sources, neither of which require water withdrawals to operate.

The report does not include absolute figures for waste, but it does include examples of waste reduction projects at the company. In 2011, NextEra refurbished more than 148,000 pieces of hardware and 1,050 street light covers. It decommissioned and recycled more than 16,300 units of oil-filled equipment and 665 gallons of mineral oil. The company also recovered and recycled nearly 2.5 million pounds of scrap wire and 3.5 million pounds of scrap metal and donated about 7,000 yards of wood to local recyclers.