Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000036
Chunk: 35

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 35
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 with key stockholders                                                                   |     |                                                                                           |     |                                                                                                         |     |                                 |     |                                                        |
|                                                                                                                                                   |     | 4Review governance and executive compensation practices                                   
 4Consider sustainability disclosures and governance and transparency enhancements         |     |                                                                                                         |     |                                 |     |                                                        |

#### 2024 and 2025 Stockholder Outreach
In 2024 and early 2025, we reached out to our 50 largest stockholders that are receptive to engagements, representing about 50% of our outstanding shares, and offered to engage on governance and sustainability-related topics, as well as any other topics of interest. We also reached out to stockholders that are not among our 50 largest but expressed an interest in engaging with us. We received positive responses from, and had engagements with, stockholders representing over 30% of our outstanding shares. Independent Directors participated in a number of these engagements. The stockholders we engaged with included representatives of index funds, union and public pension funds, actively- managed funds and socially-responsible investment funds. We also engaged on multiple occasions with the Climate Action 100+ investor coalition and with key environmental stakeholders.

#### 36Southern Company2025 Proxy Statement

#### Governance
| Significant topics for stockholder engagement included:                                                                                                                                                                                                
 4Climate-related risks and opportunities, our decarbonization efforts and progress toward meeting our interim and long-term GHG goals, and just transition, including the impact of our fleet transition on our workforce and the communities we serve 
 4Human capital management, including employee engagement, workforce training, development, hiring and retention and Intentional Inclusion efforts                                                                                                      
 4Management succession planning and leadership development                                                                                                                                                                                             
 4Board governance, including Board leadership structure, Board succession planning and Board skills                                                                                                                                                    
 4Political engagement and trade association memberships and how our activities align with our business strategies                                                                                                                                      
 4Board oversight of key risks and opportunities, including perspectives on increased projected load growth                                                                                                                                             |     | 4Executive compensation and how our core metrics are aligned with our business strategies and stockholder interests                          
 4Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence                                                                                                   
 4Human rights practices, including supply chain considerations                                                                               
 We also discussed how the Board oversees these topics and how they tie to our long-term strategy.                                            |
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |     | Independent Directors actively participate in engagement efforts with our largest stockholders.                                              
 In 2024 and 2025, the Lead Independent Director directly engaged with stock