sustainability report 2014

Transcription

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
2014
CREATING VALUE
FOR OUR REGION
EWE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2014
THE MAGNIFYING GLASS
indicates more detailed information
on the subject
GEO PIN
indicates the locations of introductions
to sections and subjects
GRI INDICATORS AND
EWE PROGRESS CRITERIA
>> G4-XX and >> EWE-FKXX refer to reported
GRI indicators or to our EWE progress criteria.
A detailed overview is available
in the GRI Index from p. 82 onwards.
The hook þ indicates the start and end
of information in the text that is subject
to review by auditors (p. 92).
1
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 8
COMPANY PROFILE 10
SUSTAINABILITY –
PART OF OUR GROUP STRATEGY 15
OUR AREAS OF ACTION 23
Security of supply and network stability 24
Innovation and product responsibility 29
Climate protection and generation 34
Environmental management and resource efficiency 40
Regional responsibility 44
Supply chain 50
Market and transparency 54
Health and occupational safety 58
Employees and education 63
Data protection and information security 68
ABOUT THIS REPORT 72
FACTS AND FIGURES 74
Appendix of indicators 75
GRI Index 82
Glossary 90
Independent auditor’s report 92
CONTACT AND PUBLICATION DETAILS 94
We believe that acting responsibly
is a basis for long-term corporate success.
Our sustainability strategy defines
specific targets in ten areas of action
that we want to achieve by 2020.
This enables us to systematically pool
and strengthen our activities.
This report is our first
comprehensive overview of what we mean by
sustainability and regional responsibility –
and how we put them into practice.
2
3
Providing high-speed internet to rural areas with low population density
is a challenge. EWE is working together with the people
to tackle this challenge and establish modern infrastructure
even outside urban centres. More information about our area of action
SECURITY OF SUPPLY AND NETWORK STABILITY
is available from page 24 onwards.
More and more members of the public are taking an active role
in the energy turnaround. And EWE is giving them a helping hand.
The EQOO domestic storage system helps them get the most out
of the solar power that they generate themselves.
More information about our area of action
INNOVATION AND PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
4
After just 14 months of construction, Riffgat now generates energy for around
120,000 homes. EWE has shown that it is possible to construct offshore wind
farms quickly without compromising the environment or cost efficiency.
EWE makes its expertise in planning, construction and operation available to
other companies. More information about our area of action
CLIMATE PROTECTION AND GENERATION
EWE wants to consistently decrease how much energy it uses over the coming
years. The headquarters for the Turkish subsidiaries Bursagaz and Enervis will use
highly efficient building technology in accordance with the international LEED
sustainability standard. More information about our area of action
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
5
What does the future of energy look like? That’s a question that utility
companies can’t answer without the help of citizens. Under the motto
“The North Gets It Done”, EWE’s 2014 Energy Turnaround Forum gave
the people of the region an opportunity to present and discuss their ideas,
and to develop them until they are ready to implement.
REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
EWE wants long-term partnerships with its suppliers. One such supplier
is cable manufacturer Waskönig+Walter. Quality, adherence to delivery
time-scales, and environmentally friendly production processes
have fostered a relationship of trust between EWE and this Saterland-based family
company. More information about our area of action
SUPPLY CHAIN
6
Reliability is the foundation for any long-term customer relationship.
That’s why EWE wants its three customer advisory boards in Weser-Ems,
Weser-Elbe and Brandenburg to show what private customers want
from their energy provider. The customer advisory boards also help EWE
to inform citizens about the complexities of the energy world.
MARKET AND TRANSPARENCY
Occupational health and safety is extremely important to EWE – a commitment
to safety measures, daily checks, training and proactive risk mitigation prevented
serious accidents during the construction of the gas and steam turbine power plant
in Bremen-Mittelsbüren. More information about our area of action
HEALTH AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
7
95 young adults from all of the EWE regions live and work on the
EnergieCampus in Oldenburg. EWE uses the EnergieCampus for training
workshops, and doesn’t leave residents to their own devices after work. Mentors
support EWE apprentices on-site and help them to organise their free time.
EMPLOYEES AND EDUCATION
EWE stores its customers’ information in Oldenburg. Security at the two regional
data centres is tight, with extensive measures taken to protect images, emails,
account transactions and trade secrets of individuals and businesses against hackers,
theft and fire. These data centres are also subject to Germany’s strict data protection
laws. More information about our area of action
DATA PROTECTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY
8
DEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
FRIENDS OF THE COMPANY,
The European energy industry is in upheaval, and EWE is also
That’s why we are committed to reducing our CO2 emissions
undergoing some major changes. Why, in times of constant
per generated kilowatt hour by 40 per cent by 2020, com-
change, is it now right to set ourselves up systematically
pared to 2005 levels. In 2014, we brought the first commer-
for a sustainable future? The answer lies in how we see our-
cial offshore wind farm in the German North Sea online, with
selves – as a predominantly municipally-owned company,
Riffgat providing electricity to 120,000 homes.
sustainability means acting reliably, responsibly and with a
view to the long term – for our regions, for the people who
live there, and for the environment. The only way to deal with
key challenges like climate protection is hand in hand with
our customers, employees, shareholders and other partners.
And we firmly believe that the only way to achieve long-term
economic success is by taking ecological and social developments into account in the course of our commercial dealings.
We were quick to integrate energy, telecommunications and
information technology, as these are the key areas of expertise required for sustainable energy supply. For decades now,
we have also been committed to education and science, for
social projects, culture and sport. We are a regular part of
the social life in our regions of Ems/Weser/Elbe, Branden-
“We firmly believe
that the only way to achieve
long-term economic success
is by taking ecological and
social developments into
account in the course of
commercial dealings.”
burg and Rügen, as well as parts of Poland and Turkey. The
swb group of companies, which is part of the EWE Group, has
been responsible for establishing modern energy supply in
the state of Bremen for 160 years.
We are investing in modern infrastructure and are conducting practical research into “smart grids” in order to keep our
We adopted a sustainability strategy in 2014 to combine our
networks stable, despite the fluctuating amounts of elec-
existing activities and launch new ones. We have set our-
tricity being fed into the network from renewable energies.
selves specific targets in ten areas of action, which we want
Our electricity network is one of the most reliable in Germa-
to achieve by 2020, and which we will use from now on to
ny, and we want to keep our network downtime below the
gauge our performance. “Creating Value for our Region”, our
national average in future, too.
first sustainability report, is our outlet for presenting our
strategy. We want to keep you informed about where we are
In order to discover potential energy savings within the com-
and where we’re going.
pany and to reduce our own consumption, we will introduce
energy management systems in twelve of our companies and
establish a Group-wide energy monitoring system by 2020.
We are also incorporating business partners outside of our
9
FOREWORD
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF
company into our sustainability management system. As part
EWE AG
of this process, we have drawn up a code of conduct, and we
plan for 95 per cent of our strategic suppliers to sign up to it
by 2020.
A study published by the CONOSCOPE research institute in
Dr. Werner Brinker
Chief Executive Officer
2014 showed that we are already a significant regional economic force. Around half of every euro spent by EWE stays in
the region. Our capital expenditure and the purchases made
by our employees provide around 17,000 additional jobs in
our regions. Our sustainability strategy is a roadmap for how
we can continue to contribute to the development of our
Matthias Brückmann
Deputy Chief Executive Officer,
Sales
regions.
We are overcoming both this challenge and others by making
sustainability an integral part of our core business. We have
established a Group-wide sustainability management system
that we will expand in the coming years. Our employees help
us every day to achieve the goals we have set ourselves.
Nikolaus Behr
Member of the Board of
Management, Human Resources
It is important for us to make our progress measurable and
comparable. That’s why we have prepared our report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. An independent auditor has
performed an audit of the report and has raised no objections
in this connection.
Ines Kolmsee
Management, Technology
Dear reader, we are delighted to present the first EWE sustainability report, and we hope that you will find it informative. >> G4-01
Dr. Heiko Sanders
Management, Finance
June 2015
Board of Management
10
COMPANY
PROFILE
11
COMPANY PROFILE
BUSINESS MODEL
With energy, telecommunications and information technology (IT), EWE combines the key expertise needed for a modern
A PIONEER
energy supply. With more than 9,000 employees and sales
IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SUPPLY
in excess of EUR 8 billion, the Group is one of the largest
municipally-owned companies in Germany. EWE does business in the Bremen, Brandenburg, Rügen and Ems/Weser/
Elbe regions, as well as parts of Turkey and Poland >> G4-06. +One of the world’s first commercial wind turbine
operators in the 1980s
þ EWE provides electricity to just under 1.3 million customers and natural gas to 1.7 million. It also provides tele-
+Leading member of the consortium involved in
communication services to around 700,000 customers1 >>
building Germany’s first offshore wind farm, alpha
þ G4-EU03. The Group can generate its own energy from
ventus
renewable and conventional sources, and operates secure
energy and telecommunication networks. Its subsidiary BTC
provides IT products and services.
EWE considers itself a network infrastructure expert and a
pioneer in the field of renewable energies. The company’s
+Riffgat – the first commercial offshore wind farm
in the German North Sea
+Research and field tests investigating the use of fuel
cells in domestic energy supply since 1998
strategy is completely focused on the German energy turnaround. By combining energy, telecommunications and IT,
EWE has the expertise needed for intelligent energy systems
+Developed the E3 electric car in 2009 as a test
platform for modern storage technologies
>> G4-08. The energy supply of the future requires a new
mindset – energy needs are rising and our fossil fuels are
limited. We also have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
+Large-scale field test in Cuxhaven investigating
decentralised energy management (eTelligence)
to counteract climate change. To do this, we need to strike
an intelligent balance between energy conservation, e nergy
efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy

+Field test for first intelligent local network stations
running since 2013
sources. This requires closely knit systems that are able to
flexibly and efficiently provide electricity and heat.
+Around 75 per cent of the electricity transported in the
EWE network already comes from renewable energies
1 — Including customers of htp GmbH
12
CORPORATE STRUCTURE
+The Infrastructure business area encompasses the
electricity grid, natural gas grid and telecommunications
EWE AG is based in Oldenburg, Germany >> G4-03, G4-05.
networks, as well as drinking water/wastewater.
As the Group’s holding company, it manages the Group companies and their activities. Most of the company is owned by
+The Sales and Trading business area includes the
local government, which holds a 74 per cent stake in EWE
energy and telecommunications sales entities and the
AG. The shares are held by 21 cities and communities in the
Group’s energy trading business.
Ems/Weser/Elbe region. 26 per cent of the shares are held by
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG >> G4-07.
+The Foreign Business and IT business area, which
brings together the business activities in Turkey and
As a capital market-oriented public limited company
Poland as well as the Information Technology division.
(Aktiengesellschaft), EWE is subject to the German Stock
Corporation Act. The Group is led by a Board of Management which is solely responsible for managing the Group’s
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
transactions and developing its strategic direction. It takes
action in agreement with the Supervisory Board. The Board
EWE offers its customers energy, telecommunications and
of Management provides the Supervisory Board with regular
IT products and services from a single provider. In addi-
information about the company’s course of business, strat-
tion to electricity, gas, telephone and internet services, it
egy and potential opportunities and risks. The Supervisory
also provides its customers with innovative combinations
Board monitors the activities of the Board of Management.
which bring all three areas together. One example is the
In accordance with the German Codetermination Act, (Mit
solar-powered EQOO domestic storage system, which
bestimmungsrecht), the Supervisory Board has an equal
EWE launched in 2014 to respond to widespread customer
number of shareholder representatives and employee repre-
demand for self-sufficiency. Households can use EQOO to
sentatives >> G4-34.
generate up to 70 per cent of their electricity from their own
solar panels. > p. 29, Innovation and product responsibility
The EWE Group is separated into the following business
areas:
+The Central Divisions/Consolidation business area
mainly comprises EWE AG as the holding company and
other associated companies like swb AG and VNG Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft.
+The Generation business area contains the Renewable
Energies, Conventional Generation, Waste Disposal and
Gas Storage business units.
13
COMPANY PROFILE
GROUP KEY FIGURES
þ
2014
2013
Change in %
8,134.2
8,862.6
-8.2
847.1
983.2
-13.8
Operating EBIT
425.4
497.9
-14.6
EBIT
357.7
410.9
-12.9
Result for the period
146.3
57.2
155.8
Cash outflows for capital expenditure (total)
721.3
573.5
25.8
Cash flow from operating activities
770.3
406.4
89.5
Balance sheet total
9,800.9
10,370.4
-5.5
Shareholders’ equity
2,285.2
2,395.7
-4.6
23.3
23.1
0.9
9,154
9,163
-0.1
EUR million
Sales
Operating EBITDA
Equity ratio in %
Employees (Ø)
þ G4-09
> Please refer to the 2014 annual report of EWE AG for further key figures
14
EWE also provides procurement, marketing and balancing
RISK MANAGEMENT
group management services for electricity and gas through
its Energy Trading division. For example, EWE trades CO2
The purpose of the Precautionary Principle, which was adopt-
certificates on behalf of customers and is a leading p
rovider
ed by the United Nations, is to prevent harm to the environ-
of direct marketing services for electricity from facilities
ment. Monitoring environmental risks is also important for
governed by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG).
EWE. Its subsidiary swb, for example, uses environmental
management systems in swb Erzeugung GmbH & Co. KG
The Telecommunications division provides a full complement
(swb Erzeugung) and swb Entsorgung GmbH & Co. KG (swb
of modern services for private and business customers on the
Entsorgung), among other areas >> G4-14.
basis of the Group’s infrastructure in parts of EWE’s regions.
These range from landline and mobile telephone services to
In addition to addressing environmental risks, EWE also deals
internet connections and TV products to cloud services. It
with the consequences of danger scenarios, which could for
also provides data centre services and tailored service pack-
example arise as a result of sudden natural disasters. EWE
ages for business customers.
NETZ GmbH (EWE NETZ) has defined every business process
which would put the company and therefore the security of
EWE provides consulting, system integration as well as
supply at risk in a crisis. The company then drew up specific
application and system management services through its IT
measures and plans which would be implemented in these
division. Innovative energy software products are a key part
situations.
of its product portfolio. These include solutions and innovations related to smart metering and smart grids >> G4-04.
EWE has established an integrated risk and opportunity
management system for the Group to detect and address
potential risks and opportunities arising from its activities.
This system is used to analyse risks and opportunities on a
regular basis. The Group’s Board of Management and supervisory bodies are informed of the results of these analyses
on a quarterly basis. > Please refer to p. 66 of the 2014 annual
report for further information
SUSTAINABILITY – PART OF OUR GROUP STRATEGY
SUSTAINABILITY – PART OF OUR
GROUP STRATEGY
15
16
MAIN CHALLENGES
electricity market, the obligation to use electricity from renewable energies is having a particularly strong impact on
ENERGY TURNAROUND
the market for conventional generation.
In the light of global warming, one of the main challenges of
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES
the coming decades will be to gradually migrate the energy
supply of Germany, an industrial nation, from a carbon-based
Demographic changes are another significant challenge
energy supply to one that is CO2 neutral. In spring 2011, the
which will have a major impact on the German labour market
German government responded to the nuclear disaster in
in future. We want to establish ourselves as an attractive
Fukushima, Japan by setting up the political framework for
employer when competing for the best minds. The changes
revamping its energy supply, dubbed the German energy
to the age structure of our customer groups also come with
turnaround.
new requirements and expectations regarding services and
products, and we are preparing for this early on.
Germany’s rural areas will play an increasingly important
role during this reform process. An above-average number of
decentralised renewable generation plants are used in these
OUR GROUP STRATEGY
areas because of the amount of land available and due to the
weather conditions. A significant amount of this potential is
FOCUS ON THE ENERGY FUTURE
already being exploited, particularly in the north-west, with
the construction of wind turbines and the use of biomass
EWE has long believed that creating a sustainable energy
and photovoltaic p
ower plants. The amount of electricity
sector is the way forward. We already began investing in
fed in from renewable energies is volatile. Despite this, it is
renewable energies back in the 1980s. Because it takes smart,
important to ensure that there is always enough electricity
flexible network load management to use it to its full poten-
available. This necessitates new solutions. We have to be
tial, we have been building up key expertise for smart energy
smarter and more flexible in how we coordinate the various
systems through our Telecommunications and Information
pathways involved in electricity generation, electricity con-
Technology business areas and integrating it into our busi-
sumption and the load flows in our networks.
ness model since the 1990s.
IMPACT OF THE ENERGY MARKET
The majority of the EWE Group is municipally owned, and
the Group is particularly aware of its responsibility to the
Deregulated electricity and gas markets and the regulation
environment and people in its regions – as an employer, a
of network business have decreased the profitability of our
partner to our suppliers, a service provider for our customers,
company in its traditional core business. Pressure is growing
and a neighbour. We want to remain a reliable partner for a
on previously stable sources of income. This is exacerbated
secure and economically viable energy supply in future. Our
by the current situation on the gas market, which is a chal-
strategy for achieving this is built on three main pillars:
lenge to our storage marketing activities, for example. In the
17
Focus: With energy, telecommunications and information
technology, we combine the core fields of expertise under
one roof to provide a forward-looking system of energy
supply. We focus here in particular on activities which repre-
OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
sent a sustainable strategic and operational addition to our
core business.
Environmentally friendly energy and quality
of life for local people
Concentrated growth: We aim to achieve profitable growth
with business activities, technologies and partnerships that
enable us to actively participate in the transformation of
OUR PROMISE
energy supply in northern Germany. The emphasis is currently on renewable energies and the electricity networks.
EWE is a municipal utility company with
a responsibility to our region. We create
We are also more positive about the Offshore business area
sustainable value for our customers,
than we were two years ago. Our experience with the Group’s
employees and shareholders and are shaping
two wind farms (Riffgat and alpha ventus) showed that off-
the energy turnaround in partnership with
shore wind energy is more profitable and less risky than
people and companies from the regions.
previously thought. We want to use the Group’s expertise
to grow this area going forward. The biogas production and
processing situation is quite different. EWE will be reducing
VALUES OF THE EWE GROUP CULTURE
its involvement in this area in future, partly due to the 2014
amendment to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG).
Entrepreneurial
Forward-thinking
We have successfully expanded our market position in Turkey
Responsible
over recent years. The Group and its Turkish shareholdings
Committed to partnerships
have an excellent reputation among customers, business
Efficient
partners and political decision-makers. EWE will use this
Varied
foundation to selectively exploit growth potential among
private customers and in the distribution network.
EWE MANAGEMENT VALUES
Passion for the customer
Courage for change
Responsibility for the outcome
18
Sustainability and regional roots: We want to fulfil our
OUR SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
responsibilities to the regions and its people by sustainable
entrepreneurship. That’s why we have set up a comprehen-
EWE STAKEHOLDERS
sive sustainability management system for the EWE Group,
on which we will be reporting on a regular basis in future.
EWE has drawn up a sustainability strategy with ten areas of
We want to be judged on the basis of the targets and per-
action to make sustainability an integral part of the Group’s
formance figures that we include in these reports. We use
philosophy. These areas of action cover economic, ecological
our traditional links with the regions and our many years of
and social issues. þ Because our company is involved with a
local experience to involve the regions and their people in the
wide variety of internal and external shareholders, we took
shaping of an environmentally friendly energy supply system.
their needs into account when drawing up the strategy.
PRINCIPLES AND GROUP CULTURE
We started by using a multi-stage process to identify our
main stakeholder groups. Customers, employees, sharehold-
The basis of our success is our integrity in all business rela-
ers, suppliers and NGOs have a particularly important part
tionships. Because of this, we have set up a code of conduct
to play in terms of our regional roots and have a significant
for all of our employees to make compliance a key part of our
impact on our company’s success >> þ G4-25.
company. This code of conduct covers compliance with laws
and directives, regulations, internal guidelines, contractual
obligations and voluntary commitments.
+
þ EWE considers itself a customer-focused and service-oriented company with strong regional roots, which
The EWE code of conduct was introduced in the German busi-
is why customers are a major stakeholder group for EWE.
ness regions at the end of 2012 and in the Polish business
regions in 2014. The management of the Turkish companies
+ Employees play a major role in EWE’s success. Their per-
have already approved the code of conduct and will imple-
formance, loyalty and satisfaction are a vital part of the
ment it in due course. > Further information from p. 54 onwards
success of the company’s business operations. They are
also involved in implementing the sustainability strategy.
The approved management values and the Group culture
provide a frame of reference alongside our code of conduct
+EWE is predominantly owned by local government, which
for our activities and decisions. Our employees come from an
is why shareholders are an important stakeholder group
extremely wide range of technical and cultural backgrounds.
>> þ G4-24, þ G4-27.
We need Group-wide values to use this variety constructively
and pool our expertise in the best possible manner > See box
p. 17; >> G4-56.
19
VERY HIGH
MATERIALITY MATRIX
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
6
HIGH
SUPPLY CHAIN
REGIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
SECURITY OF SUPPLY AND
NETWORK STABILITY
INNOVATION AND
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
MARKET AND
TRANSPARENCY
5
DATA PROTECTION AND
INFORMATION SECURITY
4
MEDIUM
IMPORTANCE FOR STAKEHOLDERS
7
4
MEDIUM
5
6
7
HIGH
VERY HIGH
IMPORTANCE FOR THE COMPANY
OUR AREAS OF ACTION
SECURITY OF SUPPLY AND NETWORK STABILITY — INNOVATION AND PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
CLIMATE PROTECTION AND GENERATION — ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITY — SUPPLY CHAIN — MARKET AND TRANSPARENCY — HEALTH AND OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY — EMPLOYEES AND EDUCATION — DATA PROTECTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY
OUR SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
> Our sustainability strategy, p. 21
20
+
þ We are committed to partnering with and supporting
þ Our ten areas of action therefore comprise the main eco-
our suppliers in order to provide transparent communi-
nomic, ecological and social issues for the EWE Group. We
cation about services and be effective in our organisa-
have allocated a target for each area of action, along with
tion relating to economic, ecological and social issues
specific measures and initiatives. We also defined an im-
throughout the value chain.
provement criterion for each area so that our sustainability
can be measured. We aim to use this to identify areas where
+ NGOs represent expectations about economic, e cological
and social issues which are not widely represented in
we can improve and to help us develop our sustainability
strategy >> þ G4-27.
society as a whole. Because these can result in areas of
action for companies in future, it is important to recog-
INTEGRATION IN THE GROUP
nise these issues ahead of time >> þ G4-24, þ G4-27.
The task of strategic management for these activities has been
assigned to the Corporate Development holding function,
MATERIALITY ANALYSIS AS A BASIS FOR THE STRATEGY
which reports directly to the Board of Management. A separate Corporate Development unit is the Group-wide point of
þ We have carried out a comprehensive analysis to identify
contact for sustainability issues. A person from each of the
the main sustainability issues for EWE and its stakeholders.
relevant organisational units has also been assigned to each
We incorporated aspects based on the GRI standard and set
area of action. Under their leadership, experts and managers
thresholds for these aspects within and outside of the com-
from individual Group companies work on the challenges in-
pany. We also identified additional content that is relevant
volved in each area >> G4-34. We will be expanding our sus-
for our business model. We systematically investigated
tainability management system continuously over the coming
the expectations of our stakeholders regarding responsible
years in order to reach our targets and thus implement our
entrepreneurship by recording them in a survey and weight-
strategy successfully.
ing them.
We derived the main areas of action for our sustainability
strategy on this basis while taking the importance of these
issues for EWE into account. A materiality matrix shows the
relative importance of each area for our stakeholders and
EWE. A value of 7 represents a very high degree of relevance,
while 4 represents a proportionally lower degree of relevance
> See p. 19; >> þ G4-18; þ G4-26.
1 — An aggregate score from four customer service indicators
(customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend our company,
likelihood of staying with the company and comparison with
competitors) based on the results of the BDEW Customer Focus
study (see p. 44, Regional responsibility).
2 — For the energy field
3 — The healthy employee rate stands in opposition to the absence
rate. This means that if the absence ratio is 3 per cent, the healthy
employee rate is 97 per cent. The absence rate is the ratio of days
of absence resulting from incapacity to work to the target number
of working days assigned to the reporting period. This also includes
annual leave.
21
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
þ
Area of action Objective by 2020
Measures
Progress criterion
Target value for 2020
Current status in 2014
Better than the average for
Germany determined by the
German Federal Network
Agency (= SAIDI: System
Average Interruption Duration Index)
5.5 minutes per year,
per customer
(Average value from
German Federal
Network Agency: 15.3
minutes per year, per
customer)
1
Security of
supply and network stability
We are building a
+ Implementing the maintenance
sustainable and efficient
and reinvestment strategy
infrastructure for the
+ Expanding crisis and emergency
people in the region.
management
+ Supporting the expansion of the
regional broadband network
+ Expansion of smart grid research
projects and field tests
ower outage durations
P
in minutes per year, per
customer in Germany
2
Innovation
and product
responsibility
We bring energy, tele+ Launch of an innovation portal
communications and
+ I nterdisciplinary research and developinformation technology
ment projects
together to create the
+ Expanding the range of energy
intelligent energy supply efficiency products and services
systems of tomorrow.
Number of ideas submit- 10 projects initiated per
ted via the innovation
year
portal that culminated in
a project
3
Climate
protection and
generation
We are making our ener- + Expansion in the use of wind p
ower
CO2 emissions in grams
gy generation processes + M
aking our power plants more flexible per generated kilowatt
more environmentally
and more efficient
hour of electricity
friendly.
+ Bringing the steam turbine power
plant online
4
Environmental
management
and resource
efficiency
We handle energy re+ Establishment of a Group-wide energy
sponsibly and minimise
monitoring system
our consumption within + Launch and certification of further
the company.
energy management systems
Number of companies
Twelve companies certified
with ISO 50001-certified
energy management
systems
4 companies have
already been certified
+ swb Services
+ Bursagaz
+ EWE GASSPEICHER
+ EWE VERTRIEB
5
Regional
responsibility
Our activities make a
significant contribution
to the development of
the region.
+ Greater involvement of members of
the public in wind farm projects
+ Expansion of the network investment
model
+ Continued tailoring of sponsorship
commitments to the needs of the
region
+ Supporting forums for discussions
Regionality index
Better than the average from
the “Customer Focus –
Households” (Kundenfokus
Haushalte) study published by
the German Association of
Energy and Water Industries
(BDEW); a minimum of 67 if
the average falls below this
level
72
(German Association
of Energy and Water
Industries (BDEW)
“Customer Focus –
Households” study
average: 68)
6
Supply chain
We are implementing
specific sustainability
requirements for our
suppliers.
+ Introduction of a supplier code of conduct
+ Providing purchasers with sustainability training
+ Establishment of a strategic supplier
management system
Proportion of strategic
materials and services
suppliers who commit
to the supplier code of
conduct
Over 95% of strategic ma- The supplier code
terials and services suppliers of conduct has been
covered
developed and will be
introduced in 2015
7
Market and
transparency
We are a trustworthy
+ Implementation of customer service
service provider for our
strategy
customers and a reliable + Intensify customer loyalty measures
contract partner.
Customer loyalty index1
742
722
8
Health and
occupational
safety
We guarantee a safe
and healthy working
environment.
97%
95.3%
75 weekdays
85.6 weekdays
+ Introduction of leadership curriculum Healthy employees rate3
on health management
+ Expansion of training on working
hours and self-management
+ Intensification of measures related to stress
prevention, healthy eating and fitness
+ Introducing Group-wide Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) policy
Reduction in CO2 emissions
in grams per generated
kilowatt hour of electricity
by 40% compared to 2005
levels
9
We are an attractive
+ Development of a brand identity as
Employees and employer for the region.
an employer
education
+ Establishing a demographic management system
+ Helping employees to have a healthy
work/life balance
Time taken to fill
positions
10
Data protection
and information security
Proportion of all
> 85%
employees in all relevant (the maximum proportion in
companies who have
practice)
been trained in data
protection, information
security and unbundling
using e-learning modules
We are a reliable partner + Introduction of relevant e-learning
in the areas of data
modules
protection, information + Continued development of a
security and unbundling. Group-wide information security
management system in accordance
with ISO 27001 requirements
Innovation portal has
been designed
540 grams per generated kilowatt hour of
electricity
(equivalent to a 34.8%
reduction compared to
2005)
Resolution on introduction of e-learning
modules has been
prepared
þ EWE-FK01 to EWE-FK10
22
STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE
EWE is also represented in scientific associations like the
Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities
þ We have been in dialogue with our customers, and with
in Germany (Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
citizens, scientists, politicians and other stakeholders for a
e. V.) and the National Academy of Science and Engineering
number of years. For example, we have set up customer and
– a catech e. V. >> G4-15.
network advisory boards in our regions and established the
Energy Turnaround Forum to let members of society share
In future, we want to intensify our dialogue with our stake-
their ideas about the region’s energy future >> þ G4-26.
holders and establish new formats for communication. Our
aim is to communicate our activities in a transparent and
EWE also initiated the Bullensee Group. This is a group of
trustworthy manner and give our stakeholder groups addi-
renowned scientists and practitioners who meet on a regular
tional opportunities to share their concerns. In this way, we
basis to discuss future issues. The experts met for the first
want to play an active role in shaping major economic, ecolo-
time near the Bullensee lake near Bremen in 2005 and drew
gical and social developments and find sustainable solutions
up ten assumptions about the energy supply of the future.
with our stakeholders.
EWE also plays an active role in a variety of industry and
special interest associations. We hold leadership positions
in some, and are involved in projects and working groups for
several others.
EWE is part of the following associations, among others:
+German Association of Energy and Water Industries
(BDEW)
+ German Association of Local Utilities (VKU)
+German Association of Broadband Communication
(BREKO)
+Federal Association for Information Technology,
Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM)
+German Working Group for Environmentally Friendly
Management (BAUM)
+ Netzwerk Compliance >> G4-16
23
OUR AREAS OF ACTION
OUR AREAS
OF ACTION
24
SECURITY OF SUPPLY
AND NETWORK STABILITY
As a regional energy provider, we want to guarantee that our
OUR WAY FORWARD
customers have a secure energy supply. We are bringing the
areas of energy, telecommunications and information technol-
NETWORK, STORAGE AND GENERATION SOLUTIONS
ogy together to prepare for “smart energy systems”, an issue
FOR A RELIABLE SUPPLY
which is set to be important for the future. The networks have a
decisive role to play in this process as the link between genera-
The distinguishing feature of EWE’s network companies’ me-
tion and consumption. Due to our geographical situation, we
dium and low voltage network is that almost 100 per cent of
are familiar with the special challenges of decentralised gener-
the cables are underground. This makes them less susceptible
ation structures and integrating renewable energies into the
to disruption than cables that are laid above ground. This has
network infrastructure. Around 75 per cent of the electricity
a positive impact on the number of power outages in our net-
transported in the EWE NETZ network already comes from re-
work, which is relatively low for the nation as a whole.
newable sources. With network outages of less than six minutes per year per customer, the EWE Group’s network compa-
The EWE network companies are also reliable gas network
nies lead the field in Germany.
operators, with downtime totalling less than one minute per
customer and year. EWE laid the first large-scale natural gas
network in Germany over 50 years ago. We have been expand-
OUR OBJECTIVE
ing our infrastructure consistently ever since. We are currently
expanding the networks in our Polish and Turkish regions. We
SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE REGION
are building a new, modern natural gas infrastructure in the
cities of Iznik and Develi.
Our primary goal is to build and operate a sustainable and
efficient infrastructure for people in the region. The reliabili-
Natural gas storage facilities make a significant contribution
ty of the electricity supply is a key yardstick in determining
to the security of our gas supply. With a working gas volume
security of supply and network stability. That’s why we meas-
of around 1.9 billion cubic metres, EWE is one of the major
ure our progress on the basis of p
ower outages in minutes per
storage facility operators in the European natural gas market.
customer, per year, resulting from unplanned interruptions in
We have facilities in Huntorf in the district of Wesermarsch,
the German medium and low voltage network. Power outages
in Nüttermoor, in the East Frisian municipality of Jemgum, in
lasted 15.3 minutes on average in 2013. þ The figure for EWE’s
Rüdersdorf near Berlin, and in Bremen-Lesum. These store gas
network companies is already much lower, at 5.5 minutes in
in caverns which are created in naturally-occurring salt domes
2014. This figure covers the networks of Group subsidiaries
according to strict environmental and safety criteria.
EWE NETZ, wesernetz Bremen GmbH (wesernetz Bremen)
and wesernetz Bremerhaven GmbH (wesernetz Bremerhaven),
In order to guarantee a secure supply of electricity, conven-
swb’s urban networks >> þ G4-EU29, þ EWE-FK01. We want
tional power plants will continue to be needed alongside re-
to remain better than the national average by 2020.
newable sources of energy over the coming decades. These include the conventional power plant blocks which swb operates
in Bremen and whose flexibility and efficiency has been continuously improved. > p. 34, Climate protection and generation;
see also Risk management, p. 14
25
OUR AREAS OF ACTION:
SMART GRIDS
Network infrastructure operators face the challenge of integrating renewable energies without endangering network
NETWORKS
stability. Smart grids will play an ever increasing role in
overcoming this hurdle. They use information and communications technology alongside modern control technology
þ In Germany, our networks supply around
to compensate for fluctuations in the supply and demand of
984,800 houses with electricity, 851,100
energy.
houses with gas and 32,600 houses with
telephone and internet services
EWE NETZ is currently using smart local network stations in
>> þ G4-EU03.
Emsland to test how to feed in more electricity from photovoltaic power plants and other renewable sources without
expanding the network. These stations control the voltage
þ Our electricity network in the Ems/Weser/
automatically, avoiding the increases in voltage which push
Elbe and Bremen regions covers 92,500
the networks to the limits of their capacity. Local network
kilometres.
stations use a transformer to connect the local low-voltage
networks with regional medium-voltage networks, which are
operated at a higher voltage.
Our 69,500 kilometre gas network supplies gas
As part of the 2009 eTelligence project, EWE conducted field
Turkish cities of Bursa and Kayseri, and in parts
tests in Cuxhaven to determine how smart decentralised
of south and west Poland.
to customers in our German regions, in the
energy management could work. The ongoing Green Access
research project is developing control concepts to enable
the components in the network to communicate with one
15,100 kilometres of our telecommunications
another. As autonomously learning systems, they are de-
network is copper, with fibre optic cable
signed to adapt to changes like the connection of new elec-
accounting for a further 21,200 kilometres. At
tricity generators and consumers. EWE is working together
36,300 kilometres, our telecommunications
with partners from the fields of science and industry to test
network is one of the largest and most powerful
how automation solutions like these can be implemented.
> Continue on p. 28
networks in Germany >> þ G4-EU04.
26
BROADBAND EXPANSION:
EWE AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
WORKING TOWARDS A SHARED GOAL
“Disastrous”, “terrible”, “unbearable” – these words come
stede. “Everything would just stop working in the afternoon
up again and again when council chairmen Heino Neumann
and evening. Children couldn’t do their homework and the
and Wolfgang Siems talk about what the internet used to
only way our local fire brigade could communicate with the
be like in the villages of Hollriede and Tarbarg near Wester-
new command centre in Oldenburg was by radio,” Heino
Neumann recalled. “We complained about the issues for
years, but things only improved when EWE got involved at
the start of 2014.”
“It got a lot easier for people
to find tenants as soon as we
announced that high-speed
internet was on its way.”
Wolfgang Siems
The 300 residents of Tarbarg and 400 residents of Hollriede
now have access to a broadband network with transfer rates
of up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps), as do the 25 houses
along the five-kilometre road connecting the two villages.
Technology that would provide internet access to hundreds
of people in a city was installed just for them.
Ralf von Dzwonkowski, EWE’s municipal supervisor in Ammer
land, still remembers how it all began. The local a ssociations
invited every high-speed internet provider to an informational meeting, and EWE was the only one that came. He quickly
realised that EWE was a local supplier and service provider
that wouldn’t let the residents of Hollriede and Tarbarg be
left behind when it came to internet access. However, it was
also clear that five kilometres of fibre o
ptic cable and three
service area interfaces would be needed to connect the 220
houses in the areas. “Financially, it just wasn’t viable.”
This dilemma was solved when EWE joined forces with the
Engaging with EWE – council chairmen Wolfgang Siems (left) and
Heino Neumann
local residents and the members of the local associations
decided to handle the excavation work themselves. Local
27
High-speed internet makes
communication easier between the
local Westerstede fire brigade and its
command centre in Oldenburg.
construction companies provided excavators and diesel and
Broadband availability has spurred development in the
also offered their specialists to cross domestic connections or
villages. Building plots are selling again in Hollriede and
tunnel under intersections. EWE kept a close eye on the work.
the Chairman of Tarbarg’s local association Wolfgang Siems
Having members of the public set up the infrastructure in-
knows that. “It got a lot easier for people to find tenants as
stead of specialist companies was the exception rather than
soon as we announced that high-speed internet was on its
the rule for the company.
way,” he said. “For EWE,” said Ralf von Dzwonkowski, “the
project is tangible proof of what members of the public can
The local associations provided around 4,000 man-hours,
achieve when they work together with their provider. Set-
which weren’t enough to make the project economically
ting up a broadband connection is worth it economically if it
viable over the long term. EWE needed a connection agree-
results in long-term customer loyalty.”
ment from half of the households; these residents would also
have to pay a one-off fee of 200 euros to go towards the construction costs. EWE and the local associations managed to
overcome this hurdle together in just a few weeks.
28
> BROADBAND EXPANSION IN RURAL REGIONS
EWE is at the forefront of broadband expansion in northPOWER OUTAGE TIMES
5.5 min.
per customer
over 4,000 service area interfaces – cabinets which connect
secondary cables to main cables – to our fibre optic network. We connected over 1,000 in the reporting year alone.
We c urrently have a network of around 36,000 kilometres.
This puts us in a position to supply over a million households
with high speed internet. We are connecting not only towns
and cities, but also selected rural areas, thereby making the
region more competitive.
in 2014
EUR
west Germany. Over the past few years, we have connected
62
We are combining a number of different models to connect
as many households as possible while remaining cost-effective. A significant proportion of this expansion is being
financed with our own investment. We are also using European subsidies and entering into regional partnerships with
municipalities and districts. þ We invested around EUR
million
62 million in broadband expansion in 2014 >> þ TC-IO01.
was invested by EWE
years. Around another 13,300 residential units in 29 local
in broadband expansion in 2014.
network regions will reap the benefits of 32 funding schemes
þ We will continue with this expansion over the coming
awarded to EWE subsidiary EWE TEL GmbH (EWE TEL) in
75
%
of the electricity
transported by EWE NETZ
comes from renewable sources.
2014 >> þ TC-PA01. Over 220,000 households will be connected to the broadband network in 2015 alone off the back
of our own investment.
29
INNOVATION
AND PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
EWE is committed to weaving energy, telecommunications and
OUR WAY FORWARD
information technology together to form intelligent systems
and help shape the energy supply of the future. We focus on
RESEARCHING SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS
growth opportunities which will provide significant added value for our stakeholders. We believe that our customers and em-
Our research and development activities are focused on
ployees should shape the energy turnaround instead of just
preparing for the upcoming changes in the energy industry.
being passive participants. That‘s why we want to incorporate
We concentrate on decentralised energy management issues.
their ideas into our innovation management process. Through
We create networks and further the transfer of knowledge
our research and development activities, they are brought to
by working together with industrial partners and scientific
market in the form of sustainable products and services.
institutions.
One example is the “green2store” collaborative project. The
OUR OBJECTIVE
objective of this project is to combine decentralised storage
capacities to form a large virtual storage unit and manage it
BRINGING ENERGY, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND IT
centrally. These capacities will be provided to energy traders,
TOGETHER TO CREATE INNOVATIONS
electricity generators and consumers temporarily on demand
without them needing to operate the storage units them-
We want to make our company more innovative. That’s
selves. This represents a better way to use p
ower from renew-
why EWE is developing a virtual innovation portal so that
able energies and integrate it into the electricity network. We
employees (and later customers) have a system to submit
will be conducting a technical field test with nine domestic
their ideas. We will measure our progress based on how many
battery storage units in the Lower Saxon city of Friesoythe
of the ideas submitted through the portal are incorporated
in 2015.
into a project. We intend to work on ten innovative proposals
per year by 2020. þ Until the innovation portal is implemented, employees can write their proposals on cards and
put them in suggestion boxes at any of EWE’s sites. An innovation team of managers from every area was set up in 2013
to evaluate and follow up on interdisciplinary suggestions
related to new markets or technologies >> þ EWE-FK02.
30
The focus of the research project “Controlled Charging V3.0”
is designing IT systems which use a smart energy management system to optimise the process of charging electric
vehicles. The project takes the fluctuating supply of energy
from renewable sources and the current infrastructure into
AWARDS
account, and aims to make good use of the existing infrastructure while avoiding peak loads and maintaining the
mobility of the user. EWE is developing a controllable home
charging station which takes every issue related to the energy industry and marketing into consideration – such as com-
EWE AG named
patibility with all standardised electric vehicles.
“Best Innovator”
for sustainable innovation management
þ We invested a total of EUR 2.6 million in research and de-
(2009)
velopment in 2014 >> þ EWE-ZA01. The Association for the
Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany (Stifter
verband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft e. V.) gave us their
“Innovation through Research” seal of approval for our

EWE subsidiary E3/DC
activities in 2014.
presented with the
“pv magazine award top innovation”
(2014)
MAKING ENERGY EFFICIENCY A FOCAL ELEMENT OF
OUR PRODUCTS
We are committed to providing products, services and technologies which are environmentally friendly and tailored
Offshore wind farm Riffgat recognised as
to the requirements of our customers. EWE developed the
“Best project of the year”
EQOO domestic storage system > p. 32, “EQOO makes the
with German Renewable Award
Tepe family more independent”, which lets our customers cov-
(2014)
er up to 70 per cent of their annual energy requirements with
solar power that they produce themselves.
31
We provide our private customers with advice about energy
efficiency, and also prepare energy reports for local authorities. We provide energy management advice for business
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
customers, including energy audits for their facilities, training for employees and implementation services for projects.
The German Energy Agency presented the “Energy controlling in performance contracting” project, developed by
EWE VERTRIEB GmbH (EWE VERTRIEB) and the municipality
of Grossenkneten, with the “Energy Efficiency Good Practice”
8,000
award. The purpose of this project is to set up a municipal
enquiries responded to
energy management system not only to reduce the energy
by EWE regarding energy
consumption and CO2 emissions of properties in the mu-
and building technology
nicipality, but also to reduce pressure on the municipality’s
and EWE Strom NaturWatt products come 100 per cent from
10,000
renewable sources. TÜV NORD awarded the latter its “Certi-
consultations performed
fied Green Energy” certificate in 2014. TÜV NORD certified
on energy services
our natural gas fuel product (CNG) as a “Certified Biogas
in 2014
budget. Energy costs have already gone down by six per cent
just one year after the system was implemented.
We have provided electricity and gas products generated
from renewable sources since 2007. Our swb Strom proNatur
Product” due to the share of biogas.
6,000
downloads
of the EWE Energy Manager App
in 2014
32
EQOO
MAKES THE TEPE FAMILY
MORE INDEPENDENT
The sun provides enough energy for everyone on Earth –
In June 2014, EWE installed a photovoltaic p
ower plant on
that’s a cornerstone of the energy turnaround. Electricity
their roof and the EQOO domestic storage system, which is
should be available everywhere and at any time – that’s a
shaped like a box and about one square metre in size, in an
basic foundation for our day-to-day life. To reconcile these
alcove in the hall of their house. The smart system routes the
two principles, we have to develop storage technology until
solar electricity directly to the family’s computers, lights and
it is ready for the market; EWE did just that with the EQOO
appliances. If Patric, Gaby, Ayleen and Fynn Tepe aren’t using
domestic storage system. People also have to be prepared
a lot of electricity at the moment, the excess energy is stored
to invest in these technologies, and that’s just what the Tepe
in the batteries. When those batteries are fully charged and
family in Cloppenburg did.
the photovoltaic p
ower plant is generating more p
ower than
the house requires, the excess is fed into the EWE network
and the family is compensated. However, if the storage
The Tepe family from Cloppenburg uses solar power from the EQOO
domestic storage system.
system is empty and the sun happens to duck behind the
clouds, EWE provides the Tepe family with p
ower.
“We didn’t want
to be tied in
to rising electricity prices.”
Gaby Tepe
33
turn on the appliances which use the most p
ower, like their
washing machine, when the sun is shining. But Gaby Tepe
also added: “We both work, so the system does have its
limits.” The family can see how much solar p
ower is available
at any given moment by checking an app on their phones.
“But if we’re not home, we can’t react when we get some
unexpected sunshine.” So there’s still room for improvement
A photovoltaic p
ower plant on the roof enables solar energy to
be captured and fed into the domestic storage system.
in the technological development of smart homes.
Patric and Gaby Tepe will become even more self-sufficient if
they decide to expand their electricity storage system. Their
heating system is twenty years old, and there would be quite
Self-sufficiency is the immediate response when you ask
a few benefits to using a heat pump to get heat energy from
them why they chose the EQOO system. “We didn’t want to
the outside air. “The pump would draw p
ower from the larger
be tied in to rising electricity prices,” said Patric and Gaby
storage unit.”
Tepe. In the past, they always just went with the cheapest
provider. “We were fed up with switching all the time. It just
wasn’t getting us anywhere. Now that we have the EQOO,
we can be pretty certain about how much we will be spending
on electricity for the next 15 or 20 years.”
The first nine months have convinced Patric and Gaby Tepe
that they made the right decision. The Tepe family reduced
their electricity bill by around 65 per cent between June and
October. The solar energy that they produced covered 27 per
cent of their energy needs between November and February,
when there wasn’t much sun.
The family helped themselves by matching their electricity
consumption habits to their energy supply. They normally
An app shows the Tepe family how much solar power is
currently available.
34
CLIMATE PROTECTION
AND GENERATION
As an energy provider, we are particularly responsible for the
base to monitor our CO2 emissions. This calculation includes
protection of the climate. We want to drive the growth of re-
conventional, combined heat and p
ower plants (CHP plants),
newable energies in our regions. That’s why we have been in-
waste processing plants and renewable energy facilities.
vesting in wind power for over 25 years – first on land, and also
offshore since 2008. Over 30 per cent of the electricity1 that
we generate comes from renewable energies, and this number
OUR WAY FORWARD
is increasing every year. Conventional p
ower generation must
complement renewables until they can cover all of our energy
MAKE GREATER USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES:
requirements. EWE’s Bremen-based swb operates efficient
A FOCUS ON WIND POWER
coal, gas and blast furnace gas power plants on three different
sites along with two waste processing plants.
We use the renewable sources of wind, sun, biomass, waste3
and water to generate electricity and heat, and are focused
on expanding the use of wind p
ower.
OUR OBJECTIVE
We have been operating onshore wind turbines for 25 years,
MAKE ENERGY GENERATION MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY
with just under 100 plants in our regions producing 152
FRIENDLY
ower. We have also been involved in
megawatts (MW)4 of p
offshore wind p
ower for over five years. In 2008, EWE played
Reducing CO2 emissions is at the heart of climate protection
a leading role in the construction of Germany’s first offshore
and is an integral part of the EU’s climate protection targets
wind farm, alpha ventus. The purpose of this pioneering pro-
for 2030. We are playing our part by increasing the efficiency
ject was to demonstrate that wind farms are economically
of our generation facilities and expanding the use of r enewable
and technically viable. Another milestone was passed in Feb-
energies. We measure our progress in this area on the basis of
ruary 2014 when Riffgat, the first commercial wind farm in
how effectively we reduce our CO2 emissions per generated
the German North Sea, came online. Riffgat has 30 wind tur-
kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity. We want to reduce this
bines with a total capacity of 108 MW > p. 38 “EWE setting
number by 40 per cent by 2020 compared to 2005 levels.
new offshore standards”. In 2014, Riffgat and alpha ventus
þ In the reporting year, our specific CO2 emissions were 540 g/
generated a combined 592,346 megawatt hours (MWh) of
kWh >> þ EWE-FK03, þ G4-EN18. This represents a 34.8 per
electricity. That is equivalent to the annual electricity con-
cent decrease compared to 2005. We are using 2005 as a refer-
sumption of around 170,000 homes.
2
ence point because that is when we started using a CO2 data
1 — Not including electricity generation from blast furnace gas
2 — Not including CO2 emissions from blast furnace gas. The
entire carbon footprint of our thermal waste management
comes from the products and consumables that are disposed
of. Our electricity and district heating from waste incineration
energy products are therefore considered CO2-neutral, i.e.
they produce net emissions of 0 g CO2/kWh.
3 — According to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), around half of the
energy generated from waste is considered renewable. This is
because some of the waste comes from plant-based sources and is
therefore CO2-neutral when burned.
4 — Including partially-owned capacity from shareholdings measured
using the equity method
35
2011
2012
658
722
728
728
g CO2 /kWh el
786
2006
784
2005
800
790
815
900
828
SPECIFIC CO2 EMISSIONS FROM ELECTRICITY GENERATION
700
540
600
500
400
2007
2008
2010
2009
2013
2014
YEAR
EWE has reduced its CO2 emissions per generated kilowatt hour or electricity continuously since 2005.
INSTALLED ELECTRICAL CAPACITY
ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN 2014, BROKEN DOWN
AS AT 31.12.2014 (in MW)
BY PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCES (in GWh)
þ
þ
Total5
1,348
Total7
5,010
Renewables4
303
Hard coal
2,295
Onshore wind
152
Blast furnace gas
1,065
Offshore wind
137
Wind
757
Other (raw biogas, photovoltaic, hydroelectric)
Waste to energy
595
Other (bio natural gas, raw biogas, natural gas,
replacement fuels, fuel oil, sewage gas, solar, water)
298
Conventional6
14
1,045
Hard coal
553
Blast furnace gas/converter gas
176
Natural gas
155
Light oil
86
Waste to Energy
75
þ G4-EU01
þ G4-EU02
5 — Waste-to-energy is listed entirely under conventional generation
in this representation, even if the Renewable Energy Act (EEG)
deems around half of the energy generated from waste to be
renewable. This is because some of the waste comes from plantbased sources and is therefore CO2-neutral when burned.
6 — Major facilities of swb Erzeugung und Entsorgung;
including mothballed blocks
7 — Contrary to indicator G4-EU01, this also includes electricity
generation from combined heat and power plants.
36
This shows how significantly wind energy contributed to our
and Audit Scheme (EMAS) since 1998. The same scheme has
improved CO2 balance in the reporting year .
been used for the medium calorific p
ower plant since 2009.
8
MAKING CONVENTIONAL FACILITIES MORE EFFICIENT
CONSTRUCTION OF A GAS AND STEAM TURBINE
POWER PLANT
In addition to expanding our use of renewable energies, we
are investing systematically in the efficiency and flexibility
In order for the energy turnaround to be successful, we need
of our conventional facilities. The EWE subsidiary swb com-
flexible conventional p
ower plants which are able to com-
mitted to this path in 2009 by building and bringing into ser-
pensate for the fluctuating amount of energy coming from
vice a modern waste processing plant and medium calorific
renewables over the next few decades. That’s why swb built
power plant. Around half of the waste comes from plant-
a gas and steam turbine power plant in Bremen-Mittels-
based sources and is therefore CO2-neutral when burned. The
büren, which is scheduled to go online in 2015. The distin-
2013 renovation of the waste incineration power plant also
guishing feature of this p
ower plant is that it can increase
improved performance, with it now generating three times as
and decrease its output quickly. The plant will run on envi-
much electricity from the same amount of waste.
ronmentally friendly natural gas and has a capacity of around
445 MW. It has an efficiency coefficient of around 58 per
swb increased efficiency by around two per cent in the re-
cent, the highest of any fossil fuel p
ower plant. This means
porting year by modernising the largest coal block in the
that it generates the most electricity possible from the fuel
Bremen-Hafen power plant. We also took two hard coal
that it uses. A significant part of the generating capacity of
blocks in the Bremen-Hastedt and Hafen power plants offline
the plant has already been sold on a long term basis.
at the end of 2013 because they no longer met our efficiency
and economic viability requirements. We will keep them in
PROTECT BIODIVERSITY
reserve so that they can be used in an emergency. We have
also modernised a number of combined heat and p
ower
We are committed to having as little impact on ecosystems
plants and switched to the CO2-neutral fuel biomethane.
as possible. When this is unavoidable, we repair any damage
that we cause. We comply with all relevant environmen-
swb uses standardised environmental management systems
tal requirements as a matter of principle. þ EWE only has
to monitor and comply with legal requirements and internal
a small number of sites in protected areas. The Ems Emden
targets. Its generation facilities have been ISO 14001-certified
wind p
ower plant, one of over 20 onshore wind power sites
since 2009. The Bremen waste incineration p
ower plant has
that our Group operates, is located in a flora/fauna habitat
been monitored in accordance with the EU Eco-Management
region. EWE has established a recovery area of 3.6 hectares
to implement flora and fauna regeneration measures >> þ
G4-EN11, þ G4-EN12, þ G4-EU13.
8 — The 592,346 MWh of electricity generated relates to 100 per cent
of the shareholdings; only the equity interest allocated to EWE
was used to calculate the specific CO2 value.
37
þ We also have three transformer stations that were
built between 1970 and 1995 in an area in the District of
Wittmund, and this area was designated an ornithological
reserve in 2011. The gas storage facility that was built in 2013
in Jemgum, East Frisia is located on the outskirts of an ornithological reserve. Measures to improve biodiversity were
implemented over an area of 40 hectares to compensate for
this. There were no new sites in protected areas during the
reporting year >> þ G4-EN11, G4-EN12, G4-EU13.
108 MW
Offshore wind farm brought online in 2014
(Riffgat offshore wind farm)
EWE supports biodiversity research projects. The German
Federal Environment Ministry’s RAVE research initiative (Re-
than expected. The scientists found that fish biodiversity had
20
increased. The foundations of the turbines serve as artificial
þ Reduction in CO2 emissions 20149
reefs, where mussels, sea anemones and other species have
compared to 2013 of just under 20 per cent to
settled. There was no wide-spread destruction of fauna, as we
2,263,475 Mg2
had feared, neither were large numbers of migrating birds in-
>> þ G4-EN15, þ G4-EN19
search at Alpha Ventus) has examined for example the impact that the construction and operation of the alpha ventus
wind farm have had on biodiversity. After a five year research
period, the conclusion was reached that the offshore wind
facilities have had much less of an impact on the ecosystem
%
jured as a result of colliding with the wind turbines. Researchers also found that operating the wind farm had no impact on
marine mammals.
31.3
%
Share of renewable energies
in electricity generation in 2014
9 — Direct emissions from electricity and heat generation facilities;
not including CO2 emissions from blast furnace gas.
38
EWE
SETTING NEW
OFFSHORE STANDARDS
Planning is underway for more than 50 wind farms in the
The company needed just 14 months, from June 2012 to July
North Sea. North Sea ports are ready for an offshore boom,
2013, to build 30 Siemens wind turbines with a total output
and several companies in the Northwest are raring to invest.
of 108 MW 15 kilometres off the coast of Borkum and con-
With the Riffgat wind farm, EWE has demonstrated that off-
nect them to the transformer substation in the wind farm.
shore wind farms can be built in a feasible time frame and an
According to Irina Lucke, Riffgat Technical Project Manager
environmentally friendly manner.
and Managing Director of EWE Offshore Service & Solutions
GmbH (EWE OSS), “this was possible because we had a com-
The transformer station transforms the generated electricity
and feeds it into the onshore transmission network through a
70 kilometre long export cable.
“We had a competent team to
plan the construction in detail and
make the plan a reality.”
Irina Lucke, Riffgat Technical Project Manager
and Managing Director, EWE OSS
petent team to plan the construction in detail and make the
plan a reality.” The first commercial wind farm in the North
Sea now generates enough green energy for more than
120,000 homes.
EWE focused on minimising the environmental impact of the
construction of the wind farm in the planning phase. One of
their main concerns was protecting fish and marine mammals
against the noise emissions that would be caused when sink-
39
Within 14 months, EWE has installed
30 wind turbines over an area measuring around six square kilometres.
ing the pillars. To do this, EWE used a vibratory pile driver to
EWE’s Riffgat project not only bolstered the coastal region’s
drive the pillars into the first few metres of the seabed. A sec-
reputation as a source of environmentally friendly energy, but
ond metal tube was then lowered into the water around the
also increased the region’s expertise in this area. “Offshore
monopiles. The space between the two was then filled with
wind farms are still pretty unusual,” said Irina Lucke. “But
air bubbles. This was the first time that this technique had
standards and processes are generally becoming more and
been used commercially. Instead of reverberating unimpeded
more important when it comes to building and operating off-
through the North Sea, the sound waves created by the ram-
shore wind farms. That’s why our recent ISO 9001 certifica-
ming lost energy as they moved through the metal, water
tion is an important factor for EWE OSS.” EWE is also making
and bubbles. EWE’s experience with its previous offshore pro-
the expertise that it has gathered from planning, building and
ject alpha ventus shows that marine life will s helter near the
operating the wind farm available to others. EWE OSS helps
wind farm because fishing is not allowed in its vicinity. 3,000
companies in both the planning and construction phase, and
Heligoland lobsters were introduced at four wind turbines
can also take on responsibility for operating offshore wind
in summer 2014 to investigate the new habitat among the
farms upon request. Irina Lucke: “This is a real a dvantage of
rocks that will protect the turbines against scour.
our regional structure. We’re based on the coast, so it doesn’t
take us long to get to any of the wind farms.”
Environmental awareness was one of the reasons that the
Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster named Riffgat the “Best
Project in 2014”. The network presented the company with
the German Renewable Award in front of 2,000 guests on the
opening day of the WindEnergy fair in Hamburg.
40
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
Handling resources and the environment responsibly is part of
OUR WAY FORWARD
EWE’s identity. That’s why a comprehensive environmental management system was set up in 1998 at the power plants of EWE’s
SAVING ENERGY SYSTEMATICALLY
subsidiary swb. The subsidiary also publishes relevant indicators
such as CO2 emissions in a regular environmental report.
þ The EWE company swb Services and our Turkish network
company Bursagaz were ISO 50001-certified in 2011. Group
We focus on reducing internal energy consumption to conserve
subsidiary EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH (EWE GASSPEICHER)
resources. We want to identify and utilise potential improve-
was certified in 2013, while EWE VERTRIEB was certified in
ments in this area across the Group. Setting up energy manage-
2014 >>þ EWE-FK04. They were followed in 2015 by EWE
ment systems will give us the framework we require to do so.
ERNEUERBARE ENERGIEN, swb CREA, swb Erzeugung und
Entsorgung, wesernetz Bremen and wesernetz Bremerhaven.
We want to continue down this path in the next few years
OUR OBJECTIVE
and have other companies certified, including our largest,
EWE NETZ.
TO MINIMISE INTERNAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION
INTRODUCTION OF AN ENERGY MONITORING SYSTEM
In 2014, we decided to put a system in place to record and
analyse our internal electricity, heat and fuel consumption
We will also set up an overarching Group-wide energy
and to define measures to minimise this consumption. We are
monitoring system into which we will integrate our existing
using energy management systems to set up standardised
and future energy management systems. Companies which
processes, which we will improve continuously. We measure
have not begun the process of implementing a management
our progress in this area based on the number of certificates
system by the end of 2015 will carry out an energy audit in
that our companies are awarded. We want to have twelve
accordance with the German Energy Services Act (Energie-
selected companies ISO 50001-certified for energy man-
dienstleistungsgesetz). This will also be integrated into the
agement systems by 2020. These are EWE AG as the holding
energy monitoring system.
company and subsidiaries with a high level of energy consumption.
We have been recording the energy consumption of our administrative buildings for years. In future, they will form an
important part of the energy monitoring system. We will
evaluate energy conservation measures that have already
been implemented for these buildings and expand them to
other sites if suitable. These measures include building a geothermal facility for heating and cooling buildings or introducing floor lamps and proximity sensors. We will be focusing on
our data centres in 2015.
41
þ Our administrative buildings and data centres consumed
297.1 terajoules (TJ) in the reporting year >> þ G4-EN03.
This is equivalent to 82.5 gigawatt hours (GWh). 47.5 GWh
of this was electrical energy for lighting, IT and communi-
ISO 50001
cations equipment, cooling for data centres, air conditioning
ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
and ventilation technology, etc. 35 GWh were used to heat
rooms and for other heating.
OPTIMISING FLEET CONSUMPTION
EWE has implemented pilot projects to optimise fuel consumption in the areas of employee mobility and the c ompany
fleet. For example, we have introduced pedelecs and electric
vehicles at some sites, and have set up electric charging
stations at various branch offices. 49 per cent of our 2,063
company vehicles are diesel-powered. 41 per cent are natural
gas-powered, and a further 10 per cent run on petrol. þ The
energy consumption of our fleet was 121.6 TJ in the reporting
12
OBJECTIVE 2020
certified
companies
year >> þ G4-EN03. This corresponds to around 16.4 MWh
per vehicle. We will set up a Group-wide fleet management
system in 2015 to combine the existing fleets of individual
companies and make them more efficient.
4
STATUS 2014
certified
companies
42
ENERGY CONCEPT FOR
NEW HEADQUARTERS IN BURSA MEETS
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
EWE’s Turkish subsidiaries Bursagaz and Enervis are building
their new headquarters in accordance with the criteria of
the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
international standard for ecological construction. The 300
employees in Bursa, 90 kilometres from Istanbul, will be able
to move into the six-storey building, which provides around
5,600 square metres of office space, in the middle of 2015.
“We want to have as little impact on the environment as
possible and take a stand for energy efficiency, which is still
very much in its infancy in Turkey,” said Dr. Frank Quante, the
“We want to take a stand
for energy efficiency.”
Dr. Frank Quante,
Managing Director of EWE Turkey Holding
Managing Director of EWE Turkey Holding. “The building will
generate a significant amount of the electricity and heat that
it uses. We will also optimise our energy and water consumption,” added Sükrü Özden, Bursagaz’s Managing Director in
charge of technology. Their EWE colleagues in Oldenburg
helped them to do this with their specialist expertise. The
Green Building Council based in Washington, DC has awarded
the LEED certificate to just 100 buildings in Turkey. The gold
The new corporate building in Bursa has its own combined heat
and power plant, solar generators and wind turbines to enable it
to generate part of the needed electricity itself.
43
“The new headquarters
will strengthen the reputation
of Bursagaz and Enervis
as role models for the Turkish
energy market.”
You can’t reach the gold level with energy efficiency alone,
though. Rainwater and wastewater which is not heavily contaminated will be collected inside the building to be reused in
the toilets. The plot which EWE purchased for the new building also has good links to public transport. Special bicycle
spaces, showers and changing rooms are available for employees who cycle to work. There are also charging stations
for electric vehicles. At night, the building is lit in a way that
Dr. Frank Quante
is appropriate for the surrounding area in accordance with the
LEED criteria. Any waste created during construction will be
separated at the construction site and prepared for recycling.
status of this standard, which the EWE subsidiaries hope to
achieve, has only been awarded once there.
The new headquarters meet our own demanding energy efficiency requirements as well as regulations set by the Turkish
The new building in Bursa incorporates efficient building
government. These regulations require the industrial s ector
technology that meets the criteria of the gold level. At its
to use 15 per cent and buildings to use 27 per cent less e nergy
heart lies a combined heat and power plant whose waste
by 2023. For Dr. Frank Quante, this not only provides extra
heat can be used to cool and heat the building simultane-
motivation, but also increases the size of the market for
ously. This will reduce CO2 emissions by 30 per cent. Ten per
efficiency services. “The new headquarters will strengthen
cent of the building’s electricity needs will also be generated
the reputation of Bursagaz and Enervis as role models for the
from renewable sources, with a 45-kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar
Turkish energy market.”
power system installed on the roof. An additional 100 square
metres of semi-permeable solar cells with a nominal output
of 5 kWp has been installed on the façade. The building also
has two 2 kW wind turbines which can provide electricity
even when wind speeds are low. The subsidiaries also plan to
install a system that will use fibre optic cables to bring sunlight to rooms which don’t have any access to natural light
and the basement.
44
REGIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
As a predominantly municipally owned utility company, EWE is
OUR WAY FORWARD
committed to regional responsibility. We actively seek out dialogue with the people in our regions. We are committed to ed-
TO SUPPORT REGIONAL VALUE CREATION
ucation, science, culture, sport and social issues, and to creating value in the region. Our Group’s activities create jobs and
We want everyone involved to play an active role, and to
generate income in our regions. This was confirmed by a
this end, EWE has developed a variety of different business
scientific investigation by the research and consultancy firm
models. EWE is setting up new wind farms in the region in
C ONOSCOPE. EWE has a significant indirect and direct eco-
partnership with citizens, local authorities and landowners.
nomic impact on the region. > see box on the next page
The first wind farm to be partially owned by a local authority
is located near Spolsen in the district of Frisia and has been
providing electricity since the end of 2013.
OUR OBJECTIVE
We also allow towns, cities and municipalities to invest in
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE REGION’S DEVELOPMENT
our network companies and receive a guaranteed dividend.
We have set ourselves the objective of continuing to contrib-
tract undecided local authorities and those looking to add to
ute to the region’s development through our activities. We
their existing shareholdings. A total of 25.1 per cent of EWE
use a regionality index to check how effectively we do this.
NETZ is available to invest in until 2018. The cities of Bremen
This index is calculated on the basis of the BDEW Customer
and Bremerhaven have held a 25.1 per cent stake in each of
Focus (German Association of Energy and Water Industries)
the network companies wesernetz Bremen and wesernetz
study. The index is based on two survey criteria which our
Bremerhaven since July 2014.
EWE publicised an additional investment offer in 2014 to at-
customers rate on a given scale: “EWE is important to the
region” and “EWE supports education, sport, culture and so-
EWE sponsors around 300 cultural, social and sporting pro-
ciety”. We use the ratings to calculate a weighted index val-
jects each year. In addition to the Oldenburg-based basket-
ue between zero (completely disagree) and 100 (completely
ball team EWE Baskets, football team Werder Bremen and
agree).
Turkish sports club Bursaspor, EWE cofinances events such as
the Bremen Music Festival, the Brandenburg State Orchestra
Our aim is to achieve a result that outperforms the industry
average by 2020. This average in 2014 was 68. þ Collectively, the figure for EWE and swb came to 72; this figure was
calculated using the individual figures for the two companies
>> þ EWE-FK05. We want to keep it at this level, despite
challenging market conditions and the ensuing need for cost
reduction measures. If the industry average falls in coming
years, we will strive to keep our index value over 67.
of Frankfurt and the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw.
45
EWE IS A SIGNIFICANT REGIONAL ECONOMIC FACTOR
The figures2 from the 2012 CONOSCOPE study1 show that
þ
1. EWE CREATES 25,000 JOBS
4. O
VER EUR 1 BILLION IN INCOME TRICKLES DOWN TO
WORKERS IN THE REGION
EWE creates 17,043 additional full-time jobs in the region
indirectly through its business activities (purchases, capital
In addition to the direct income of EWE employees, which
expenditure, tax payments) and the expenditure of its 7,746
totals EUR 479.4 million, the business activities of EWE gen-
employees. This means that each EWE employee accounts for
erate an additional EUR 555.6 million of indirect and induced
two other jobs.
income. This means that every euro of Group income results
in EUR 1.20 income in the region.
2. EVERY OTHER EURO REMAINS IN THE REGION
5. E UR 600 MILLION IN TAXES AND LEVIES FLOW INTO
Around 43 per cent of EWE’s expenditure (purchases, wages
REGIONAL BUDGETS
and salaries, taxes, profits) remain in the regional economy,
equal to almost every other euro. A total of around EUR 1.7
EWE provides tax revenues of around EUR 1.3 billion. EUR 367
billion remains in EWE’s regions.
million of this remains in regional budgets. Orders submitted
to regional supply companies and the consumer spending of
employees generate additional tax payments worth EUR 227
3. EWE CREATES VALUE WORTH EUR 1.9 BILLION
million on an indirect and induced level >> þ G4-EC08.
Around EUR 1.9 billion of the region’s gross domestic product
can be traced back to the EWE Group’s activities. Personnel
expenses, tax payments and distributions of profits create
EUR 774.9 million in added value. An additional EUR 1,074.2
million of value is created at an indirect and induced level3,
e.g. as a result of purchases from suppliers or the expenditure
of employees in the region.
1 — Ernst & Young Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft GmbH only audited
how well external study reports were incorporated.
2 — Incorporates data from all fully consolidated EWE companies based
in Germany. The analysis is based on data from the 2012 financial
year. The term “region” in this case refers to the three regions which
EWE is active in – Ems/Weser/Elbe, Bremen/Bremerhaven and Brandenburg/Rügen. CONOSCOPE GmbH is a medium-sized research
and consultancy firm based in Leipzig and Essen.
3 — “Indirect effects” are defined as effects that occur at a supplier level.
“Induced effects” are effects caused by the consumer spending
of EWE’s employees and the employees of companies that profit
indirectly.
46
DIALOGUE WITH PEOPLE IN THE REGION
COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
þ We have set up Group-wide dialogue formats to promote
EWE supports social projects and promotes education in
dialogue with the people in our regions. They allow local au-
its regions. Bremen-based EWE subsidiary swb launched an
thorities to have a say about the plans of our company and
education initiative in 2003. It encourages nurseries, schools
the issues facing it. One example is the Energy Turnaround
and other educational institutions to implement innovative
Forum, which enabled members of the public to say what
learning methods and content. The Turkish EWE subsidiaries
they think about the energy turnaround at nine sites in the
Bursagaz and Kayserigaz hold regular energy efficiency semi-
Ems/Weser/Elbe region between March and September 2014.
nars in schools.
In a second stage, any particularly promising ideas were presented to business, political and government representatives
Our employees also have a part to play – they can choose
to get projects up and running with companies. > p. 48, “Get-
to donate the cent amount of their monthly salary as part
ting citizens involved speeds up the regional energy turnaround”
of the ‘last cents’ scheme. EWE matches the total and uses
the funds to support social projects in the region. In 2014,
Since 2011, network advisory boards have given local autho-
these projects included the Varel hospice movement and the
rities the opportunity to voice their opinion about planned
children’s and family centre in Tostedt.
or intended network expansion in each district without the
need for financial commitment. Three advisory boards, each
The EWE Foundation was established in 2002 and supports
with 20 members, allow customers to provide new ideas, cri-
local projects to do with education and childcare, science and
ticism or approval for the regions of Weser/Ems, Weser/Elbe
research, art and culture. These include art weeks, children’s
and Brandenburg. > p. 56, “Increasing customer loyalty with
and youth theatre as well as literacy programmes. The
openness and transparency”; >> þ G4-SO01
Foundation’s sole mandates are the causes it represents and
it serves only the general public.
The ZentrumZukunft in the Emstek ecopark near Cloppenburg provides information about new energy technologies.
Group subsidiary EWE NETZ uses this site to demonstrate
how to integrate renewable energies into the network. Training about the energy turnaround is available for schools and
colleges, tradespeople, architects, planning offices, local authorities and associations. Over 40,000 people have visited
the ZentrumZukunft since it opened in 2008.
47
VALUE CREATED BY EWE IN 2014
þ
in EUR million
Direct economic value generated in 20144
Sales without electricity and energy tax
8,134.2
Distributed economic value
Cost of materials and services
6,506.4
Personnel expenses
669.6
Interest expenses
230.5
Dividends
88.0
Income taxes
11.3
Investment in the community (donations)5
11.4
þ G4-EC01
4 — Additional information about the KPIs is available from p. 80 of the
2014 annual report onwards.
5 — Around 70 per cent of the donated funds were invested in research
activities.
48
GETTING CITIZENS
INVOLVED SPEEDS UP THE REGIONAL
ENERGY TURNAROUND
EWE is shaping the energy future in partnership with citizens.
Almost every idea presented at the Energy Turnaround Forum
The company’s Energy Turnaround Forum gave people in the
had two things in common. Firstly, they made it clear that
Ems/Weser/Elbe region a framework for discussing and devel-
attendees had a clear picture of their region and their living
oping ideas about a climate-friendly energy supply. Around
conditions. And secondly, they all asked, “It’s so obvious how
450 citizens took part in the Forum last year. They drew up
we can save energy locally, increase efficiency and change
70 suggestions for a local energy turnaround in Wittmund,
how we behave. Why doesn’t anyone else see that? Why isn’t
Cloppenburg, Varel, Bad Bederkesa, Papenburg, Tostedt,
anyone else using these opportunities?” This is why the main
Delmenhorst, Bremervörde and Oldenburg. Fifteen of these
point of the ideas that came out of the Energy Turnaround
ideas were developed at the subsequent idea exchanges until
Forum was to bring all of the different stakeholders t ogether
they were ready to be implemented.
to get local initiatives and projects up and running. “This series of events gave us a good picture of what’s important to
people in the region. It broadened our horizons,” said EWE
Project Manager Sigrid Justus.
One local initiative was the idea of training school pupils to
be energy guides, which was presented in Wittmund. The plan
is to hold short seminars to train them on how to identify and
implement potential energy-saving measures. This knowledge will spread from schools to families, allowing them to
make use of these ideas in their homes.
Attendees also discussed the issue of mobility among themselves and with specialists. The general consensus at the
event in Varel was that it’s just not right for drivers to be the
only person in their car. They agreed that more support was
needed for new usage concepts and alternative propulsion
systems. They proposed developing sharing projects for mobility involving electric cars and bikes.
Participants at the Energy Turnaround Forum discuss their
ideas in Varel.
49
There was lively debate in Papenburg as well.
This in turn gave rise to the proposal that local authorities
should buy electric cars, use them during work hours and
then make them available to their citizens on weekends. This
could improve people’s willingness to engage with new usage concepts and environmentally friendly transport alternatives. Bernd Hoinke, the Head of Zetel District Council, is
in favour of making this idea a reality in Frisia. His district
bought an electric car and a car that runs on natural gas before the Energy Turnaround Forum, but can’t use them in a
car sharing model because of the leases they signed. “It just
didn’t occur to us,” he said regretfully. “That shows how important it is to partner together with members of the public
when looking for ideas for the energy future.” Fleet managers
and environment officers from other municipalities in Frisia
are now working on getting an electric vehicle sharing model
off the ground.
“This series of events
gave us a good picture
of what’s important
to people in the region.
It broadened our horizons.”
Sigrid Justus, Energy Turnaround Forum Project Manager
50
SUPPLY CHAIN
EWE is committed to acting sustainably in its dealings with par-
OUR WAY FORWARD
ties outside the company. We incorporate our suppliers and
service providers into our sustainability management system
EXPANDING THE STRATEGIC
to take full responsibility for our activities, make production
SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
methods transparent and preserve our reputation.
We have been expanding the strategic supplier management
system continuously since 2011. This system provides the
OUR OBJECTIVE
framework for our sustainable approach to procurement: We
intend to make signing up to the supplier code of conduct
TO ESTABLISH A SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT
a requirement for all product groups and tenders where we
evaluate the suitability of potential suppliers (pre-qualifica-
We are implementing specific sustainability requirements for
tion). The code of conduct should also be part of our ten-
our suppliers. þ We drew up a supplier code of conduct in
der documents so that suppliers can sign up to it before any
2014 to set specific standards regarding human rights and
agreements are finalised.
working conditions, occupational safety, health, environmental protection and integrity þ G4-EN32, þ G4-HR04, þ
We are committed to engaging with our business partners
G4-HR10, þ G4-LA14, þ EWE-FK06. We will be incorporating
about the issue of sustainability in order to increase ac-
the supplier code of conduct into our existing processes from
ceptance of our sustainability requirements. This will give
2015 onwards. Our objective: We want 95 per cent of our
us valuable input which we can use to improve our internal
strategic suppliers (long-term, significant partners of EWE)
sustainability management system. We will provide our em-
of materials and services to sign up to the code of conduct by
ployees in the Purchasing Corporate Centre function with
2020. We will be measuring our progress based on how many
regular training about the main aspects of the sustainability
of these suppliers have signed up to the code of conduct. We
management system, and will also involve employees of our
want to gradually expand our sustainability standards to the
subsidiaries in this process.
procurement of coal and gas.
IMPLEMENTATION OF A BUSINESS PARTNER REVIEW
PROCESS
We also implemented a business partner review at the start
of 2015. The review covers sustainability criteria. For the purpose of this review, we receive information about our partners’ business practices.
51
SUPPLY CHAIN
OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
þ Our supply chain encompasses the purchase of material
We use long-term, medium-term and short-term natural
and services, as well as coal and gas. We have regional, na-
gas purchase agreements to guarantee moderate prices and
tional and international supply relationships with around
secure the supply of gas. We purchase the majority of our
10,000 companies from a wide range of sectors, including
natural gas from a range of international upstream suppliers.
plant and mechanical engineering, the metal industry, elec-
Two thirds of the natural gas for our German regions comes
trical engineering, marketing, consultancy and information
from German upstream suppliers; one third comes from the
technology. In 2014, our expenses were around EUR 1.05 bil-
Netherlands. We also use our gas storage facilities and short-
lion for materials and services >> þ G4-12.
term trading to compensate for fluctuations in demand.
EWE is committed to long-term partnerships with suppliers.
We cover two thirds of our demand for hard coal with im-
We award contracts to companies from the regions in which
ports from Russia, with one third coming from the USA. Only
we are active whenever possible. þ Regional suppliers re-
short-term and medium-term coal purchase agreements are
ceived a large proportion of our expenses for material and
possible because of the volatile market price.
services in 2014 (approx. 43 per cent or EUR 450.8 million)
>> þ G4-EC09.
52
MORE THAN JUST CABLES –
A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP
FOR A STRONG REGION
Long-term commitment, regional roots, high quality and fair
EWE gets more than just cables from Waskönig+Walter. “As
prices are the main criteria that EWE uses when choosing its
an independent family-run company, we think in genera-
suppliers. This is demonstrated by EWE’s long-term partner-
tions rather than quarters,” said Michael Waskönig, who is
ship with Waskönig+Walter, which is based in Saterland in
the fifth generation of his family to manage the company,
along with his brother Jörg and also Stefan Nestler. “For us,
financial success means maintaining our independence with
long-term profitable growth.” This keeps jobs safe for people
in the region and makes sure that the company will be able to
train and support its own staff in future. It is also committed
to a high standard of healthcare and occupational health and
safety. The company is OHSAS 18001-certified, which helps
the company to identify accident risks ahead of time and
minimise the impact on the health of its employees.
From EWE’s perspective, Waskönig+Walter’s responsible
approach and actions guarantee reliability and consistent
quality. Michael Waskönig used logistics and adherence to
delivery time-scales to demonstrate what this means: “When
we promise to deliver a certain length of this cable to a construction site ready for laying at a specific time, we follow
Raw materials and cables are stored in a 240 metre long hall.
through.” Knowing that you won’t have to delay construction
because you were given the wrong cable or it didn’t arrive on
time gives the company an advantage over competitors that
offer lower labour rates. With the right overall package, you
the district of Cloppenburg. The family company, founded in
can manufacture cables in Germany’s industrial centres, pro-
1873, has over 500 employees. It uses 10,000 tonnes of alu-
vided that getting the cheapest price isn’t the only criterion.
minium, 50,000 tonnes of copper, 80,000 tonnes of plastic
and a little steel every year to make cables for low-voltage,
medium-voltage and high-voltage networks.
53
SUPPLY CHAIN
Michael Waskönig,
Managing Director of family
company Waskönig+Walter
“When we promise to deliver a certain length
of this cable to a construction site
ready for laying at a specific time,
we follow through.”
Waskönig+Walter’s products are investment items for EWE.
The family company’s manufacturing processes reuse waste
and are constantly improving in terms of energy efficiency.
Heat, generated for example from the wire drawing process,
is used to heat the office building. The company has also
committed itself to reducing the amount of energy that it
consumes per tonne of cable by a few percentage points each
year. The small quantities of scrap material that the streamlined manufacturing process produces are collected and sorted. The company then puts this scrap in a copper or aluminium smelter to produce the wires that Waskönig+Walter uses
as the base material for its cables. Any unavoidable plastic
remnants left over from the manufacture and processing of
insulation and cable sheaths are cleaned off and fed back
into the production process. The company is also happy to
calculate the carbon footprint of its products on behalf of its
customers.
The cable manufacturer uses 50,000 tonnes of
copper a year in its production facilities.
54
MARKET AND
TRANSPARENCY
The trust and satisfaction of our customers plays an important
OUR OBJECTIVE
part in the financial success of our company. We are committed
to high-quality services and transparent business processes in
TO BE A TRUSTWORTHY SERVICE PROVIDER AND
order to remain attractive to our customers in an increasingly
RELIABLE CONTRACT PARTNER
competitive environment over the long term. This is particularly important when pricing energy products because our in
We want our customers to see and appreciate us as trust-
fluence here is limited by a range of factors which we have no
worthy service providers and reliable contract partners. We
control over.
use an annual customer loyalty index to gauge our success in
achieving this objective. We calculate this index on the basis
of the BDEW Customer Focus study. We form an aggregated
value from four customer service indicators, all of which are
available for EWE and swb: customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend our company, likelihood of staying with
the company and comparison with competitors. We aim to
ELECTRICITY PRICE COMPOSITION
1
(in EUR)
achieve a score of 74 on a scale of 0 (completely disagree)
to 100 (completely agree) by 2020. Our average customer
loyalty index was 68 between 2010 and 2013, slightly under
the average for the sector of 70. þ We improved this to 72 in
the reporting year. This score is for the Energy business area
Interruptible loads: 0.5
Energy costs incl.
sales: 306
Combined Heat
and Power Act
(KWKG): 6
VAT: 170
Offshore levy: 9
>> þ EWE-FK07. In future, it will also cover the telecommuNetwork
costs: 227
Concession
fee: 50
Electricity
tax: 72
Industrial
levy: 3
Renewable
Energy Act (EEG)
levy: 218
nications business area.
OUR WAY FORWARD
INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENT COMPANY
MANAGEMENT
We believe that compliance is at the heart of responsible and
transparent company management. This includes compliance
FACTOR WHICH CAN BE INFLUENCED BY EWE
with laws, regulations, obligations, internal guidelines and
voluntary commitments on the part of our employees and
their agents like service providers, consultants or agents. We
1 — Composition of the electricity price with EWE Strom comfort with
an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh in EWE VERTRIEB electricity
sales region 7. As of: 1.1.2014
guarantee fair market behaviour by keeping EWE compliance
requirements.
55
Compliance officers work together with other specialist divi-
We also worked on improving our service in 2014. Our sales
sions to help the company comply with requirements. They
companies are currently revising their customer service
review the regulations on a regular basis and amend them
strategies for energy and telecommunications products.
if necessary. The Internal Audit division also reviews past
We have launched a “Customer Service” project in the EWE
events. Employees and external parties can contact an ex-
VERTRIEB and EWE TEL companies. As part of this project, we
ternal ombudsman to report potential rule violations. The
will provide employees with training about communicating
ombudsman is committed to keeping this information secret,
with customers, amend our correspondence with customers
and may only release anonymised information about the case
and optimise IT processes.
to have it reviewed at the request of the person who reported
the incident.
We also research trends and analyse markets. We use
post-contact surveys and customer satisfaction question-
þ There were no complaints or sanctions of a monetary or
naires to check whether our measures are having the desired
non-monetary nature arising from non-compliance with laws
result. This helps us to continuously identify areas where we
and regulations during the reporting year. There were also no
could improve.
complaints related to the ecological impact of our activities
>> þ G4-SO08, þ G4-EN34.
CERTIFIED PROCESSES, AWARD-WINNING SERVICE
CODE OF CONDUCT PROVIDES GUIDANCE
Our telecommunications business area is ISO 9001 and ISO
10002-certified, showing that our quality management and
EWE introduced a Group-wide code of conduct in 2012. It
complaints management processes meet the demanding re-
provides standards which our employees have to meet when
quirements of our customers. The computer magazine CHIP
dealing with customers, business partners or officials. These
confirmed the high quality of the customer service provided
standards cover issues like accepting gifts or invitations or the
by our telecommunications division in 2014, with EWE’s DSL
handling of information about the company and the property
and landline service hotline judged to be “very good”. They
and resources of the EWE Group. Every new employee is in-
were particularly impressed by the availability of the hotline
formed about compliance and our code of conduct.
and how quickly they were able to speak to someone.
BEING ACTIVE WHERE OUR CUSTOMERS ARE
Energy customers also receive high quality service from
EWE. The magazine gave this service area a “good” rating.
Our customers contact us about five million times per year.
The reviewers were particularly positive about our availabil-
We endeavour to provide them in good time and in person
ity, service and transparency.
with a high level of service. We achieve this with a dense
network of customer centres and service points in our regions – with more than 40 sites, this is one of EWE’s unique
selling points.
56
INCREASING CUSTOMER LOYALTY
WITH OPENNESS AND
TRANSPARENCY
“It needs to be easy to understand how energy is supplied,”
Heinz Schirmer brings this information to bear in the nu-
said Heinz Schirmer, who started his eighteen-month ten-
merous “energy chats” that he has. “I have been going up to
ure on EWE’s Brandenburg customer advisory board in the
people in the supermarket or on the street and asking them
middle of last year. Here’s what he makes of the board’s first
how satisfied they are with their electricity and gas suppli-
three meetings: EWE pays close attention when he tells them
er for years now. We talk about using modern technology in
their home,” explained the 66-year-old. His takeaway from
these chats? “People want to be involved. A lack of transparency leads to people making bad decisions and getting stuck
in their ways.” If people feel like they’re being ignored, they
tend to be more negative about wind farms, gas storage facilities and cable routes. Their choice of energy supplier then
becomes based on price alone.
Heinz Schirmer agrees that price is an important criterion,
“but customers shouldn’t lose sight of the advantages that
Heinz Schirmer,
member of the EWE
customer advisory
board in Brandenburg
come with using a regional energy provider.” For instance,
customers can go into their local EWE customer centre to get
advice about which tariff is right for them or find out about
the latest technological developments. Regionality is a vital
prerequisite for a transparent energy market.
Heinz Schirmer frequently meets elderly and young people
about what citizens want from their energy provider or are-
who are stuck in their ways because of a lack of transparency.
as where they do not have enough information or have pre-
“Elderly people resign themselves because there’s nobody to
conceived notions. EWE is also very open with the advisory
help them understand all of the new technology and offerings
board members about why it does what it does and provides
that are available.” On the other hand, young people, he said,
extensive information about the legal framework and energy
take energy for granted and expect it to just work without
policy.
any issues. “If it doesn’t, then it’s someone else’s fault.” Both
of these attitudes prevent energy from being used as well as
57
Constructive criticism wanted: meeting of the customer advisory board in Wildau, Brandenburg
it could be. That’s why Heinz Schirmer told the customer ad-
CUSTOMER ADVISORY BOARDS
visory board that “we have to increase awareness of how to
use energy efficiently. EWE can help do this in Brandenburg.”
According to Nadine Auras, who is responsible for the customer advisory boards in the Brandenburg/Rügen business
region, “that’s exactly the kind of information that we want
from our customer advisory boards.” EWE would then use
the feedback from the advisory boards to get better. “They
show us the areas where we need to be more transparent and
communicate more with customers.” That’s why the advisory boards focus on straight talk rather than small talk when
they meet, she said. The members of the advisory boards set
the agenda. The first two meetings focused on the future of
energy supply. Now service, customer loyalty and prices are
on the docket.
EWE has also been communicating with customers through three customer advisory boards in
the Weser-Ems, Weser-Elbe and Brandenburg
regions since 2011. The 15 members on each of
the first advisory boards served for two years.
As a result of their work, EWE made the pricing
leaflets that it sends out with its bills easier to
understand and developed new services for its
customers like thermography checks. The second
generation of advisory board members has been
meeting since 2014. EWE found in the first phase
that the advisory boards became less willing to
be critical after a certain amount of time, so the
members serve in their positions for 18 months.
The number of board members was also increased from 15 to 20. Any customer can become
an advisory board member.
58
HEALTH AND
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
The health of our employees is integral to the success of our
tral health management team. This gives employees the op-
company. As an employer, we take responsibility for our
portunity to play an active role in helping the company to be
employees by helping them to stay healthy and making their
healthy and allows us to take a more systematic approach to
working environment as safe as possible.
health management. Corporate Centre’s Working Group for
Health has the same objective. This working group is made
up of employees from the HR and HSE (Health, Safety &
OUR OBJECTIVE
Environment) Corporate Centre functions, EWE’s company
health insurance scheme (BKK EWE), social welfare officers,
TO OFFER A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRON-
members of the Works Council and the company’s doctors,
MENT AT ALL TIMES
all working together on ways to improve the health of our
workforce.
We want to make sure that our employees stay healthy and
are always safe in their workplace. We have set up the healthy
REGULAR TRAINING SESSIONS, SEMINARS AND WORK-
employees rate1 as a central management tool so that we
SHOPS
can measure our progress in this area. þ The figure for 2014
was 95.3 per cent, which shows that we are already doing
The EWE Group provides regular training sessions devoted
extremely well in this area >> þ EWE-FK08, þ G4-LA06. We
to health issues such as stress prevention. These events also
want to improve this figure to 97 per cent by 2020.
involve activities like yoga or Pilates. We provide seminars
about time management and self-management to help employees and managers handle stress properly and realise their
OUR WAY FORWARD
personal limits.
A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO HEALTH MANAGEMENT
We are currently planning a management curriculum which
will make managers aware of how important the health
In 2014, we set up a central health management coordina-
of their employees is. We will also be providing follow-up
tion unit at the Corporate Centre level. The German Group
seminars about topics like “healthy management”. This will
companies also have coordinators who help to organise and
help our managers to spot potential health issues which
implement measures. EWE’s subsidiary BTC, for example, has
could affect their employees and do something about them.
introduced health scouts at its German sites. They serve as a
point of contact between the sites’ employees and the cen1 — The healthy employee rate stands in opposition to the absence
rate. This means that if the absence ratio is 3 per cent, the healthy
employee rate is 97 per cent. The absence rate is the ratio of days
of absence resulting from incapacity to work to the target number
of working days assigned to the reporting period. This also includes
annual leave.
59
þ REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS INCL. ACCIDENTS ON THE
HEALTHY EATING AND DAY-TO-DAY FITNESS
WAY TO WORK (RATE PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES )
2
EWE picked up the issue of healthy eating in 2014 as part of
the City of Oldenburg’s “Sustainable consumption - pleasure
with a healthy conscience” initiative and provided sustainable meals at some of its canteens for a month. All of the
19.96
meals were prepared only with seasonal, fair-trade and regional products or ingredients from sustainable sources. In
future, we want to make similar meals a part of our canteen’s
10.86
11.38
regular menus.
9.15
Fitness is also part of EWE’s approach to health management.
BKK EWE launched a fresh initiative in March 2014 that encouraged employees to cycle to work. This is a fixed compo-
1.99
nent of the annual health programme. Around 100 people
took part and switched to taking their bike for at least 20
business days. The winner was awarded a prize. The health
programme was well received, with around 35 per cent of our
EWE
TOTAL
2014
EWE
GERMANY
2014
EWE
ABROAD
2014
þ G4-LA06
þ G4-LA06
þ G4-LA06
5-YEAR
EWE AVERAGE3
5-YEAR AVERAGE OF THE EMPLOYER’S
LIABILITY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION FOR
ENERGY TEXTILES ELECTRONICS MEDIA
PRODUCTS (2009–2013)4
employees taking part in the various initiatives we offered in
2014.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY INTEGRAL
TO EWE
2 — In addition to the companies listed as part of the scope of the
report (see p. 75), the accident indicators (indicator G4-LA06)
include the companies BIBER GmbH, EnergieCampus GmbH and
GSN Gebäudesicherheit Nord GmbH, which have around 150
employees.
3 — Not identical to the scope of the sustainability report (see p. 75).
The EWE average does not include the following companies: BTC
AG, BTC IT Services GmbH, EWE TEL, swb AG (including subsidiaries) and the Turkish and Polish EWE companies.
4 — Source: 2013 annual report of the Employer’s Liability Insurance
Association for Energy Textiles Electronics Media Products
(BG ETEM)
EWE’s occupational health and safety is coordinated by the
HSE Corporate Centre function. Each of the companies has
occupational health and safety specialists who take care
of our employees’ safety. They help managers to draw up
safety requirements, such as how to operate equipment and
machinery correctly or when to wear personal protective
equipment, and work together to make sure they are complied with.
> Continue on p. 62
60
POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION
IN MITTELSBÜREN:
PUTTING SAFETY FIRST
On average, twice as many people have accidents on con-
Jürgen Müller is the Head Safety Engineer at EWE’s subsidiary
struction sites than anywhere else in the industrial and trade
swb, which holds a majority 52 per cent stake in the Mittels-
sectors. And it’s not hard to see how a major construction site
büren gas and steam power plant. He believes that the site’s
could be unsafe – heavy loads dangling overhead, trip hazards
excellent safety record was primarily down to swb bringing
three different approaches to occupational safety together:
There were no serious accidents
or accidents with long-term
consequences over the course
of the three-and-a-half-year
construction project, which
took more than 3.2 million
man-hours.
lurking everywhere, employees from different companies
working together and a steady stream of vehicles bringing
new materials. The construction site for the steam turbine
power plant in Bremen-Mittelsbüren, on the other hand, was
not an unsafe area where accidents were waiting to happen.
There were no serious accidents or accidents with long-term
consequences over the course of the three-and-a-half-year
construction project, which took more than 3.2 million manhours. There were just eight workplace accidents that caused
anyone to miss any time, amounting to 50 lost days in total.
“At swb, we came at the issue from the traditional German
angle of mitigating hazardous situations in advance; the consortium was headed up by General Electric (GE), which came
from the Anglo-Saxon tradition of written codes of conduct;
and GE’s Spanish partner Cobra came from the Southern
European tradition of extremely cautious safety measures.”
The team approves security measures.
61
Employees in the
rescue-at-height team
train to abseil with a
rescue stretcher on the
construction site.
Training, monitoring and coordination were needed to imple-
identify with our safety philosophy,” said Arantxa Casado and
ment the shared safety philosophy – construction workers
Cedric Moulin, speaking from experience. Because of this, the
had to make themselves familiar with it online or using termi-
Health and Safety Managers for Cobra and GE were generous
nals on-site before they were allowed onto the construction
with praise and handing out small rewards whenever anyone
site. After passing a test about what they know, they were
showed particular care for their own safety and the safety of
issued additional instructions about site regulations, working
their colleagues.
at height and working in potentially explosive environments.
The construction companies also met over 700 times over
For Matthias Schaup, the Managing Director of the pow-
the past three and a half years to coordinate their work and
er plant company, the positive outcome shows that safety
rule out putting each other at risk.
training should focus on safety measures in future. According
to the accident statistics of the Employer’s Liability Insurance
Compliance with the rules was monitored on a daily basis.
Association for Energy Textiles Electronics Media Products,
Each company with more than 20 employees on the con-
30 per cent of all accidents were due to falling, slipping or
struction site had to provide at least one safety officer. Safe-
tripping. But hardly any accidents like these happened on the
ty specialists from swb, GE and Cobra were always on site.
construction site for the Mittelsbüren power plant.
“These checks alone can’t guarantee that employees really
62
> The occupational health and safety specialists work together with company doctors, safety officers and works
1.46
councils on occupational health and safety committees in
þ injuries per 200,000 work hours5 in 2014
safety measures are kept up to date. These assessments in-
>> þ G4-LA06
each Group company. They advise the management and executives of the subsidiaries on occupational safety, health and
accident prevention.
þ Management performs regular risk assessments to make
sure that safety requirements and occupational health and
volve evaluating safety measures and amending them if
necessary >> þ TC-IO03. þ The low number of reportable
work accidents (including accidents on the way to work) show
95.3
%
that our occupational health and safety measures are effective. In 2014, there were 10.86 accidents per 1,000 employees2
>> þ G4-LA06. According to the Employer’s Liability Insurance Association for Energy Textiles Electronics Media Products, the industry average was 19.96 accidents per 1,000 employees between 2009 and 2013, almost twice as high.
þ 2014 healthy employee rate
>> þ EWE-FK08, þ G4-LA06
16.54
þ lost days per 200,000 work hours5 in 2014
>> þ G4-LA06
5 — The amount of working hours is equal to the total working time.
These were calculated as either the number of hours worked or the
number of planned hours less public holidays, annual leave and
illness statistics.
63
EMPLOYEES
AND EDUCATION
Long-term retention of qualified employees is a vital part of
We want to reduce this figure to 75 weekdays by 2020. The
EWE’s success. Because we are involved in so many areas –
national benchmark is around 60 days. When we set our tar-
energy, telecommunications, information technology – EWE
get, we calculated that the amount of time required to fill
needs employees with a wide range of skills and expertise. The
positions will rise across the sector between now and 2020
impact of demographic changes on the labour market is making
because of the anticipated lack of qualified personnel. We
it increasingly difficult for the company to attract specialists
also took note of the fact that EWE generally advertises
and retain them in the long-term. That’s why we are committed
vacant positions internally first. EWE then advertises them
to providing apprenticeships in line with our requirements and
publicly if they can’t be filled internally. This tends to in-
training our employees, in addition to recruiting qualified per-
crease the amount of time needed to fill positions.
sonnel for the future.
We have a long-term human resources plan in place to keep
OUR WAY FORWARD
key expertise in the company. The economic situation has also
put us in the challenging situation of having to cut 500 jobs by
INCORPORATING DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS
2017. We will strive to do this in a socially acceptable manner
without redundancies for operational reasons.
Demographic changes will transform the age structure of
EWE’s workforce. That’s why we launched a demographics
management system in 2014, through which we have derived
OUR OBJECTIVE
important information from an analysis of the age structures
in the company. The age-related contraction of the workforce
TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER FOR OUR REGIONS
will pick up pace significantly from 2020 onwards as people
born in baby boom years go into retirement. In 2025, more
Despite the challenging economic conditions currently facing
than half of our employees will be over 50 years old.
us, we want to be an employer who is in demand and able to
shape the energy future with employees who perform well
We have drawn up HR measures to keep expertise in the com-
and possess relevant expertise and skills. þ We use the time
pany and recruit new employees with an eye to the future.
taken to fill positions as an indicator of how attractive we are
We are implementing a Group-wide strategic human resourc-
as an employer. This is the number of weekdays between a
es planning system to make sure that we have the personnel
position being advertised and the employment contract be-
required to be successful as a business and to draw up human
ing signed. In 2014, this number was 85.6 days. This calcula-
resources programmes that will help us achieve this goal. We
tion covers all internally and externally advertised jobs, with
also want to establish new ways of working together, such
the exception of apprentice, trainee and internship positions
as making sure that teams are made up of mixed age groups.
>> þ EWE-FK09.
We want to be more attractive to specific target groups, in
particular women, apprentices and young employees for

non-academic and business divisions, and to promote the
transfer of knowledge from older to younger employees. We
64
want to set up our health, professional training and career
programmes so that they are tailored to the various stages of
life that every age group in the company is at.
2014 AWARDS
We have been developing a brand identity as an employer
since 2014. This brand identity will help employees to identify with the company and help us to attract qualified employees.
“BERUFUNDFAMILIE”
INVESTING IN PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
(CAREER AND FAMILY)
AND APPRENTICESHIPS
swb recertified
EWE is training around 320 young people in a wide range of
with “berufundfamilie” audit
professions. They include industrial engineering electricians,
IT specialists, home economists and wastewater technology
specialists. The company has another 95 young adults going
through parallel vocational training and degree programmes
in electrical engineering, business administration or industrial engineering and management. EWE’s EnergieCampus is a
“GREAT PLACE TO WORK”
central education facility in Oldenburg which provides workshops, classrooms and accommodation. It allows apprentices
Bursagaz named
from outside the Oldenburg area to stay on the campus in
best employer
company-owned accommodation. The EnergieCampus provides them with mentoring and specialist training. > p. 66
“A place to live and learn”
We also help students from a variety of disciplines with their
Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis. We provide a 24 month trainee
“GLEICH-WICHTIG”
(EQUALLY IMPORTANT)
EWE Polska named fairest employer
in “Gleich-Wichtig” competition
programme for university graduates.
65
AGE STRUCTURE OF OUR WORKFORCE (in %)
þ We provide our employees with regular training at the
þ
Group’s professional training centre. We provide training
for current and future managers at the EWE Academy. The
management programme’s strong focus on strategy and entrepreneurship helps participants to develop new solutions
and feed their suggestions into their company >> þ G4-LA10.
BALANCING CAREER AND FAMILY
EWE wants to enable its employees to balance the demands
2014
of work and family. Flexible working hours, healthcare and
retirement benefits, childcare at the Oldenburg site and
working time accounts in some companies are just some of
the measures which EWE uses to create a healthy working
environment.
SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES
≤ 30 YEARS
MALE
31–50 YEARS
MALE
> 50 YEARS
MALE
≤ 30 YEARS
FEMALE
31–50 YEARS
FEMALE
> 50 YEARS
FEMALE
We place great importance on treating all employees equally.
Works Councils have been set up in all German EWE companies to ensure that the rights of employees are safeguarded
and their concerns are given a voice. þ The right to freedom
of association and collective bargaining is guaranteed in all
of our German companies >> þ G4-HR04. þ Whenever there
are significant operational changes, EWE notifies its employ-
Total
Male
Female
≤ 30 years
17.6
16.0
21.4
31–50 years
59.4
58.5
61.7
> 50 years
23.0
25.5
16.9
þ G4-LA12
ees within the legally required country-specific timescales
>> þ G4-LA04.
66
A PLACE
TO LIVE AND LEARN
Ricardo Breßler is learning at EWE too – namely how to play
best offer around.” Now, after spending just under a year on
guitar. The trainee IT systems technician lives on the compa-
campus, he says, “No one else can offer what I get here –
ny’s EnergieCampus in Oldenburg and does his training in the
well-rounded training in the workshops, a great room, good
workshops that are right next door. On Thursday evenings he
food and a brilliant range of leisure activities that they have
plays music with a music teacher employed by EWE and other
clearly put a lot of thought into.”
residents who came to the Northwest to train with EWE.
95 teenagers and young adults live on the campus. All of the
Ricardo Breßler grew up 500 kilometres to the east, in Frank-
rooms have a generous bathroom and high-speed internet.
furt an der Oder. When he came across EWE’s advertisement
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the sunny canteen
in the newspaper, one thing was clear to him: “That’s the
with a view of the green Hunte lowlands. Rolf Röttgers, team
Trainee IT systems technician Ricardo
Breßler learns in the EWE workshops.
67
leader in charge of technical training, explains: “EWE can’t
provide training for technical vocations everywhere because
of the high requirements for our training setup. However, we
look for apprentices who come from all of our business regions, because they are expected to go back there to work
when their training is complete.” That’s why EWE provides a
single location for apprentices to live and train at in Olden-
Proactive ways to switch off – music lessons are
some of the leisure activities available on the
campus.
burg, he said. This approach also means that parents don’t
have to worry about how their children are going to get to
a workplace that might be a long distance away from where
mentors are responsible for organising recreational activities.
they live.
They are also available around the clock for the young adults
to talk to. “We decide what we do in our free time, but EWE
“No one else
can offer
what I get here.”
Ricardo Breßler
doesn’t just leave us to our own devices when the working
day is over,” said Ricardo Breßler, summing up campus life.
The 18-year-old likes the campus, but is particularly appreciative of the quality of his training. The company is usually
among the best-rated training institutions when Chambers
of Industry publish their reviews. The workshops are fully
equipped and the training staff is completely committed to
the next generation coming through. If you think that the
Trainee IT system technicians spend a lot of their working
campus doesn’t give the young trainees a realistic experience
hours in front of a screen. “We spend a lot of our free time
of working life, think again. “The workshop is a service pro-
there as well,” said Ricardo Breßler. The campus provides
vider for the companies in the EWE Group,” said Rolf Rött-
trainees with proactive ways to switch off, like cooking cours-
gers. “We invoice our clients meticulously.” For example, the
es or music lessons. “Playing guitar is a way to focus on some-
campus has manufactured control cabinets for the alpha ven-
thing completely different.” Trainees also use the Facebook
tus and Riffgat wind farms.
group to arrange times to meet up to play sports, cards or
billiards, or to watch TV together in the common rooms. Four
68
DATA PROTECTION
AND INFORMATION SECURITY
Treating customer and company data as confidential is an inte-
OUR WAY FORWARD
gral part of our company policy and processes. In these digital
times, we use an information management system that is
GUARANTEEING DATA PROTECTION
aligned with the security and compliance requirements of our
company. It covers the areas of data protection, information
The data protection officers of our individual companies are
security and the unbundling of the Network and Sales business
subject to especially stringent confidentiality requirements
areas.
and are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of
German data protection legislation and other data protection regulations are complied with. We have a Group functio-
OUR OBJECTIVE
nal division policy devoted to data protection which governs
tasks, personal duties and responsibilities. Our data protec-
TO BE A RELIABLE PARTNER FOR DATA AND
tion officers discuss issues on a regular basis. They evaluate
INFORM ATION SECURITY
new IT projects to determine the security of customer data,
discuss the impact that new data protection legislation will
We provide our employees with regular training about how
have on the Group, and identify ways in which existing struc-
to be a trustworthy custodian of data in order to ensure that
tures can be optimised. þ And they have been successful –
we are a reliable partner for our customers. þ We have set
EWE had no substantiated complaints regarding breaches of
ourselves the target of implementing standardised e-lear-
data protection in 2014 >> þ G4-PR08.
ning modules for data protection, information security and
unbundling by 2020 >> þ EWE-FK10. These are to be made
available to all companies in which training about one or
more of these three issues is mandatory. We want to reach
over 85 per cent of all our employees with the e-learning
measure. According to recognised models for evaluating
company processes, this is the maximum proportion of our
employees that we can practically achieve. Our calculations
also incorporated the fact that achieving a rate of 100 per
cent is impossible due to employees being away because of
illness or holiday or fluctuating employee numbers.
69
PROTECT THE GROUP AND EMPLOYEES WITH
MAKING SURE THAT NETWORK AND SALES
INFORMATION SECURITY
ARE UNBUNDLED
Group-wide information security is managed by the central
The Energy Economy Law (EnWG) requires that the network
information security officer in the Corporate Centre, with
and sales divisions of utility companies must be kept separa-
support provided by local information security officers in
te to ensure that networks are operated neutrally and that
each business area. They continuously review the effective-
network access is granted on a non-discriminatory basis in
ness of our security measures, including how effectively
Germany. The purpose of this is to unbundle network busi-
they protect us against cyber attacks. In addition to imple-
ness as a monopoly from the electricity and gas businesses
menting legal requirements in the companies, the infor-
(which are in competition with each other) from a company
mation security officers are responsible for improving the
law, operational, information and accounting perspective.
Group-
wide information security management system in
This includes keeping customer data separate, as such infor-
accordance with ISO 27001 requirements. They also provide
mation may not be exchanged between the network unit and
advice about innovations related to the digitalisation of the
the sales unit of a company. This is to avoid distorting com-
energy economy.
petition.
EWE also takes part in working groups, federal government
EWE has set up a comprehensive equal access programme
committees and industry associations so that it can take an
which provides binding specifications for measures desig-
active role in shaping general legal requirements and industry
ned to ensure that network business is conducted on a non-
standards.
discriminatory basis. Equal access officers provide the employees of our network companies with regular training and
are available for them to contact. The annual equal access
reports of our subsidiaries EWE NETZ, wesernetz Bremen,
wesernetz Bremerhaven, EWE GASSPEICHER and Gastransport Nord GmbH document our progress. We apply labour
law sanctions when requirements are violated.
70
EWE’S DATA CENTRES:
KEEPING INFORMATION SAFE
IN OLDENBURG
The data on the servers of EWE’s two data centres in Ol
He added that hacking poses a greater danger to the data
denburg lies safe behind a series of firewalls, steel doors and
than unauthorised individuals trying to physically access the
access codes. EWE uses these data centres to store internal
technical systems. Because of this, servers which only need
data as well as information about its private and business
to be available through a company intranet are not connect-
customers. Personal information is also protected by Ger-
ed to the internet. Professional firewalls are used to protect
many’s strict data protection laws – a major advantage of
everything that can be accessed through the internet. These
firewalls are regularly tested by EWE specialists and their
“In this country, legislation is
based on the principle
that information belongs
to the person that provides it.”
manufacturers. In front of these firewalls is a system that
monitors data traffic for irregularities and deflects suspicious
attempts to make a connection.
Ingmar Schmidt
keeping the data within the country. “In this country,” says
Ingmar Schmidt, the Data Protection and Information Security Officer at EWE’s Group subsidiary EWE TEL, “legislation
is based on the principle that information belongs to the
person that provides it.” In some other countries, information becomes the property of whoever receives it.
EWE provides its customers with a regional partnership as
well as more security than a lot of international clouds. “For
example, EWE can draw up individual agreements with its
customers for the storage of company secrets,” said Ingmar
Schmidt. These don’t enjoy quite the same level of protection as personal information under German law.
Ingmar Schmidt, the Data Protection and Information
Security Officer at EWE TEL, checks one of the servers.
71
Suspicious attempts to make a connection are deflected.
The data in EWE’s data centre is well protected.
Power cuts and fires can also make data insecure or inacces-
by the German Society for the Certification of Management
sible. If there is a power cut, the data centres will fall back to
Systems and TÜV. “But that won’t be that much help to the
battery power until the generator at the centre starts pro-
customer if they don’t take care online.” That’s why EWE pro-
viding electricity. This generator uses a diesel motor capable
vides customers with detailed advice on how they can pro-
of powering a sizeable cargo ship. A second back-up power
tect themselves online.
system is available to cover all eventualities. A gas system is
on hand to quickly extinguish any fire that breaks out in the
data centre. Any data that has to be available permanently
is mirrored and stored on multiple servers. “Having two data
centres means that EWE can keep copies of particularly sensitive information in different places,” said Ingmar Schmidt to
emphasise the extent of EWE’s services.
The data centres are also protected against break-ins. Cameras monitor every way into the data centres, and the buildings can only be accessed through a series of steel doors and
secure airlocks. “Our security measures comply with the
latest standards,” said Ingmar Schmidt, summing it up. This
is backed up by the fact that EWE TEL is regularly certified
72
ABOUT
THIS REPORT
73
ABOUT THIS REPORT
OUR FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
survey-based materiality analysis to identify the issues that
are relevant for our companies and our stakeholders. The re-
“Creating Value for our Region” is EWE’s first sustainability
port focuses on our ten areas of action: Security of supply
report. In conjunction with EWE AG’s 2014 annual report, the
and network stability, innovation and product responsibili-
report provides a comprehensive overview of our company’s
ty, climate protection and generation, environmental man-
performance on the basis of financial and non-financial in-
agement and resource efficiency, regional responsibility,
formation.
supply chain, market and transparency, health and occupational safety, employees and education, and data protection
The information provided in the sustainability report covers
and information security. The structure of the report, which
economic, environmental and social issues. Please refer to
is broken down by sustainability action areas, reflects the
our annual report for detailed information about the EWE
main economic, environmental and social issues for the EWE
Group’s performance and economic situation.
Group. þ Issues that we identified as being relevant for the
success of our business with the help of our stakeholders
þ This report was prepared in accordance with the Glob-
were allocated to each area of action >> þ G4-18.
al Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 Sustainability Reporting
Guidelines, as well as the guidance specific to the energy and
telecommunications sectors. We believe that it meets the
SCOPE OF THE REPORT
requirements of the “Core” application level. In future, EWE
AG’s sustainability report will be published annually >> þ
þ The report covers the 2014 financial year (1 January to 31
G4-32; þ G4-30.
December) >> þ G4-28. The performance indicators in the
report relate to this period. Any relevant, qualitative infor-
The indicators in the GRI Index (p. 82) have been audited by
mation that went beyond 2014 and was available by the pub-
Ernst & Young GmbH. þ Their findings are provided in the
lication date has been included in the report.
independent assurance report on page 92 >> þ G4-33.
þ The information and key figures come from the EWE Group
companies listed in the Appendix (measured by strategic relCONTENTS AND STRUCTURE
evance and coverage of at least 95 per cent of total generated sales). Any deviations from the scope of the report are
Detailed information about the principles of our sustaina-
indicated at the relevant location. This scope does not apply
bility management system is provided in “Sustainability –
to the “Company Profile” section (p. 10) >> þ G4-17.
part of our Group strategy”, along with the targets (p. 21) by
which we measure our sustainability efforts.
When preparing this report, we collated the sustainability issues that were potentially significant for EWE in line
with the GRI’s reporting principles and used a multi-stage
74
FACTS
AND FIGURES
75
FACTS AND FIGURES
APPENDIX
OF INDICATORS
The Appendix covers indicators which are not mentioned in the
areas of action sections.
AREA OF ACTION
þ G4-EU30 — Average availability of power plants (in %)
ABOUT THIS REPORT
þ G4-17 — Scope of accounting 1
The sustainability report focuses on the main organisations,
measured by strategic relevance and coverage of at least 95
per cent of the sales of the EWE Group.
BTC Business Technology Consulting AG, BTC IT Services
Total generation
87.71
Hard coal
83.63
Natural gas
95.71
0
2
Light oil
97.53
Total disposal
90.20
GmbH, Bursagaz Bursa Şehiriçi Doğalgaz Dağıtım Ticaret ve
Taahhüt A.Ş., EWE AG, EWE VERTRIEB GmbH, EWE Energia
sp. z o.o., EWE ERNEUERBARE ENERGIEN GmbH, EWE
2 — The gas-powered block 14 of the Bremen-Hastedt CHP plant is
currently mothballed.
GASSPEICHER GmbH, EWE NETZ GmbH, EWE Offshore
Service & Solutions GmbH, EWE Polska Sp. z o.o., EWE swb
ISIS GmbH, EWE TEL GmbH, EWE TRADING GmbH, EWE
WASSER GmbH, Gastransport Nord GmbH, Kayserigaz
þ G4-EU12 — Electricity network losses
Our losses in the German medium and low-voltage network are 2.1 per cent
Kayseri Doğalgaz Dağıtım Pazarlama ve Ticaret A.Ş., swb
Abrechnungsservice GmbH, swb AG, swb Bremerhaven
GmbH, swb CREA GmbH, swb Entsorgung GmbH & Co. KG,
swb Erzeugung AG & Co. KG, swb Erzeugung und Entsorgung
AG & Co. KG, swb Services AG & Co. KG, swb Vertrieb
Bremen GmbH, swb Vertrieb Bremerhaven GmbH & Co. KG,
wesernetz Bremen GmbH, wesernetz Bremerhaven GmbH
1 — Please see page 167 of the 2014 annual report for a comprehensive
list of all the companies that were consolidated in the financial
statements.
76
Conventional (MW electric)
AREA OF ACTION
Hard coal
553
200
Natural gas
306
Light oil
86
Waste to energy
75
þ G4-EU01 — Installed electrical capacity (in MW thermal)
1,220
Installed thermal capacity3
746
Hard coal
178
Natural gas
445
Conventional (MW thermal)3
746
Waste to energy
123
Hard coal
178
Natural gas
445
Waste to energy
123
3 — Indicator is recorded at all major combustion and gas turbine
facilities (in accordance with 13th German Immission Control
Directive) and all facilities involved in burning waste (in
accordance with 17th German Immission Control Directive).
þ G4-EU11 — Generation efficiency of
þ G4-EU02 — Net energy output
thermal plants3 (in %)
(in GWh)
Heat generation by primary fuel resource4
1,307
Average generation efficiency of thermal plants
Hard coal
505
Hard coal
44
Natural gas
365
Blast furnace gas
38
Waste to energy
262
Waste
29
Bio natural gas
139
Light oil
11
Other
(biogas, biogenic replacement fuels, fuel oil, sewage gas)
36
4 — Contrary to indicator G4-EU01, this also includes heat generation
from combined heat and power plants.
Electrical efficiency of thermal power plants
Hard coal
37
Blast furnace gas
38
Light oil
11
þ G4-EU05 — Number of CO2 emissions allowances
þ G4-EN20 — Emissions of ozone-depleting substances
Total CO2 certificates
Allocated CO2 certificates
139,319
Auctioned CO2 certificates
2,047,053
Proportion of granted CO2 certificates (in %)
(ODS)
2,186,372
6.4
EWE did not use any ozone-depleting substances.
þ G4-EN21 — N itrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and other
air emissions 4
þ G4-EU10 — Planned generation capacity
Emissions from generation facilities (in kg/year)
Renewables (MW electric)
366
Onshore wind
215
Offshore wind
137
Other (biogas, photovoltaics, hydroelectric)
14
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
1,553,353
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
1,443,324
Dust
135,663
Fine dust – PM10 (93%)
122,097
Fine dust – PM2.5 (60%)
81,398
77
FACTS AND FIGURES
Chalk
Emissions from waste disposal facilities (in kg/year)
29,759 Mg
Heavy fuel oil
1,523 Mg
55,147
Fuel oil
1,765 Mg
Dust
5,302
Waste
4,771
Renewables
3,181
Biomass
Hydrogen chloride (HCl)
41,347
Carbon monoxide (CO)
101,653
909,556
Total carbon (Ctotal)
2,931
442,190 Mg
3,168 Mg
Waste
442,190 Mg
Raw biogas
13,973,924 Nm³
Biomethane
34,396,527 Nm³
Vegetable oil
Emissions from generation facilities (in kg/MWh)
0.416
Sewage gas
0.386
Wood
Dust
0.036
0.033
0.022
Emissions from waste disposal facilities (in kg/MWh)
0 Mg
137,603 Nm³
204 Mg
þ G4-EN22 — Wastewater by quality
and destination (in m3)
Brine
1,456,541
1.211
Wastewater at treatment sites5
0.073
Process water
205,640
Dust
0.007
Cooling water
647,522,864
0.006
0.004
Hydrogen chloride (HCl)
0.055
Carbon monoxide (CO)
0.135
Total carbon (Ctotal)
0.004
16,219,236
5 — This is purified wastewater that is fed directly into watercourses.
AREA OF ACTION
þ G4-EU22 — N
umber of people displaced and
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE
EFFICIENCY AREA OF ACTION
Nobody was displaced and no compensation was paid during the reporting
period.
þ G4-EN01 — M
aterials used by weight or volume (fuels)
Non-renewables
Blast furnace gas
Converter gas
Hard coal
Natural gas
RF, non-bio
compensation
2,916,424,300 Nm³
28,431,600 Nm³
914,895 Mg
63,241,188 Nm³
0 Mg
78
þ G4-SO06 — Total value of political contributions
AREA OF ACTION
An internal Group directive forbids EWE from making political donations.
þ G4-EN29 — F ines and penalties for non-compliance
þ G4-PR05 — Results of surveys measuring customer
with environmental laws and regulations
satisfaction (index)
There were no fines and penalties incurred for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations in the reporting period.
Brand level
67.2 (energy); 75.8 (TC)
Main business region
68.8 (energy); 76.0 (TC)
þ G4-PR09 — F ines for non-compliance with laws and
regulations concerning the provision and
use of products and services
There were no fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning
the provision and use of products and services in the reporting period.
AREA OF ACTION
þ G4-LA06 — L ost days due to illness, number of injuries,
þ G4-SO04 — Communication and training on
number of work-related fatalities 6
anti-corruption policies and procedures
Total number of
governing body members having received
information
5
Percentage of
information
100
Total number of
employees having received information
~2,100 (taking double clicks
into account)
Percentage of
employees having received information
~24
Total number of
business partners having received information
The supplier code of conduct
will be introduced in 2015
Percentage of
business partners having received information
The supplier code of conduct
will be introduced in 2015
Total number of
training
5
Percentage of
training
100
Total number of
employees having received training
New employees having received training
Enquiries to the compliance officer
Enquiries to compliance representatives
84
144
59
Percentage of employees having received training
New employees having received training
30
Enquiries to the compliance officer
2
Enquiries to compliance representatives
1
Work-related fatalities (number of deaths)
0
Germany
0
Overseas
0
Injury rate
(number of injuries per 200,000 work hours)7
1.46
Germany
1.55
Overseas
0.21
Lost day rate
(number of lost days per 200,000 work hours)7
16.54
Germany
17.73
Overseas
0.85
6 — Excluding subcontractors and supervised workers (external
temporary staffing); information about work accidents without
breakdown by gender. In addition to the companies listed as part
of the scope of the report, the accident indicators (indicator G4LA06) include the companies BIBER GmbH, EnergieCampus GmbH
and GSN Gebäudesicherheit Nord GmbH, which have around 150
employees.
7 — The amount of working hours is equal to the total working time.
These were calculated as either the number of hours worked or the
number of planned hours less public holidays, annual leave and
illness statistics.
79
FACTS AND FIGURES
AREA OF ACTION
þ G4-10 — Workforce structure
Total number of employees
by employment contract and gender8
9,099
Permanent
7,683
of which female
2,105
of which male
5,578
Temporary
440
of which female
163
of which male
277
Active phased early retirement
of which female
of which male
17
1
16
Special employee groups (trainees, assistants, apprentices)
605
of which female
170
of which male
435
Inactive (passive phased early retirement, early retirement,
parental leave, military service, civil service)
354
of which female
166
of which male
188
Total number of employees
by employment type and gender8
9,099
Full-time
7,217
of which female
1,496
of which male
5,721
Part-time
923
of which female
773
of which male
150
Special employee groups (trainees, assistants, apprentices)
605
of which female
170
of which male
435
Inactive (passive phased early retirement, early retirement,
parental leave, military service, civil service)
354
of which female
166
of which male
188
Total number of employees by direct employment/supervised workers and by gender
9,250
Employees (incl. Board of Management/Boards of Directors and
special employee groups)
9,099
of which female
2,605
of which male
6,494
Supervised workers
151
9
of which female
of which male
Total number of employees by region and gender
61
90
8
9,099
Germany
8,596
of which female
2,440
of which male
6,156
Overseas
503
of which female
165
of which male
338
8 — Differences in the number of employees compared to the information in the annual report are due to differences in the scope
of accounting (cf. G4-17, p. 75) and the reporting date analysis
performed on 31.12.2014 which serves as the foundation for the
sustainability report.
9 — Personnel hired via third parties (e.g. temporary employment
agencies) to render services for a German EWE company according
to the German Temporary Employment Act (AÜG).
þ G4-11 — Employees covered by collective bargaining
agreements
A total of 8,402 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements in
the reporting period.
80
þ G4-LA01 — T
otal number and rates of new employee
hires and employee turnover by age group,
gender and region
Total employee turnover
by region and gender
823
9.0
Germany
780
8.5
of which female
235
2.6
of which male
545
5.9
Overseas
43
0.5
of which female
15
0.2
of which male
28
0.3
Number
%
Total number of new employee hires
by age group and gender
839
9.2
≤ 30 years
506
5.6
of which female
183
2.0
of which male
323
3.6
277
3.0
65
0.7
Average length of employment of employees who
have left by age group
212
2.3
≤ 30 years
2.5
> 50 years
56
0.6
of which female
1.4
of which female
14
0.2
of which male
2.4
of which male
42
0.4
31–50 years
Total number of new employee hires
by region and gender
839
9.2
Germany
787
8.6
of which female
249
2.7
of which male
538
5.9
Overseas
52
0.6
of which female
13
0.2
of which male
39
0.4
Total employee turnover
by age group and gender
823
9.0
≤ 30 years
382
4.2
of which female
135
1.5
of which male
247
2.7
290
3.2
88
1.0
202
2.2
151
1.7
Percentage of employees who can retire in the next 5 to 10
years by country
27
0.3
Germany
9.6
124
1.4
Overseas
0.6
31–50 years
of which female
of which male
31–50 years
of which female
of which male
> 50 years
of which female
of which male
Years
17.7
12.7
of which female
of which male
7.7
13.0
> 50 years
27.3
of which female
14.3
of which male
28.2
þ G4-EU15 — P
ercentage of employees eligible to retire
in the next 5 to 10 years (in %)
Percentage of employees who can retire in the next 5 to 10
years by job category
10.2
Management employees
0.5
Employees above the general pay scale
0.7
Employees on pay scale
7.5
Non-pay-scale employees
1.5
10.2
81
FACTS AND FIGURES
þ G4-LA03 — Return to work and retention rates after
parental leave
Employees entitled to parental leave
9,099
of which female
2,605
of which male
6,494
Total number of employees that took parental leave
357
of which female
182
of which male
175
Total number of employees who returned to work after
parental leave ended
236
of which female
63
of which male
173
þ G4-LA12 — Composition of governance bodies and
breakdown of employees per employee
category according to gender and age group
(in %)
Breakdown of employees by job category,
gender and age group
Employees on pay scale
62.2
of which male
44.3
≤ 30 years
31–50 years
22.6
> 50 years
13.1
of which female
17.9
≤ 30 years
31–50 years
> 50 years
8.6
4.1
10.1
3.7
Non-pay-scale employees
28.2
of which male
18.9
≤ 30 years
2.7
31–50 years
> 50 years
2.6
of which female
9.3
≤ 30 years
2.0
31–50 years
6.4
> 50 years
0.9
13.6
Management employees
2.2
Breakdown of Supervisory Board members by age group
and gender
of which male
2.0
of which ≤ 30 years old
0.0
≤ 30 years
0.0
female
0.0
31–50 years
1.3
male
0.0
> 50 years
0.7
of which 31–50 years old
of which female
0.2
female
≤ 30 years
0.0
male
10.0
31–50 years
0.2
of which > 50 years old
90.0
> 50 years
0.0
female
Employees above the general pay scale
7.4
male
of which male
6.1
≤ 30 years
0.1
31–50 years
4.2
> 50 years
1.7
of which female
1.3
≤ 30 years
0.0
31–50 years
1.1
> 50 years
0.2
10.0
0.0
5.0
85.0
þ G4-HR03 — Total number of incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken
Number of incidents of
discrimination and actions taken10
7
10 — Mutually agreeable solutions were found for all incidents listed
here. The action taken in each individual situation is not reported
for data protection purposes.
82
GRI
INDEX
GENERAL STANDARD DISCLOSURES
Indicator
Short name of the indicator
Page
Externally
audited1
G4-01
Foreword by the Group Board of Management
9
-
G4-03
Name of the organisation
12
-
G4-04
Primary brands, products, services
14
-
G4-05
Location of organisation's headquarters
12
-
G4-06
Number and names of countries where the organisation operates
11
-
G4-07
Nature of ownership and legal form
12
-
G4-08
Markets served
11
-
G4-09
Scale of the organisation
13
þ p. 92–93
G4-10
Workforce structure
79
þ p. 92–93
G4-11
Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements
79
þ p. 92–93
G4-12
Description of supply chain
51
-
G4-13
Significant changes during the reporting period regarding ownership
As this is the first report, no statement can be made with
regard to this in this year.
-
G4-14
Precautionary approach
14
-
G4-15
Support for external initiatives
22
-
G4-16
Memberships in associations and advocacy organisations
22
-
G4-EU01
Installed electrical capacity
35, 76
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU02
Net energy output
35, 76
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU03
Number of electricity connections and electricity customers
11, 25
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU04
Electricity network length3
25
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU05
Number of CO2 emissions allowances
76
þ p. 92–93
G4-17
Scope of accounting
73, 75
þ p. 92–93
G4-18
Process for defining report content
20, 73
þ p. 92–93
2
1 — The information marked with “þ” was audited by Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft in the 2014 financial year. Please refer
to the independent assurance report on page 92–93.
2 — Also includes domestic gas connections and number of gas and telecommunications customers. The Energy Economy Law (EnWG) governs the
separation of network and sales for electricity and gas.
3 — Also includes network lengths for gas and telecommunications.
83
FACTS AND FIGURES
GENERAL STANDARD DISCLOSURES
Indicator
Page
Main material Aspects of the report
The most important issues for the EWE Group were
identified using a materiality analysis and are listed in the
GRI Index.
Aspect Boundary within the organisation
Aspects which have a material economic, ecological or social impact within the organisation and are listed in the GRI
Index are generally considered relevant for the companies
defined in G4-17 (scope of accounting). Differences betþ p. 92–93
ween individual companies are highlighted in the report.
G4-21
Aspect Boundary outside the organisation
Relevant aspects within the organisation which EWE also
addresses and manages in partnership with external stakeþ p. 92–93
holders are highlighted in the GRI Index.
G4-22
Restatements of information provided in previous reports
-
G4-23
Changes to Aspect Boundaries compared to previous reports
-
G4-24
Stakeholders engaged
18, 20
þ p. 92–93
G4-25
Selection of stakeholders
18
þ p. 92–93
G4-26
Engagement of stakeholders
20, 22
þ p. 92–93
G4-27
Concerns raised by stakeholders
18, 20
þ p. 92–93
G4-28
Reporting period
73
þ p. 92–93
G4-29
Date of most recent previous report
-
G4-30
Reporting cycle
73
þ p. 92–93
G4-31
Contact
94
þ p. 92–93
G4-32
Meets the requirements of the „In accordance“-Core option
73
þ p. 92–93
G4-33
External assurance
73
þ p. 92–93
G4-34
Governance structure including responsibility for sustainability
12, 20, 21
-
G4-56
Values, principles and codes of conduct
18
-
G4-19
G4-20
Externally
audited1
þ p. 92–93
SPECIFIC STANDARD DISCLOSURES
Indicator
Page
Omissions
Reason for omissions
Externally
audited1
CATEGORY: ECONOMIC
Aspect: Economic Performance (Aspect Boundary within EWE)4
DMA
11–14, 44–49
-
G4-EC01
Direct economic value
generated and distributed
47
-
-
þ p. 92–93
EWE-ZA01
Research and development
costs5
30
-
-
þ p. 92–93
4 — The Aspect Boundaries are hereinafter allocated to all aspects contained in the GRI Index.
5 — This is additional information provided voluntarily by EWE.
84
Indicator
Page
Omissions
Externally
audited1
Aspect: Indirect Economic Impacts (Aspect Boundary within EWE)6
DMA
G4-EC08
44–49
Type and extent of significant
45
indirect economic impacts
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Procurement Practices (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EC09
50–53
Proportion of spending on
local suppliers
51
GRI term “local” replaced with
“regional”
Standard EWE Group wording
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Availability and Reliability (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EU106
34–39
Planned generation capacity
76
Without comparing planned
output with forecast demand
Not a focus for German market
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: System Efficiency (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
24–28; 34–39
-
G4-EU11
Generation efficiency of
thermal plants
76
-
-
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU12
Electricity network losses
75
-
-
þ p. 92–93
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENTAL
Aspect: Materials (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EN01
40–43
Materials used by weight or
volume (fuels)
77
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Energy (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EN03
40–43
Energy consumption within
the organisation
41
Limited to fleet and building
management
A Group-wide report is being
prepared.
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Biodiversity (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
34–39
-
1 — The information marked with “þ” was audited by Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft in the 2014 financial year. Please
refer to the independent assurance report on page 92–93.
6 — Indicators with the abbreviation EU (in accordance with GRI G4) are relevant for the electricity sector.
85
FACTS AND FIGURES
Indicator
G4-EN11
Sites in protected areas
G4-EN12
Impacts of business activities
on biodiversity
G4-EU13
Biodiversity of protected
areas compared to bio
diversity of affected areas
Page
Omissions
Externally
audited1
36, 37
Limited to some sites in northwest Germany and companies
with potential material impact
on the environment
A Group-wide report has not
been prepared because our activities have had very little impact
þ p. 92–93
on biodiversity.
36, 37
on the environment
þ p. 92–93
on biodiversity.
36, 37
on the environment
þ p. 92–93
on biodiversity.
Aspect: Emissions (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
34–39
G4-EN15
Direct CO2 emissions
G4-EN18
CO2 emissions in grams per
generated kilowatt hour of
electricity (CO2 emissions
intensity)
37
34
Limited to electricity and heat
generation facilities
Other facilities and emissions are
þ p. 92–93
of minor importance.
Other facilities and emissions
are of minor importance or the
report is currently in preparation
(scope 2) or the data is not currently collected (scope 3).
þ p. 92–93
þ p. 92–93
G4-EN19
Reduction of CO2 emissions
37
Other facilities and emissions
are of minor importance or the
report is currently in preparation
(scope 2) or the data is not currently collected (scope 3).
G4-EN20
Emissions of ozone-depleting
substances (ODS)
76
-
-
þ p. 92–93
G4-EN21
Nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and other air emissions
76
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Effluents and Waste (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EN22
40–43
Wastewater by quality and
destination
77
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Compliance (environmental) (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-EN29
54–57
Fines and penalties for
non-compliance with
environmental laws and
regulations
78
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Supplier Environmental Assessment (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
50–53
-
86
Indicator
G4-EN32
Screening of new suppliers
using environmental criteria
Page
Omissions
50
No information available for
suppliers in 2014
The management and reporting
process is currently in development.
Externally
audited1
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Environmental Grievance Mechanisms (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
54–57
G4-EN34
Number of grievances about
environmental impacts
55
-
-
þ p. 92–93
CATEGORY: LABOUR PRACTICES AND DECENT WORK
Aspect: Employment (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
63–67
-
G4-LA01
Total number and rates of
new employee hires and
employee turnover by age
group, gender and region
80
-
-
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU15
Percentage of employees
eligible to retire in the next
5 to 10 years
80
-
-
þ p. 92–93
81
Not including those who return
from parental leave and were
still employed 12 months after
returning; also excludes return
rate and parental leave retention process is currently in development.
rate
G4-LA03
Return to work and retention
rates after parental leave
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Labour/Management Relations (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
63–67
G4-LA04
Minimum notice periods
regarding significant operational changes
65
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Occupational Health and Safety (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
58–62
-
G4-LA06
Lost days due to illness,
number of injuries, number of
58, 59, 62, 78
work-related fatalities
Excluding occupational illnesses;
excluding subcontractors and
supervised workers; information
about work accidents without
breakdown by gender
process is currently in development. No breakdown by gender
in the interest of preventing
identification of individuals.
þ p. 92–93
TC-IO03
Practices to ensure health
and safety of telecommunications field personnel8
-
-
þ p. 92–93
7
62
7 — Indicators with the abbreviation TC (in accordance with GRI3) are relevant for the telecommunications sector.
8 — Voluntarily includes all technical facilities, i.e. also includes energy networks and is not restricted to telecommunications.
87
FACTS AND FIGURES
Indicator
Page
Omissions
Externally
audited1
Aspect: Training and Education (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-LA10
63–67
Programmes for skills
management and lifelong
learning
65
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Diversity and Equal Opportunity (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-LA12
63–67
Composition of governance
bodies and breakdown of
employees per employee
category according to gender
and age group
65, 81
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Supplier Assessment for Labour Practices (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
G4-LA14
50–53
using social criteria
50
suppliers in 2014
þ p. 92–93
CATEGORY: HUMAN RIGHTS
Aspect: Non-discrimination (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-HR03
63–67
Total number of incidents of
discrimination and corrective
actions taken
81
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
G4-HR04
50–53; 63–67
Operations and suppliers
identified in which the right
of employees to exercise
freedom of association and
collective bargaining may be
violated or at significant risk
50, 65
-
suppliers in 2014
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Supplier Human Rights Assessment (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
G4-HR10
50–53
using human rights criteria
50
suppliers in 2014
þ p. 92–93
88
Indicator
Page
Omissions
Externally
audited1
CATEGORY: SOCIETY
Aspect: Local Communities (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
44–49
-
G4-SO01
Percentage of operations
with implemented local
community engagement
programmes
46
-
-
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU22
Number of people displaced
and compensation
77
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Anti-corruption (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-SO04
54–57
Communication and training
on anti-corruption policies
and procedures
78
-
Not broken down by region
Not relevant
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Public Policy (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
G4-SO06
15–22
Total value of political contributions
78
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Compliance (social) (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-SO08
54–57
Fines and penalties for
non-compliance with laws
and regulations
55
-
-
-
þ p. 92–93
CATEGORY: PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
Aspect: Product and Service Labelling (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
G4-PR05
54–57
Results of surveys measuring
customer satisfaction
78
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Customer Privacy (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-PR08
68–71
Total number of substantiated complaints regarding
breaches of data protection
68
Complaints must have a serious
impact on the rights and protectable interests of the affected Based on German data protection
þ p. 92–93
legislation
party
89
FACTS AND FIGURES
Indicator
Page
Omissions
Externally
audited1
Aspect: Compliance (Product Responsibility) (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
G4-PR09
54–57
Fines for non-compliance
with laws and regulations
concerning the provision and
use of products and services
-
78
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Access (Electric Utility Sector) (Aspect Boundary within EWE)
DMA
24–28
-
G4-EU29
Power outage duration
in minutes per year, per
customer in Germany
24
-
-
þ p. 92–93
G4-EU30
Average availability of power
plants
75
-
-
þ p. 92–93
Aspect: Access (Telecommunications Sector) (Aspect Boundary within and outside EWE)
DMA
24–28
-
TC-IO01
Investment in telecommunications networks
28
-
-
þ p. 92–93
TC-PA01
Expansion and access to telecommunications networks in
in remote and low population
28
density areas areas
-
-
þ p. 92–93
PROGRESS CRITERIA FOR AREAS OF ACTION9
Indicator
Page
2014 status,
externally
audited1
EWE-FK01
(= G4-EU29)
Power outage durations in minutes, per year, per customer in Germany
21, 24
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK02
Number of ideas submitted via the innovation portal that culminated in a project
21, 29
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK03
(=G4-EN18)
CO2 emissions in grams per generated kilowatt hour of electricity
21, 34
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK04
Number of companies with ISO 50001-certified energy management systems
21, 40
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK05
Regionality index
21, 44
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK06
Proportion of strategic materials and services suppliers who commit to the supplier code of
conduct
21, 50
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK07
Customer loyalty index
21, 54
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK08
(=G4-LA06)
Healthy employees rate
21, 58
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK09
Time taken to fill positions
21, 63
þ p. 92–93
EWE-FK10
Proportion of all employees in all relevant companies who have been trained in data protection,
information security and unbundling using e-learning modules
21, 68
þ p. 92–93
9 — Indicators with the abbreviation EWE-FK are the progress criteria for areas of action. Not all of these are GRI indicators. The progress criteria
are also provided here to provide a complete picture.
90
GLOSSARY
BALANCING GROUP MANAGEMENT
CO2 EMISSIONS TRADING AND CO2 CERTIFICATES
A balancing group is a virtual energy account for electricity and
CO2 emissions trading is a market instrument and involves
gas. This account is used to balance consumption and feed-ins,
trading rights to emit greenhouse gases in the form of CO2
for example from power plants or trading transactions, with
certificates. Within the EU, operators of facilities that are
other balancing groups. Most virtual accounts are managed
subject to emissions trading requirements must have rights
centrally by a transmission network operator and administered
for their (carbon dioxide) emissions. Governments limit the
by so-called balancing group managers like an energy supplier.
amount of rights that are allocated. If they produce more
emissions than they hold the rights for, they have to purchase
BIOGAS
additional emission rights or reduce their emissions. They can
Biogas is a mixture composed mainly of methane and carbon
sell any excess emissions rights to other companies.
dioxide. The valuable part which is used for generating energy
is the methane component, which is obtained from biomass.
COMBINED HEAT AND POWER (CHP)/CHP PLANTS
A CHP plant uses both the generated electrical energy and
BIOMASS
the resulting (waste) heat. This increases the efficiency of
In the context of renewable energy, biomass is the total mass
these plants considerably.
of plant or animal-based organic material which is capable of
storing energy and can be utilised to generate electricity or
COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT
heat.
Combined heat and power plants are special heating plants
which produce electricity and heat at the same time. This
BLAST FURNACE GAS
means that the fuel is used particularly efficiently.
Blast furnace gas is a natural by-product of the production of
pig iron. It contains just enough carbon monoxide (around 30
CONVERTER GAS
per cent) to use it directly as a fuel in the production facility. It
Converter gas is generated during the production of steel. Ex-
is not worth transporting or storing because of its low energy
cess carbon is removed from pig iron in the converter.
content.
DIRECT MARKETING OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES
CO2 EMISSIONS
Operators of renewable energy facilities can sell the electric-
Carbon dioxide is created by burning fuels that contain carbon.
ity they generate directly to a buyer via a public network in-
Power plants, factories, building and vehicles emit enormous
stead of a regional network operator. Power that is marketed
amounts of man-made greenhouse gases. These are changing
directly is subsidised with a so-called optional market premi-
the natural CO2 balance in the atmosphere and intensifying the
um and an additional management premium. This is aimed at
greenhouse effect, resulting in an elevation of the temperature
offering facility operators an incentive to take a market-driv-
on the earth’s surface and in the lower atmosphere.
en approach to operating their facilities.
91
FACTS AND FIGURES
ENERGY CONTROLLING IN PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
REPLACEMENT FUELS
Energy controlling in performance contracting is an innova-
Replacement fuels are fuels derived from waste. They are be-
tive approach to partnerships with local authorities which
ginning to replace primary fuels like coal for combustion in
EWE has trialled. It involves EWE performing services for
power plants.
municipal authorities like preparing energy reports, energy
analyses, evaluating measures that have been implemented
WASTE TO ENERGY
or regular energy monitoring. The compensation that EWE
Waste to energy is the process of generating electricity and
receives for these services is made up of a basic component
heat by burning waste.
and a proportional amount which comes from the saved energy costs.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Energy management is the measurement, planning and control of energy generation and usage with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and thereby reducing consumption.
Energy management within a company involves the energy
needs of a company first being documented and analysed in
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
detail before appropriate energy-saving measures are identified. These can include optimising the operation of equipment, the use of more efficient machinery, or the generation
of electricity on a precise, as-needed basis.
PRIMARY ENERGY
Primary energy is energy that occurs in a natural form or
comes from natural sources, like crude oil, natural gas, coal
or biomass.
RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT (EEG) REVISION
The most recent revision of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG)
came into effect on 1 August 2014. The purpose of the amendment is to bring renewable energies closer to the market and
make it possible to expand their use in a controlled fashion.
For instance, under the amended Act, operators of new facilities must market the electricity that they generate on the
energy exchange. The revision also added target ranges for
the national expansion of renewable energies.
BTC
DSL
EBIT
EEG
> BTC Business Technology Consulting AG
> Digital Subscriber Line
> Earnings before interest and taxes
> Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz
(Renewable Energy Act)
el
> Electric
GW > Gigawatt
GWh > Gigawatt hour
kW > Kilowatt
kWh > Kilowatt hour
Mg > Megagram
MW > Megawatt
MWh> Megawatt hour
Nm3 > Standard cubic metre
RF > Replacement fuels
92
INDEPENDENT ASSURANCE
REPORT
The assurance engagement performed by Ernst & Young (EY)
references to other sections of the report and other sources,
relates exclusively to the German printed version of the EWE
or study reports conducted by third parties.
AG Sustainability Report 2014. The following text is a translation of the original German Independent Assurance Report.
CRITERIA
We assessed the report against the criteria set out in the
TO THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF EWE AG,
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines G4 issued by the Global
OLDENBURG
Reporting Initiative (GRI). We believe that these criteria are
suitable for our assurance engagement.
OUR ENGAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY
We have been engaged to perform a limited assurance engagement on information marked with the symbol þ in EWE
The Board of Management of EWE AG, Oldenburg is responsi-
AG’s 2014 sustainability report (referred to in the following
ble for the preparation and the content of the report in com-
as the report) for the reporting period from 1 January to 31
pliance with the above-mentioned criteria. This responsibili-
December 2014. The information included in our limited as-
ty includes the design, implementation and maintenance of
surance engagement is marked with the symbol þ in the GRI
internal controls for the preparation of a report that is free
Index on pages 82 to 89 and covers the following areas:
from material misstatements, in accordance with the above
mentioned criteria and based on suitable methods for gath-
+
General standard disclosures, including sector-specific
indicators, as long as they relate to performance indica-
ering source data, including judgements and estimates of the
individual sustainability data.
tors;
+
General standard disclosures on identified material as-
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
pects and boundaries, stakeholder engagement and the
report profile;
+
Progress criteria for the EWE-specific areas of action
(current status in 2014);
+
Specific standard disclosures, including sector-specific information.
LIMITATIONS OF OUR ENGAGEMENT
Our responsibility is to issue an assurance report on information marked with the symbol þ in EWE AG’s 2014 sustainability report for the reporting period from 1 January 2014 to
31 December 2014 based on our work performed for a limited
assurance engagement.
We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engage-
Our engagement is limited to the information marked with
ments (ISAE) 3000. This standard requires that we comply
a þ symbol in the German-language printed version of the
with our professional duties and plan and perform the as-
sustainability report. Our engagement did not include any
surance engagement to obtain a limited level of assurance
forward-looking statements, information for previous years,
to preclude that the information marked with the symbol þ
93
FACTS AND FIGURES
in EWE AG’s 2014 sustainability report is not in accordance,
data and disclosures during our visit at the head quarter
in material respects, with the above mentioned criteria. In a
office of EWE AG Oldenburg and during site visits at swb
limited assurance engagement the evidence gathering pro-
Erzeugung AG & Co. KG in Bremen and EWE NETZ GmbH
cedures are more limited than in a reasonable assurance engagement and therefore less assurance is obtained than in a
reasonable assurance engagement.
in Oldenburg
+
Analytical measures regarding the quality of the reported
data
+
Review of incorporation of study reports conducted by
We are independent from the company in compliance with
professional requirements and the IESBA Code of Ethics for
third parties, to the extent that those are relevant for the
information marked with a þ symbol
Professional Accountants (IESBA Code), which is founded on
+
Critical review of the draft report to assess plausibility
the fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, profes-
and consistency with the information marked with a þ
sional competence and due care, confidentiality and profes-
symbol.
sional behaviour, and we have also complied with our other
professional requirements and the IESBA Code.
OUR CONCLUSION
KEY PROCEDURES
Based on our procedures performed to obtain a limited level
of assurance, nothing has come to our attention that causes
The performance of our engagement mainly involved the fol-
us to believe that the information marked with a þ symbol in
lowing work:
EWE AG’s 2014 sustainability report for the reporting period
from 1 January to 31 December 2014 has not been prepared,
+
Inquiries of employees concerning the
sustainability
strategy, sustainability principles and sustainability
in all material respects, in accordance with the above mentioned criteria.
management of EWE AG, including dialogue with stake
holders and materiality analysis
+
Inquiries of employees responsible for the preparation of
information marked with a þ symbol in the sustainability
Munich, 3 June, 2015
Ernst & Young GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
report in order to assess the sustainability reporting system, the data capture and compilation methods as well
as internal controls to the extent relevant for a review of
the information marked with the þ symbol
+
Inspection of the relevant documentation of the systems
and processes for compiling, analysing and aggregating
sustainability data in the reporting period and testing
such documentation on a sample basis
+
Inquiries and inspection of documents on a sample basis
relating to the collection and reporting of sustainability
Nicole Richter
Nina Müller
German Public Auditor
German Public Auditor
94
CONTACT AND
PUBLICATION DETAILS
>> G4-31
PUBLISHED BY
CONCEPT, DESIGN AND LAYOUT
EWE Aktiengesellschaft
Berichtsmanufaktur GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
Tirpitzstrasse 39
26122 Oldenburg
www.berichtsmanufaktur.de
Germany
www.ewe.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Stephan Meyer-Bergfeld, Oldenburg, Germany
CONTACTS
Matthias Ibeler, Emsdetten, Germany
(Pictures from Riffgat: Title; p. 38–39)
Corporate Development –
Sustainability Team
Dr. Friedrich Janssen
PRINTED BY
Zertani Die Druck GmbH,
Phone: +49 441 4805 1101
E-mail: nachhaltigkeit@ewe.de
TEAM EDITORIAL AND TEXT
Corporate Communication
Wolfgang Witte, Aurich, Germany
Berichtsmanufaktur GmbH, Hamburg,
Germany
Bremen, Germany
EWE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2014 CREATING VALUE FOR OUR REGION
Tirpitzstrasse 39, 26122 Oldenburg,
Germany
www.ewe.com