Sustainability has been an integral part of our corporate strategy for several years. We have implemented key measures and achieved major progress towards sustainability in our core business, our financing and our integrated reporting. We are a longstanding member and supporter of relevant sustainability initiatives and are in dialogue with all internal and external stakeholder groups.
International and national CSR initiatives
We are involved in a variety of initiatives relating to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability: the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global Compact, integrated reporting, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, Econsense and the WIN business sustainability initiative.
We seek to discuss and further develop key issues for EnBW together with other stakeholders. The outcomes are then translated into practice within the Group in a continuous improvement process. We take part in the dialogue on sustainable development between business, policymakers and civil society and actively promote the principle of sustainability in business.
In the following, we describe our involvement in CSR initiatives, both internationally and in Germany.
International initiatives
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
EnBW supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which the international community adopted in September 2015 with the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
UN Global Compact
In December 2010, we joined the UN Global Compact, voluntarily committing to principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption in all our business activities and processes.
The UN Global Compact is a United Nations strategic initiative to promote social responsibility among companies and other organisations. Members commit to ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. They also benefit from a peer-learning and dialogue platform for interchange between policymakers, civil society and business.
EnBW submits an annual Communication on Progress (COP) and meets the requirements of the UN Global Compact with its sustainability reporting and with other information made available on the EnBW website.
Integrated reporting
EnBW was an early adopter of integrated reporting that takes in not only the economic but also the environmental and social dimensions. For a comprehensive presentation of the Group’s performance, we publish an Integrated Annual Report based on the recommendations of the International Integrated Reporting Council (the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) announced in 2021 their merger to form the Value Reporting Foundation). This is a milestone on our way to concise, transparent and comprehensive reporting to meet our stakeholders’ increasingly wide-ranging information needs.
EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG)
In March 2018, based on the recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, the European Commission published its Sustainable Finance Action Plan. The Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) was established in June 2018 to develop proposals for implementation.
EnBW CFO Thomas Kusterer was a member of the 35-strong TEG.
The TEG’s tasks included assisting the EU in developing a taxonomy to determine the environmental sustainability of economic activities, drafting an EU Green Bond Standard and producing guidance on improving climate-related corporate disclosures. The aim of this work is to develop tools and information enabling market players to make effective and efficient decisions. Improved capital allocation taking into account climate-related financial risks and opportunities leads to a more resilient and sustainable global economy and greater financial stability.
TCFD
EnBW is also involved in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
With the involvement of EnBW CFO Thomas Kusterer, the Task Force established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) developed practical recommendations for disclosure in corporate reporting of climate-related risks and opportunities.
The aim of the working group, which is headed by Michael R. Bloomberg, was to establish the subject of climate change and the resulting opportunities and risks as a topic in annual and financial reports.
This is intended to improve comparability between reporting entities. In addition, companies are called upon to make forward-looking statements about the robustness of their business models. The recommendations were published in June 2017 and are divided into four thematic areas: Governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi)
We have had our climate protection targets scientifically reviewed and certified by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a globally active organisation founded by the Carbon Disclosure Project, United Nations Global Compact, Worldwide Fund for Nature and World Resource Institute. It enables companies to operationalize their climate protection targets.
The certification confirms that EnBW's reduction targets are in line with the Paris Agreement. They incorporate EnBW's entire value chain and cover all three emission categories (scopes). The reduction path for the company's own emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) corresponds to a 1.5-degree target.
National initiatives
The Sustainable Finance Committee of the German Federal Government was established in June 2019 at the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). Comprising 38 representatives of business, civil society, the academic community and various federal ministries, the Committee advised the Federal Government on development and implementation of its Sustainable Finance Strategy and promoted dialogue between relevant stakeholders in order to foster sustainability in the financial sector in Germany.
In February 2021, the Committee published its final report, Shifting the Trillions: A Sustainable Financial System for the Great Transformation. EnBW Head of Sustainability Dr. Lothar Rieth was a member of the "Sustainable Finance Committee of the Federal Government" until the end of the legislative period in 2021. A new committee will be installed for the new legislature period. Here you can find further information on the work of the Committee.
We are a longstanding member of Econsense and take an active role in the steering committee.
The Econsense Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business is an organisation established in 2000 at the initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Since then, the Econsense network has served as a dialogue platform and think tank for leading global companies and organisations of German industry. Its aim is to promote sustainable development in business and enhanced social responsibility.
We are active in working groups of econsense – for example Rating & Reporting, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Protection, and Human Rights & Supply Chain.
In May 2014, we signed the WIN! Charter published by the WIN regional business sustainability initiative for enterprises that already have a sustainable business model. As part of this, we submitted our WIN! Charter target strategy. This commits us to compliance with 12 sustainability principles and to further increasing our sustainability activities. We prepare a sustainability report every year and provide transparent information on our activities and developments - see "EnBW WIN-CHARTA Sustainability Report 2020".
The WIN initiative is part of the sustainability strategy of the State of Baden-Württemberg. Launched in 2010, the initiative aims to pool the experience and expertise of companies committed to sustainability, regardless of size, and to promote sustainable business practices.
The “KlimaWirtschaft Foundation” is an initiative of CEOs, managing directors and family entrepreneurs actively working to meet European and German climate targets. It was founded in 2011 under the name Stiftung 2° and changed its name to Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft in 2021.
The aim of the non-profit foundation is to promote climate protection and the sustainable use of natural resources. To achieve this, the KlimaWirtschaft Foundation combines and activates the responsibility, but also the innovative strength and solution competence of German companies.