EON Corporate Social Responsibility

When cleaning up our own generating capacity is to costly we give peanuts to schools.

2008-11-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Energy company E.ON has given a £17,618 grant under it's SOURCE community initiative towards the cost of installing a solar panel system at Wyburns Primary School in Rayleigh.

(improving some of our vastly innefiecient coal plants or building renewables ourselves is a bit costly, we prefer this kind of tokenism which is suprisingly afordable)

The cash will go towards the installation of 20 high-efficiency ‘hybrid' photovoltaic panels, which will generate ‘clean' energy from the sun and convert it into electricity.

The primary school has already achieved Eco-schools bronze status with its Waste and Energy Reduction Policy, and it is expected that the solar installation will help the school to stop an additional 2,210kg of carbon dioxide from being emitted every year.

Tony Jenkin-Jones, Community Relations Executive at E.ON, said: "The school really impressed us with their commitment to the environment and we're delighted to award them SOURCE funding to help make their solar project a reality.

"With the new hybrid system, not only will they be able to cut their carbon emissions significantly, they'll also benefit from savings on their energy bills."

Neil Stone, year five teacher at the school, said: "We're delighted with the grant as it means that we can continue to make Wyburns an even greener place to learn and work.

"The teaching and learning opportunities that the project presents are very exciting and the whole school is looking forward to the next stage."

E.ON launched its SOURCE fund in 2007 to help with the costs of sustainable energy projects for community buildings.

The fund is backed up by the SOURCE website, which provides information and advice for community groups seeking to become more energy efficient or generate their energy from sustainable sources.

The website, which contains full details of how to apply for a grant, can be accessed at

Aren't we good?

2008-11-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

We continue to put CSR at the heart of our business and in particular climate change, which we now view as our single biggest challenge. To help co-ordinate these activities, we have created a senior management position, Head of Climate Change. CSR is also supported by a number of policies, including our Environment, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities and Conduct of Business policies.

We're proud of our CSR credentials. We're accredited to the International Standards Organisation's environmental management standard (ISO 14001). We also are a member of a number of organisations that are active in the area of corporate social responsibility, including the Basic Services Human Rights Network, Business in the Community, Forum for the Future's Business Network, Action Sustainability and the International Chamber of Commerce, where we are involved in the commissions on Energy in the Environment and Business in Society. The E.ON Group is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the UN Global Compact.

EON....boldly leading the energy industry back to the stone age with new coal power.

E.ON BACKS DOWN IN BATTLE FOR KINGSNORTH

2008-11-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

National wave of student protest forces energy giant to abandon
recruitment tour.

Anti-coal protests at graduate careers fairs around the UK have forced
E.ON to cancel the remainder of its recruitment tour. The energy company,
which is planning to build a new coal power station at Kingsnorth, Kent
[1], has seen at least seventeen of its careers events disrupted over the
last few weeks [2].

This has been a co-ordinated national effort from students involved in
People & Planet, the Coal Action Network, and the Camp for Climate Action
[3]. Leaflets, banners, fancy dress, conversations with attendees and
eye-catching stunts were used to embarrass E.ON and dissuade graduates
from joining the company [4]. The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of E.ON's
main financial backers, were also targeted at the fairs over their role in
providing loans to build the proposed new power station [5].

These tactics have been a resounding success. On Tuesday morning, student
activists arrived at Loughborough University Graduate Fair to find the
E.ON stall empty. Yesterday in Birmingham there were similar scenes, with
students dressed as elephants (because climate change is the "elephant in
E.ON's boardroom") finding no target for their protest. Upon enquiry the
organisers [6] informed Loughborough students that E.ON had cancelled
their remaining graduate recruitment events this year, due to the level of
protest they had received.

While E.ON has thus far failed to comment on their decision to pull out of
the graduate recruitment fairs, Jane Benson of the Camp for Climate Action
said today: "This is a great step for the campaign against a new coal
fired power station at Kingsnorth. E.ON know they can't defend their plans
in the midst of a climate crisis, so rather than be embarrassed in front
of potential employees they've chosen to run away."

This victory for campaigners comes just two weeks before a planned 48
hours of action against E.ON and new coal [7]. The two days of action
(Friday 28th and Saturday 29th November) are being supported by the Camp
for Climate Action, Rising Tide, Plane Stupid and Campaign against Climate
Change. The new government Department for Energy and Climate Change is
currently deliberating over whether to give the go-ahead for a new coal
power station at Kingsnorth, and an announcement is expected soon.

Robert Jenkins from the People & Planet Associated Network for Direct
Action (PANDA) said "E.ON think they are safe, because most people don't
know they are the owners of Kingsnorth power station. These recruitment
fairs have helped to out E.ON as the biggest climate criminal in the UK.
After all, as they themselves boast, climate change lies at the heart of
everything they do [8]. Everyone who cares about our future on this planet
should join us for 48 hours of action against E.ON and new coal at the end
of November."

For more details and to arrange interviews with activists who were at the
events, call 07903 733262 or 07804 951217.

Photographs of some of the actions are attached to this email.

ENDS

[1] E.ON have applied for Government permission to build the first new UK
coal-fired plant in thirty years at Kingsnorth in Kent. If built, this
power station would produce the same amount of carbon dioxide as the
world's 30 least polluting countries combined.

[2] Careers events at the following universities were targeted by student
campaigners: Glasgow, Durham, Southampton, King's College London,
Imperial, York, Sheffield, Aston, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds,
Liverpool, Loughborough, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford. See
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/412804.html for more details. This
represents almost all of E.ON's planned 2008 recruitment events (see
http://www.eon-uk.com/Careers/Graduates/807.aspx for the full list).

[3] See www.peopleandplanet.org, www.leaveitintheground.org.uk, and
www.climatecamp.org.uk.

[4] Here are some of the tactics used by campaigners at a few of the events:

Leeds: Leafleted, talked to students, dropped an "E.ON:F.OFF" banner from
a balcony inside the fair
Bristol: Attended two fairs with leaflets, stickers and a polar bear,
until thrown out by security
Liverpool: Leaflets, conversations with graduates and a banner drop
Glasgow: A team of Rebel Clowns invaded the fair
Nottingham: A gang of grim reapers flyered the fair and congratulated E.ON
staff on the death rate from climate change
Manchester: A "Flashmob" wearing bright yellow "Leave It In The Ground"
T-shirts materialised at the fair, handed out hundreds of flyers and
dumped coal all over E.ON's stall.
Kings College London: Flyered the fair and covered the backs of security
guards in "No New Coal" stickers
Imperial: The fair was invaded and flyered, and E.ON were serenaded with a
"soul power not coal power" song.
Cambridge: Invaded the fair with T-shirts and leaflets, and dropped "Make
a Living - Not a Killing" banners outside.
Oxford: Flyered, presented E.ON with a "Best Greenwash" award and dumped
coal on their stall.

In total, hundreds of activists were involved, and thousands of leaflets
were distributed to graduates.

[5] In 2008, the report, 'Cashing in on Coal', showed that in the
preceding two years, RBS-NatWest had been loaned an estimated $16 billion
in 27 different loans to coal-related companies around the world,
including taking part in loans worth $70 billion to E.ON at a time when it
was announcing plans to construct 17 new coal and gas-fired power plants
across Europe. see http://www.oyalbankofscotland.com/cioc/

[6] The Loughborough fair (and many of the others) were organised by
AIESEC http://www.aiesec.co.uk/.

[7] See http://www.e-onf-off.org.uk/ for more details

[8] The most prominent slogan on E.ON's recruitment stall was "Tackling
climate change isn't something that's tacked onto our agenda. It's at the
heart of our business". This was widely spoofed by activists at the
events, by the simple removal of the word "tackling".

E-ON F-OFF: How Rude!

2008-11-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

It has come to our attention that a group of climate change activists have started a new website for their campaign against us. Can you believe that!? We take our social responsibility very seriously, going so far as giving a few thousand pounds to local schools so they can have wildlife gardens. Isn't that nice of us? According to these people, that isn't enough...they claim our coal power plans threaten the world with dangerous climate change, it's just a shame we can't power the world on wind mills. Bloody hippies.

Find out more about EON and our CSR policies here.

Greenpeace on EON CSR

2008-11-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Some groups such as Greenpeace (and the 70 member groups of stop climate chaos representing more than 4 million people) dont really buy EON's CSR. They say we cant build new coal plants leading to catastrophic climate change--and be warm and cudly at the same time. We disagree, however we like there video which gives us brand placement!

Hope you like that as much as all the EON staff.

EON CSR discussion with Paul Golby

2008-11-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Conversation with Paul Golby,

Chief Executive, E.ON UK

There is clearly a strong emphasis on climate change in this Review. How far does this issue influence your business agenda?

There is a generally increasing scientific and political consensus about the risks posed by climate change and the need to take action. The energy sector has an important role to play in addressing this issue. Equally, there needs to be a balance between concern for the environment and our customers’ need for light, warmth and power – reconciling the objective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions while providing a safe, secure and affordable supply of electricity is the big challenge facing us.

So for us, tackling climate change isn’t something that’s tacked onto our agenda – it’s at the heart of our business and this is reflected strongly in this Review. By that, I mean we are adopting a radically different approach to energy, both how we make it and how our customers use it. In other words, we are on a mission to change energy for the better.

As regards climate change, what are the specific issues facing the energy industry?

I think there are three key elements linked together.We need to secure reliable supplies of energy in a way that minimises our impact on the environment and at a cost that is acceptable to society. So we are taking our customers with us on our journey to change energy. The issue isn’t just one of awareness, because over the past year, climate change has been so much in the news and on our TVs. It’s also about engaging directly with our customers and showing how we can work together to make a real difference.

Encouraging our customers to waste less energy means they will pay less and will ultimately emit less carbon dioxide. But we shouldn’t underestimate the size of this task.We know the decisions we take today are going to impact customers and the environment for the next 40–50 years, but that’s a very difficult message to get across to a society that is increasingly energy dependent.

What can E.ON UK itself do to minimise its impact on the environment?

We are taking the lead both in reducing our company’s carbon footprint and helping our customers to do the same. So we’re workinghard to change energy on a number of fronts – the way we make it, the way we as a company and our employees use it, and the way our customers perceive and use it.

In terms of the way we make energy, we are already investing heavily in low-carbon energy solutions, such as renewables and efficient gas-fired generation, and we have announced a number of new build projects that will eventually help replace our ageing coal-fired power
stations.We aim to reduce the carbon intensity of our emissions by 10% by 2012. This builds on the existing achievement of reducing carbon intensity by 20% since 1990.

Internally, we are taking action to be more efficient in our energy usage and we have already committed to a significant reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from our business activities other than from electricity generation.We are actively encouraging our employees to be more energy conscious and we’ve appointed low-carbon champions across each of our businesses.

For our customers, we are offering and testing a range of products and services that help them make the most of the energy they buy from us. Two key areas we are exploring, for example, are microgeneration and Smart Metering, and we are providing a number of solutions for home and business.

How much emphasis do you place on research and development?

It is vital. If we are truly to change the face of energy, we must be innovative and E.ON UK is at the forefront in developing newtechnology solutions.We are one of the few energy companies with its own in-house R&D facilities and we are also involved with anumber of the UK’s leading research institutions such as the EnergyTechnology Institute. Through our parent company, we also haveaccess to the latest R&D developments across Europe, including the E.ON Energy Institute.

CSR at EON

2008-11-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) is essential to our business, because it:

* enhances reputation and business trust
* reduces risk
* improves relationships with regulators
* motivates employees and makes us an employer of choice
* improves customer preference and loyalty
* creates goodwill in communities where we operate
* creates long-term shareholder value.

Last year, we made a key contribution to the CSR work undertaken by our parent company and more information on CSR across the E.ON Group is available here.

CSR at E.ON AG

E.ON aims to make CSR a part of everyday life across our whole business and has put in place a project structure to support this aim.

The CSR Council comprises members of the Board of Management of E.ON AG and its market units, including E.ON UK, the Chair of the E.ON Workers' Council, senior executives from the Corporate Centre, and the management of the market and business units. The Council is headed by two Top Executive Committee members, of which one is E.ON UK Chief Executive Paul Golby. The CSR Council sets E.ON's CSR strategy and controls all activities in this area.

The CSR Council is supported by a CSR Project Team comprising employees at the E.ON Corporate Centre, market unit CSR coordinators, members of the E.ON Workers' Council, and heads of expert and implementation teams. The CSR Project Team makes recommendations to the E.ON Board of Management and sets out the framework for implementing CSR activities in the market units. Other key tasks include developing CSR governance and communication with sustainability analysts, supporting the market units, and communicating CSR topics to a wider internal and external audience.

CSR in the UK

We continue to put CSR at the heart of our business and in particular climate change, which we now view as our single biggest challenge. To help co-ordinate these activities, we have created a senior management position, Head of Climate Change. CSR is also supported by a number of policies, including our Environment, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities and Conduct of Business policies.

We're proud of our CSR credentials. We're accredited to the International Standards Organisation's environmental management standard (ISO 14001). We also are a member of a number of organisations that are active in the area of corporate social responsibility, including the Basic Services Human Rights Network, Business in the Community, Forum for the Future's Business Network, Action Sustainability and the International Chamber of Commerce, where we are involved in the commissions on Energy in the Environment and Business in Society. The E.ON Group is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the UN Global Compact.

New EON Corporate Social Responsibility Blog

2008-11-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to our new blog. As the UK's leading energy company we at EON take our corporate social responsibility (CSR) seriously.

You can read more about EON's CSR schemes in general on our website. Alternatively our latest EON podcast covers our approach to CSR in some detail.

Working towards low carbon energy

Produce and deliver energy to our customers, whilst reducing our carbon intensity.
Keeping the lights on

Keeping the lights on
Provide a secure energy supply, now and for the future, through reliable networks and diverse energy sources.

Reducing our environmental impact

Minimise the impact of our business operations, reducing emissions and waste.
Helping customers with their energy needs

Helping customers with their energy needs

Support the vulnerable and fuel poor, help society to access energy and to use it efficiently by providing customer focussed products and services.
Being trusted

Being trusted

Act responsibly, building customer and stakeholder relationships to be recognised as a trusted energy partner.

Our people

Creating success through our people and for our people.