What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report E.ON identified a wide range of material issues, such as the environmental impacts caused by greenhouse-gas emissions, customer satisfaction including pricing and labelling, waste management, including radioactive waste, emergency preparedness and response plans, responsible handling of customer data. Among these, the need to develop environmentally friendly products and services stands out as a critical issue.

 

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organisation should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting responsibly.

 

Key stakeholder groups E.ON engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Customers

Shareholders and investors

Employees

Suppliers and business partners

Communities and regions

Policymakers, society, and the general public

NGOs and sustainability experts

 

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

E.ON interacts with its stakeholders in a variety of ways and forums, depending on the stakeholder group and the issue. These range from simply providing information to involving stakeholders closely in its decision-making processes. In 2014 E.ON held stakeholder surveys and discussions on the development of its corporate strategy. The basis of these were the eight megatrends identified the year before by its Strategy department in close collaboration with renowned external experts from the scientific and political community, customers, business partners and the company’s own senior executives. This was followed up during the year by numerous internal workshops and events with employees. In them, E.ON discussed strategy elements, options and corporate values. The rounds of discussions were a key component of the overall strategy process. This ensured that E.ON’s new strategic focus had a broad base and met key stakeholders’ expectations.

In 2014 E.ON Sverige conducted a regional materiality analysis with customers, journalists, environmental and sustainability experts, politicians and other stakeholders. 250 people were invited to complete an online survey. Of those, 134 (over half) provided feedback.

As part of the E.ON in Dialog communications campaign launched in Germany in 2006, E.ON deploys its employees as E.ON ambassadors. This enables them to field stakeholders’ questions, concerns and complaints. In 2014 around 165 employees were involved in the campaign, spending 78 days spread throughout the year working as ambassadors. They proactively engaged in dialogue with visitors at 36 events to explain E.ON’s position on current energy policy issues. Almost 30,000 visitors – of whom 2,600 were from a political background – visited one of E.ON’s dialogue booths. For the first time in 2014 E.ON also organised micro-conferences in Germany as part of E.ON in Dialog, holding 34 events of this type in Hamburg at the leading international trade fair WindEnergy.

E.ON also participates in a number of international forums and initiatives, such as Bettercoal, an initiative established by leading European power companies that aims to improve sustainability in the coal supply chain and the World Energy Council (WEC), campaigning globally for an affordable, reliable and eco-friendly energy supply.

 

What actions were taken by E.ON to develop environmentally friendly products and services?

E.ON set the following targets regarding the development of environmentally friendly products and services, based on the Group’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Offering green power products

E.ON offers residential and business customers a variety of green power products in response to the public’s heightened environmental awareness. E.ON sold 10 TWh of green power in 2014, which represented 4.5 percent of its total retail sales volume in its eleven markets. In the summer of 2014 E.ON introduced a TÜV-certified green power product for wholesale customers in response to their demand to support renewable energy producers directly. At least 60 percent of the guarantees of origin came from E.ON assets, half from hydroelectric stations in Germany, half from wind farms in Italy.

• Promoting climate-friendly mobility

E.ON promotes low-carbon mobility with vehicles powered by electricity and natural gas. With manufacturers offering better electric vehicles, E.ON expects this market segment to grow significantly and undertook projects to raise awareness and encourage people to embrace e-mobility. Natural-gas-powered vehicles (NPVs) emit approximately 25 per cent less carbon dioxide than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. E.ON currently operates more than 120 NPV fuelling stations in Germany and 63 in Sweden, of which 42 are open to the public and 21 are for public transport vehicles.

• Providing consumers with smart meters and energy-saving solutions

An EU directive enacted in 2009 requires member states to provide end-customers with smart power and gas meters that enable them to continually monitor their energy usage. Its purpose is to give consumers a more pro-active role in the energy market and to create incentives for greater energy efficiency. E.ON has completed the rollout of smart meters in Sweden and Spain and began the rollout in the United Kingdom in 2012, expecting to equip all of its 8 million plus customers there with a smart meter by 2021. A smart meter is an essential component for many energy-saving solutions, including “100Koll”, a toolkit E.ON designed for residential customers in Sweden. They can use it to monitor their electricity consumption in real time. It also gives customers the capability to remotely turn on and off appliances and other electronic devices. In 2014 E.ON provided the 100Koll toolkit to more than 120,000 customers, making it the company’s biggest-ever product launch. Another solution – the Customer Engagement Toolkit, which E.ON introduced in October 2013 – enables E.ON’s residential customers in the United Kingdom to monitor their energy usage and compare it with that of similar households. Participants can use social media like Facebook and Twitter to share their energy-saving successes with others.

• Providing business customers with energy-efficiency solutions

In 2014 E.ON Connecting Energies (ECT) significantly expanded its service offerings to industrial, commercial and public-sector customers. ECT designs, finances, installs and operates on-site generation equipment and systems that deliver average savings of 50 percent and in some cases up to 80 percent. The decisive incentive is that customers bear little cost in becoming more energy efficient because ECT pays the up-front costs and guarantees savings. The wider portfolio of services includes ECT Potsdam which provides companies with the ability to monitor and control equipment powered by all types of fuel 24/7. E.ON’s small and medium-sized enterprise customers in the United Kingdom have access to the Saving Energy Toolkit, which provides a variety of tips, including advice on energy-saving machinery and equipment. More than 40,000 of the company’s SME customers used the toolkit in 2014.

• Developing smart technology for homes and commercial buildings that delivers tangible energy savings

A series of pilot projects called “E-Energy: Smart Energy made in Germany” demonstrated that smart technology can help households reduce consumption by up to 10 percent and businesses by up to 20 percent. E.ON is helping to realise this potential through a variety of research and pilot projects. In early 2014 E.ON expanded its partnership with U.S.-based GreenWave Reality to improve its ability to offer customers secure, individually tailored solutions combining energy management and smart home infrastructure. In the same year E.ON also became an investor and partner in Leeo, a U.S.-based company that develops and provides smart home solutions consisting of simple and intelligent plug-and-play devices and related data services.

 

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:

1) G4-EN4: Energy consumption outside of the organization – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 302-2 Energy consumption outside of the organization

2) G4-EN7: Reductions in energy requirements of products and services – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 302-5 Reductions in energy requirements of products and services

3) G4-EN27: Extent of impact mitigation of environmental impacts of products and services

 

E.ON Facts and Figures:

E.ON is an international privately-owned energy supplier which is focused on renewables, energy networks and customer solutions, which are the building blocks of the new energy world. The conventional generation and energy trading businesses were combined into a distinct company, Uniper, as per 1st January, 2016. E.ON did spin off the majority of Uniper to E.ON’s shareholders and Uniper has been independently listed since September 12, 2016.

E.ON Group highlights

EUR in millions	2015	2014	+/- %
Electricity sales (billion kWh)	780.9	780.2	–
Gas sales (billion kWh)	1,721.8	1,171.0	+47
Sales	116,218	113,095	+3
EBITDA	7,557	8,376	-10
EBIT	4,369	4,695	-7
Underlying net income	1,648	1,646	–
Investments	4,174	4,637	-10
Employees (at year-end)	56,490	58,811	-4

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by E.ON, located at the links below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the following links:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

http://www.eon.com/en/about-us/profile.html (Retrieved Oct 2016)

http://www.eon.com/en/about-us/profile/facts-and-figures.html (Retrieved Oct 2016)

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

What are the material issues (most important impacts) the World Bank has identified?

In its 2015 Sustainability Review the World Bank identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, emissions, effluents and waste, market presence, occupational health and safety, human rights grievance mechanisms, local communities. However, with nearly 12,000 employees in more than 120 offices worldwide, united by a common mission – eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 and boost shared prosperity in a sustainable manner –, promoting a positive and respectful workplace that will help it retain the world’s top talent is a key material issue for the World Bank. The table below provides a complete list of the material aspects identified by the World Bank:

ECONOMIC	·    1 ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ·    2 MARKET PRESENCE ·     3 INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL	·    4 ENERGY ·    5 BIODIVERSITY ·    6 EMISSIONS ·    7 EFFLUENTS AND WASTE ·    8 OVERALL ·    9 SUPPLIER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ·    10 ENVIRONMENTAL GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS
SOCIAL: LABOR PRACTICES AND DECENT WORK	·    11 EMPLOYMENT ·    12 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ·    13 TRAINING AND EDUCATION ·    14 DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ·    15 LABOR PRACTICES GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS
SOCIAL: HUMAN RIGHTS	·    16 INVESTMENT ·    17 NON-DISCRIMINATION ·    18 CHILD LABOR ·    19 INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ·    20 HUMAN RIGHTS GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS
SOCIAL: SOCIETY	·    21 LOCAL COMMUNITIES ·    22 ANTI-CORRUPTION ·    23 GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS FOR IMPACTS ON ·    SOCIETY
FINANCIAL SECTOR SUPPLEMENT	·    24 PRODUCT PORTFOLIO ·    25 AUDIT

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

It is crucial to remember that the stakeholders a company engages with when identifying and taking action on its most important impacts are those that can hold it back from reaching its objectives.

Key stakeholder groups the World Bank engages with:

Stakeholder Group

INTERNAL

Bank owners (shareholder governments)

Bank employees (internal staff)

EXTERNAL

Civil Society

Faith-based organizations

Academics

Foundations

Parliamentarians

Citizens impacted by projects

Private sector (including socially responsible investors)

Partnering agencies

International, national and local media

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

The World Bank reports that:

“The topics deemed relevant for disclosure were identified by assessing annual corporate priorities outlined by the institution’s Boards and President and by considering stakeholder input, as well as by ascertaining sustainability impacts of carrying out the Bank’s mission and strategy.”

Stakeholder feedback was gained through three key channels:

• Country Opinion Survey
• Civil society feedback and
• Queries from investor research groups.

What actions were taken by the World Bank to promote a positive and respectful workplace that will help it retain the world’s top talent?

In its 2015 Sustainability Review the World Bank reports that it took the following actions for promoting a positive and respectful workplace in order to retain the world’s top talent:

• Offering staff informal services for resolving issues

Staff issues can be resolved through various informal services, as long as staff seek help early. Using an informal procedure, 95% of cases are handled successfully and confidentially.

• Respectful Workplace Advisors (volunteer staff members trained to guide other staff).
  Key facts:
  • [tweetthis]The World Bank has a total of 216 Respectful Workplace Advisors[/tweetthis]:
    • 183 in Country Offices where more than 15 staff operate
    • 33 located at headquarters, in Washington, D.C.
  • Respectful Workplace Advisors conducted 676 consultations with staff during 2015
• Ombuds Services
  Key facts:
  • Ombuds Services are provided by 3 highly trained, experienced and independent from formal management full-time professionals
  • There are 2 Ombuds in Washington, D.C. and 1 in Bangkok
  • They respond to staff with confidential advice
  • They provide management:
    • with feedback about general trends that may be affecting staff at the World Bank
    • with recommendations for changes
  • At the request of the initiating staff member, Ombuds may facilitate, in some situations, informal conversations between staff and others.
  • There were773 consultations with staff by Ombuds during 2015.
• Mediation Services
  Key facts:
  • Mediation services provide staff with an impartial third party who helps two or more participants better understand their issues, interests and needs.
  • 73% of cases that complete the mediation process are settled (those that are not withdrawn or closed by the mediator). The remaining cases may continue to other Internal Justice services. A final, binding agreement defines the specific terms reached by the parties involved, when a case is settled by mediation.
  • Mediation Services opened 168 cases during 2015.

• Offering staff formal services for determining whether managerial decisions are consistent with a staff member’s terms of appointment or conditions of employment
  • Peer Review Services
    Key facts:
    • They include an independent review of managerial decisions, actions or inactions affecting a staff member.
    • The review determines whether the decisions were consistent with the staff member’s terms of appointment or conditions of employment.
    • A panel of trained volunteer staff peers conducts the review and may recommend that the Bank award relief to the staff member and/or take corrective measures.
    • The recommendation is sent to the line Vice President, who consults with the Vice President of Human Resources to reach a final decision.
    • 54 cases were brought to Peer Review Services in 2015 and the decision-makers accepted all of the Peer Review Panel’s recommendations.
  • The World Bank Administrative Tribunal
    Key facts:
    • It is the independent judicial forum of last resort for the resolution of cases alleging nonobservance of contracts of employment or terms of appointment.
    • 7 external judges make up the Tribunal, appointed for fixed terms.
    • Their decisions are final and binding (24 in fiscal 2015).

• Investigating allegations of staff misconduct through the Office of Ethics and Business Conduct Vice Presidency (EBC)

Key facts:

• EBC:
  • engages in training and communication on business conduct
  • provides advice on conflict-of-interest risks
  • investigates allegations of staff misconduct
• EBC received 297 complaints about possible staff misconduct leading to 46 formal investigations during 2015.
• The largest categories of allegations were:
  • harassment (32%)
  • non compliance with Staff Rules (23%)
  • abuse of authority (18%)
• EBC investigations resulted in 29 substantiated cases. These were referred to the Bank’s Vice President of Human Resources for a determination of whether the matter constituted misconduct and of appropriate disciplinary measures.

• Investigating allegations of fraud and corruption through the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT)

Key facts:

• The INT investigates allegations of:
  • fraud and corruption in World Bank-supported activities (external investigations)
  • significant fraud and corruption involving Bank staff and vendors (internal investigations)
• The INT pursues sanctions against firms and individuals who have engaged in sanctionable misconduct by debarment. Debarments:
  • prevent these parties from participating in future Bank-financed projects
  • serve as a deterrent to other potential wrongdoers
• During 2015:
  • the INT received 323 complaints about possible fraud and corruption in World Bank-financed projects
  • these complaints led to 99 new investigations
• Allegations of possible misconduct were reported by:
  • 25 government officials in countries of operations
  • 89 Bank Group staff
• During 2015 the investigations that substantiated sanctionable misconduct involved:
  • 61 projects
  • 93 contracts worth about $523 million

• Providing Internal Justice Services to Country Office staff

The World Bank’s Country Office staff were historically underserved by Internal Justice Services.

Key facts:

• During the past 5 years, the World Bank’s Internal Justice System has focused on outreach to staff located in Country Offices.
• One hundred eighty-three Respectful Workplace Advisors and one of the Ombuds are located outside of Washington, D.C.
• Mediation Services has a network of 26 professional mediators, of which 20 are located outside of Washington, D.C.
• Staff working in Country Offices represent:
  • 75 percent of the caseloads for Respectful Workplace Advisors
  • 42 percent of Ombuds Services
  • 35 percent of Mediation Services
• At headquarters and in Country Offices, Internal Justice Services:
  • conducts presentations designed:
    • to introduce staff to the Internal Justice Services
    • to help new Country directors and managers understand how these services support the mission of the Bank
  • Internal Justice Services also provides trainings, some of which are delivered to the volunteer Respectful Workplace Advisors and Peer Reviewers.
  • 963 staff in DC and Country Offices received “Conflict Competencies” training (during 2010-2015).

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:

1) G4-56: Describe the organization’s values, principles, standards and norms of behavior such as codes of conduct and codes of ethics – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior

2) G4-57: Report the internal and external mechanisms for seeking advice on ethical and lawful behavior, and matters related to organizational integrity, such as helplines or advice lines – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 102-17 Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics

3) G4-LA16: Number of grievances about labor practices filed, addressed, and resolved through formal grievance mechanisms – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 103-2 The management approach and its components

4) G4-SO3: Total number and percentage of operations assessed for risks related to corruption and the significant risks identified – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by the World Bank, located at the links below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the following links:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/22727/Global0Reporti0ive00GRI00index02015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (World Bank 2015 GRI Index)

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/22550/WBAR2015Appendix.pdf#GRIindex

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

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