International and National CSR Initiatives

In December 2010, we joined the UN Global Compact and have voluntarily committed ourselves to the principles of human rights, employment standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption in all our business activities and processes.

The UN Global Compact is a strategic initiative of the United Nations intended to promote corporate social responsibility. Members are committed to ten principles in the areas of: human rights, employment rights, environmental protection and anti-corruption and use the exchange between politics, civil society and the economy as a platform for learning and dialogue.

Each year, EnBW submits its progress reports (COP - Communication on Progress) and complies with the Communication on Progress requirements for the UN Global Compact in its own integrated annual reporting and further information made available on the EnBW homepage.

EnBW recognized at an early stage the importance of integrated reporting, which takes into account not just economic but also ecological and social dimensions. In order to further a holistic view of the company's performance since 2014, we publish an integrated annual report, which is based on the recommendations of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). This is a milestone on the journey to concise, transparent and comprehensive reporting, design to meet the increased information needs of our stakeholders.

Based on the recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG, dt: High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Financing) the EU's Sustainable Finance Action Plan in March 2018 was published by the European Commission. To prepare proposals for implementation, the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance was created in June 2018 (TEG, dt:Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Financing). EnBW CFO Thomas Kusterer was appointed to the newly formed 35-member strong TEG.

The tasks of the group include supporting the EU to determine taxonomy for assessing environmentally sound economies, developing an EU Green Bond Standard and developing (further) climate-relevant company information. The aim of these measures is to develop tools and information for market players that will enable them to make effective and efficient decisions. Improved capital allocation, taking into account climate-related financial risks and opportunities, will lead to a more resilient and sustainable global economy and increased financial market stability.

From August to September 2019, the Technical Expert Group opened the feedback period on its EU Taxonomy report, which was published in June 2019. EnBW, for its part, used the opportunity to comment the report. The EnBW-statement „EnBW commentary on the EU TEG Taxonomy Call for Feedback“ is available here.

In addition, the EnBW works with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

With the participation of EnBW's CFO, Thomas Kusterer, practical working recommendations for the disclosure of climate-relevant risks were developed in the working group created by the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

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. In addition, better comparability between reporting companies should be brought about, while forward-looking statements on the robustness of business models should be made. The recommendations were published in June 2017 and are divided into four subject areas: Governance, strategy, risk management as well as key figures and goals.

We have been a long-time member of Econsense and play an active role in its Steering Committee.

Econsense- Forum für Nachhaltige Entwicklung der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. is a corporate network founded in 2000 on the initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Since then, the Econsense network has been a platform for dialogue and a think tank for leading global companies and organizations in the German economy. The purpose of the merger is to promote sustainable development in the economy and to contribute to the strengthening of corporate responsibility.

As EnBW, we are currently represented in the working groups "Reporting & Rating" and "Business and Human Rights".

In May 2014, we signed the "WIN! Charter", which was developed by the Economic Sustainability Initiative (WIN) for companies that are already economically sustainable. In the course of this, we submitted our WIN Charter Target Plan. We have committed ourselves to comply with 12 sustainability principles and to increase our sustainability activities still further.

The Economic Sustainability Initiative is an initiative that forms part of the sustainability strategy of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The initiative was launched in 2010 with the aim of combining the experience and knowledge of sustainably committed companies, regardless of their size, and of promoting sustainable business.

EnBW is the official supporter of Stiftung 2° - German Entrepreneurs for Climate Protection. The foundation supports long-term entrepreneurial engagement in climate protection and works together with science, society and politics to create concrete, ambitious and efficient solutions. The goal is to call for policies designed to bring about an effective market economy framework for climate protection and to support the responsibility of German companies to devise solutions. The foundation is named after its main goal, which is to limit average global warming to well below two degrees Celsius.