CEO Introduction

Energy is the lifeblood of modern society. Acting responsibly is a fundamental building block of our business. This means that we must focus on those issues that are material to our stakeholders and the future of our business. In 2010 we decided to focus our Corporate Responsibility strategy on three strategic issues: moving to a Low Carbon Economy; Customer Focus; and Community Investment and Employee Engagement.

Access to energy that is reliable,­ sustainable and affordable is at the heart of the country’s economic recovery. The responsibility that this brings is therefore at the heart of everything we do at RWE npower. But we face some difficult challenges in developing a sustainable business:

  • We need to work with Government to ensure that the country’s energy policy is capable of attracting the unprecedented levels of investment that are needed;
  • We need to work with local communities to ensure that our operations deliver jobs and local investment with acceptable environmental impact;
  • We need to work with our customers and consumer bodies to ensure that our recent improvements in customer service are sustained, and that we continue to deliver support to vulnerable customers and energy efficiency improvements in an economically efficient way;
  • And we need to work with our people, to ensure that they are well equipped and motivated to help us to achieve our goals and act as ambassadors in communities.

I recognise that we will only succeed as a business, and play our part in overcoming these challenges, if we have the trust of all of our stakeholders.

The responsibility to replace and update the country’s energy infrastructure requires investment on an unprecedented scale and timeframe, yet there is no single ‘silver bullet’ technology that can be relied upon to do the job. Achieving an acceptable balance across all the technologies available is the only way to deliver affordability, security and rapid decarbonisation, but we cannot do this in isolation.

In 2007, we set ourselves a target of halving our carbon intensity by 2015 from 1990 levels, and our current investment programme demonstrates the significant progress we are making towards this challenging commitment. In November last year, our new ₤650 million gas-fired power station at Staythorpe came into operation, which will reduce annual CO2 emissions by up to 7.5 million tonnes compared to an existing coal-fired station producing the same amount of electricity. However, to attract further investment in new low carbon infrastructure, it is crucial that the UK energy market is seen as a good market to invest in; one that is capable of providing long-term, sustainable returns to investors. Last year, the Government announced their plans to reform the energy market in order to achieve this. There is an urgent need for policy certainty and stability so that we can make decisions about future long-term investments that will contribute further to the delivery of a low carbon future.

The responsibility to provide good customer service, and to fulfil Government’s expectations in delivering support for vulnerable customers and improving customers’ energy efficiency, requires that we continue to be successful as a business: we must generate the resources that we need to invest in our people and systems.

In June, we established our Customer Stakeholder Council to provide external input to improve customer satisfaction and reputation, and this has helped us to develop stronger relationships with key stakeholders who now have a better understanding of what we are trying to achieve. We have received very positive feedback and constructive recommendations from members of the council, which is helping us to shape our future plans.

The responsibility to attract and retain talented people, and to equip them to do their jobs to the best of their ability, requires that we provide a culture where individuals feel engaged with the business, and can develop and realise their full potential.

I am pleased that we have been awarded the Business in the Community (BitC), ‘CommunityMark’, a national standard which aims to highlight and recognise companies that deliver sustainable, long-term community programmes. In 2010 we achieved Platinum status (indicating a rating of >95%) in the annual BITC CR index, and we retained this again in the 2011 index.

For us, sustainability is a serious challenge. The successful energy company of the future will deliver long-term financial success through playing its part in tackling social and environmental challenges. I believe that a new era of openness, transparency and trust is the only way we can meet the challenges that face the energy industry. It’s vital that we all have the same understanding and awareness of these challenges and the impact of different actions we can take.

Volker Beckers

CEO, RWE npower