RWE takes responsibility - far beyond its operating divisions. This is shown in the sustainability report "Our Responsibility 2019", which goes online today. It covers a multitude of ecological, economic and social aspects. RWE has been documenting its sustainable commitment in all these areas since 1998.
Good performance in international sustainability ratings
Only recently, the company once again received a B-Rating from the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project). This rating is above the average of all participating companies. Since 2000, the CDP has been collecting data on behalf of investors on CO2 emissions, climate risks and reduction targets and strategies of companies and manages what is now the world's largest database of its kind. More than 600 institutional investors support the initiative.
RWE's sustainability efforts were recognised by other rating agencies over the course of last year, including MSCI (Grade A), ISS Governance Quality Score (Grade 1 for Social, Grade 2 for Environmental and Governance) and Ecovadis (Gold Status). RWE publishes an overview of the most important ESG ratings on its website.
Environment/Climate: RWE cuts CO2 emissions by a good 50 % within seven years
RWE is pursuing one of the most ambitious CO2 reduction programmes in the industry. By 2040, the company wants to be climate neutral and then produce its electricity primarily with wind and solar power. RWE intends to expand its position as one of the world's leading suppliers in the field of renewables. Over the next three years, the company plans to invest up to €5 billion net in renewables - €1 billion of this in Germany.
Since 2012, RWE has already reduced its CO2 emissions by a good 50 %, or over 90 million tonnes. As a result, the share of electricity generated from coal has declined. In 2019, RWE generated only about 40% of its electricity from coal; in 2012, the figure was over 60 %. In the UK, the company shut down permanently its last coal-fired power plant at the end of March 2020. In the Netherlands, the company will gradually phase out coal-fired power generation by 2030, and in Germany by 2038 at the latest.
With regard to lignite, RWE attaches great importance to the high-quality recultivation of opencast mining areas no longer in use. In total, nearly 23,000 hectares have been recultivated in the Rhenish mining area to date. In this way, the company supports domestic agriculture and species protection. Over 3,000 animal and 1,500 plant species are currently registered in the recultivation areas. In total, more forest areas have now been created than are used for mining. Today, the renatured post-mining landscape is structurally more diverse than before it was used as mining land.
Social affairs: Responsible and fair employer
RWE is an attractive employer. This starts with apprenticeships: the company is currently training more than 600 young people in 18 professions. The trainee ratio in relation to the workforce in Germany is 4.5 %. The "I can do it!" programme is designed to give young people who have not been given an apprenticeship the qualifications they need to enter the working world. Around 1,300 young people have taken up the offer in recent years. On average, around 80 % of the participants were able to subsequently find a job.
RWE also takes responsibility for the employment of severely disabled people: their share of the RWE workforce in Germany is about 10 %, twice the legally required quota.
RWE also pays particular attention to diversity and to the advancement of women - a major challenge in a company with a strong technical focus. At the end of 2019, the proportion of women in management positions in the RWE Group was around 16 %, which is above the proportion of women in the total workforce of around 13%. Various initiatives and programmes are designed to further increase this proportion.
These efforts are being rewarded: RWE was included in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for the first time in 2019. RWE has thus made it into one of the world's most prestigious gender rankings. Some 6,000 companies from 84 countries were considered - but only 325 were included.
Society: Broad commitment to local neighbourhoods
Working together for society - that is the goal of the Group-wide "Volunteers Programme". Employees can take time off for projects, and the company also provides financial support. The focus is on social projects in the community. RWE has been promoting social commitment in this way for over 15 years and has supported a total of over 15,000 projects. In 2019 alone, there were around 600 individual projects.
RWE is a signatory to the UN Global Compact. In doing so, the company has committed itself to actively promoting human rights, good working conditions and environmental protection in its area of influence and to resolutely opposing corruption and bribery. In its sustainability report, RWE provides information on how it implements the ten principles of the Global Compact and what contribution it makes to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
The RWE sustainability report was prepared in accordance with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standard. Key data in the report has been audited by the auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The full report is available online on the RWE website.
