Stakeholder engagement (4.16–17)
Working in the energy sector is a great responsibility, and providing energy without any environmental and social impact would be impossible. By listening to its stakeholders, Vattenfall can more easily distinguish challenges, opportunities and weaknesses related to its vision to be a leading European energy company. Stakeholder information makes Vattenfall better understand what actions to take and what priorities to make. Information provided by stakeholders includes, for example, concerns regarding climate change, renewable energy sources, security of supply, energy efficiency and equality policies.
Stakeholder communication is a part of daily business. Every day numerous meetings take place between Vattenfall employees and people with an interest in the company’s business and activities. Examples of regular stakeholder communication include one-to-one meetings with customers, business partners, governmental representatives, local authorities and NGO representatives, dialogues with permit-issuing authorities, consultations regarding environmental impact assessments, investor meetings, annual general meetings, employee dialogues and negotiations. Vattenfall’s stakeholder interactions rely on four basic principles: to listen, to focus on issues instead of solutions, to make stakeholder consultation a part of the day-to-day business, and to make sure to respond to the feedback received from stakeholders regarding information practices.
Vattenfall’s stakeholder dialogue involves all stakeholders. See also EU18 and SO1, EU19, EU21.
Vattenfall’s approach to stakeholder consultation is best exemplified in the company’s Code of Conduct, which states “Our actions should always be understandable in the eyes of others around us, and we should always make an extra effort. We should listen and hold an open dialogue with those affected by our activities. Meeting us should be easy.”
Examples of Vattenfall’s Stakeholder Consultation during 2008 are shown below.
Stakeholder group | Central level (Group) | Local level (Business Groups, business units) |
|---|---|---|
Society |
• Participation in numerous international dialogues on climate change, including the G8 roundtable on climate change, Globe and World Economic Forum. • Ongoing dialogue with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the EU, such as European institutions, various non-governmental organisations, trade associations and think-tanks. • The Annual General Meeting, which is open to the general public. • Direct dialogue with opinion-makers in Sweden that have an impact on or are impacted by Vattenfall. • Group-wide Brand Reputation Index measurement. • Publication of the CSR Report. Materiality analyses and rankings, and stakeholder expectations. |
• Contacts with affected stakeholders regarding acceptance for the construction of new plants and infrastructure. For example, the Lillgrund wind farm and resettlement in Lausitz. • Student relations are handled locally with well defined key universities, colleges and other schools and with specific messages for the defined target groups. Special emphasis is put on encouraging women to choose a technical education. • A series of debates with Polish politicians and industry representatives about issues such as foreign investment in Poland and restructuring of the energy sector. • “Vattenfall replies” – a dialogue forum in local newspapers for the local community in Silesia, Poland. • Contacts with local NGOs, such as regarding the new hard coal-fired plant in Moorburg, Germany. • Co-operation with local communities, such as by financing technically oriented schools and education, for example in Jokkmokk in northern Sweden. • A number of dialogues have been carried out with local stakeholders, residents, etc. in the area surrounding the Nordjylland power plant (Nordjyllandsværket) in Denmark, in an effort to inform about the future CCS plant that will be installed in 2013. • In November 2008 a municipal referendum was held for the residents of Vilhelmina in northern Sweden on co-operation with Vattenfall to develop the existing hydro power flow downstream in order to extract more energy. The residents voted no and Vattenfall closed the pre-study. |
Customers |
• Group-wide Brand Reputation Index measurement. | • Customer Satisfaction Index measurements. • Customer events. |
Internal |
• The annual My Opinion employee survey. • European Works Council – dialogue with employee representatives. • Group-wide Brand Reputation Index measurement. • Continuation of CEO employee dialogue meetings – 6 meetings with a total of 170 employees were held during the year. • Annual management conference gathering 250 executives. |
• Continued implementation of company philosophy, core values and Code of Conduct. • Annual individual development dialogues between managers and their employees. • Discussion of My Opinion results and action planning in all work teams. |
Financial |
• Group-wide Brand Reputation Index measurement. • Annual General Meeting – open to the public. • Capital Markets Day, an event that gathers analysts, investors, bankers and financial journalists in a dialogue with Vattenfall’s senior management on the strategic direction of the company. • Conference calls (webcasts) with capital providers and journalists with the opportunity to ask questions. Investor presentations and one-to-one meetings with capital providers. • Annual review meetings as well as ad hoc meetings with rating agencies (Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s). • Publication of annual and quarterly reports. |
Other contribution to society – Voluntary contributions and investments
Vattenfall strives to be a good corporate citizen, which is manifested through various sponsorship and support activities. According to Vattenfall’s Group Instruction on sponsoring, all sponsoring projects should include activities that are of benefit to society, and priority is given to projects with extensive positive social impact. The most important contributions are collected and aggregated at the Group level.
In 2008 Vattenfall spent SEK 195 million on voluntary contributions, including donations. Vattenfall sponsors a variety of projects within the areas of humanity and ethics, the environment, culture and sports, and community. Following are some examples:
Humanity and ethics
- The World Childhood Foundation – Through the support of more than 100 projects in 14 countries, the World Childhood Foundation works to create a brighter future for the world’s most at-risk children – street children, children living in institutions, young mothers and sexually abused children. Vattenfall is one of the World Childhood Foundation’s major partners.
- Donations of coal to centres for the sick and homeless in Poland.
- In Sweden Vattenfall has a sponsorship agreement with Fryshuset, a Stockholm-based foundation working with young people.
The environment
- The “Combat climate change!” school competition. In co-operation with the National Geographic Society, Vattenfall supports this sustainable energy competition for European students aged 14–19.
- Heureka’s Vattenfall Planetarium in Finland is one of the most modern digital planetariums in Europe. The shows consist mainly of animated planetarium films based on the newest technology, and the theatre has been fully renovated. Vattenfall Planetarium and Heureka give Vattenfall a unique opportunity to communicate about the environment, climate change and energy efficiency in a creative way. The planetarium hosts approximately 285,000 visitors per year, of whom many are children and youths.
- In Hamburg, Vattenfall has provided support since 1994 through
Vattenfall’s environmental foundation. To date support has been provided to more than 90 projects related to environmental care while providing social value. - Through the German foundation Stiftung Lausitzer Braunkohle, Vattenfall is provides support to projects on research and development, education and environmental protection in the Lausitz region.
- Vattenfall is a sponsor of “Clean Up the World” in Poland, a community-based environmental campaign that inspires and empowers communities from every corner of the globe to clean up, fix up and preserve the local environment. In collaboration with the primary partner – the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Clean Up the World brings together businesses, community groups, schools and governments in a range of activities and programmes that are making improvements to local environments.
Culture and sports
- Vattenfall sponsor a variety of sports activities, including sponsorship of regional ice hockey, basketball and football teams and the Berlin half-marathon in Germany, national ski teams and the Swedish Olympic Committee in Sweden, and local football clubs in Denmark.
- Since 2004, in Germany Vattenfall has been an exclusive partner of the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin, one of the most famous historical-cultural monuments in Germany.
- Vattenfall sponsors the historical Forsmark Bruk ironworks, thereby contributing to the preservation of this 16th century works and its
surroundings. - Vattenfall sponsors West Swim Esbjerg in Denmark. West Swim Esbjerg is one of the largest swimming competitions in northern Europe, and 1,800 competitors ranging from children to elite swimmers.
Community
- Vattenfall subscribes, through Vattenfall Inlandskraft, substantial financial credit for small and medium-sized enterprises in the inner regions of Norrland, a remote and sparsely populated region in the northernmost part of Sweden where Vattenfall has many hydro power plants.
- Vattenfall supports the German Quadriga award. Quadriga is awarded to four personalities from political, business, social and cultural life who through their commitment set an example for new departures, rejuvenation and pioneering spirit.
- Vattenfall was the main sponsor of Tällberg Forum, an organisation aiming to support world leaders on issues related to sustainable development by arranging an annual forum in Tällberg, Sweden, and other activities.
- In the Lausitz region, Vattenfall provides occupational training to apprentices in its in-house training centre and participates in a local citizen contact group, while a co-operation agreement has been signed with a science college in Leipzig (Hochschule für Wissenschaft).
- Many of Vattenfall’s power plants have visitors’ centres, which provide information to the public about the plant’s operations and promote dialogue between the local communities and Vattenfall.
