Stakeholders and identification (4.14–15)
Vattenfall has identified its stakeholders by mapping the impact Vattenfall has on certain groups, or the impact that these groups have on the company. The following major stakeholder groups have been identified through impact assessment:
- Society: Neighbours, citizens, media, politicians, authorities, non-governmental organisations, potential employees, sub-contractors and competitors
- Customers: Private customers, business and industrial customers
- Internal: Employees, employee representatives, unions and managers
- Financial: The owner (the Swedish state), capital providers
The characteristics of stakeholder relations are described below, and stakeholder dialogue is described in 4.16–17.
Main group | Stakeholders | Attributes and description |
|---|---|---|
Society |
Neighbours |
Neighbours are people living close to Vattenfall plants and operations who are directly affected by the company’s activities. It is very important for Vattenfall to keep an open dialogue with neighbours, since they influence public opinion. Vattenfall meets its neighbours in face-to-face meetings with the purpose of providing information and taking neighbours’ needs into account in decision-making processes. |
Citizens |
Vattenfall has an effect on citizens in all countries in which it operates, mainly as a provider of electricity and heat, but also as an employer and taxpayer. Vattenfall is owned by the Swedish state, which makes Swedish citizens stakeholders in the sense that they can be regarded as indirect owners of the company. Vattenfall paid SEK 6.9 billion in dividends to the Swedish state for 2008. | |
Potential employees |
Vattenfall’s long-term business planning involves analyses of the company’s future competence needs. Mostly, the company needs people with a technical background and good commercial knowledge to work in the core business. But there is also need for people with knowledge and skills in such areas as environment, IT, project management and general management. Vattenfall’s company philosophy and core values are the foundation for the corporate culture. It is important that potential and current employees share this mind set. | |
Media |
Energy is high up on the media’s agenda. As one of the largest players in the European energy industry, Vattenfall is in focus. The national media in all markets – including tabloids, daily newspapers, business newspapers, radio and TV – monitor Vattenfall’s development very closely. Local media has a particular interest in Vattenfall, especially in areas in which the company conducts its operations. Recently, Vattenfall has also attracted growing interest from international business media. Media coverage is of utmost importance for Vattenfall, since independent media have a substantial influence on public opinion. Vattenfall maintains an open and constant dialogue with key media to update them developments within the company while also being available as a knowledgeable partner in energy-related issues. | |
Politicians |
Vattenfall interacts with politicians on at the local, national and European levels. The purpose of these contacts is to increase general knowledge about Vattenfall and the energy industry and thereby enhance the quality of decision-making by mutual support in terms of expertise and knowledge. Relationships are based on respect, trust and openness. | |
Authorities |
Vattenfall maintains an ongoing open dialogue with authorities involved in the energy sector. This is of great importance since authorities in a wide sense set the rules of the electricity market. Vattenfall has a need to understand how authorities want the energy sector to develop, and it is in the company’s interest to increase the authorities’ knowledge about Vattenfall and the rationale behind company actions. The dialogue is based openness and respect for the fact that the authorities monitor the electricity market. | |
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) |
It is of utmost importance for Vattenfall to build relationships with NGOs based on mutual understanding and respect. Vattenfall conducts dialogues at European, national and local levels, for example regarding the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. | |
Customers |
Vattenfall has close to 5 million customers in total across all its markets. Vattenfall’s ambition is to be Number One for the Customer and to continue developing competitive price policies and growing. Margins on electricity trading are extremely narrow, which means the only way to increase profitability is to exploit the benefits of scale by increasing market share. | |
Retail customers |
Vattenfall offers a variety of electricity and heat services to households in Finland, Germany, Poland and Sweden. A wide range of fixed, variable and tailored pricing options enables customers to choose the most suitable solution. In many markets, electricity with declaration of origin is also available. Vattenfall has made a number of improvements in recent years, such as the introduction of a Customer Ombudsman and taking the lead in installing remote meters and issuing disruption guarantees. Many initiatives have subsequently come to be regarded almost as the industry standard. | |
Business and industrial customers |
Vattenfall provides the public and private industry sectors with electricity and heat, and also offers a variety of energy-related services. Vattenfall caters to the specific needs of each industrial operation. Electricity purchases can be combined with energy solutions and operation and maintenance services to increase efficiency and lower costs. Vattenfall is a long-term partner in large-scale energy projects. | |
Internal |
Employees |
Vattenfall has more than 34,000 employees in total, of whom 62% are located in Germany, 30% in the Nordic countries and 8% in Poland. |
Employee representatives |
Vattenfall has employee representatives in representative bodies such as the European Works Council (EWC–Vattenfall), local co-determination bodies, supervisory boards and commissions. Vattenfall’s board of directors includes three employee representatives. | |
Financial |
Owner (the Swedish state) |
For information about the owner, see the Corporate Governance section on www.vattenfall.com. |
Capital providers |
These include bond investors, such as insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds and asset managers, and other lenders, such as banks and credit institutions. Vattenfall’s total net debt in 2008 was SEK 66 billion. |
