CR Areas for Action
RWE has defined ten areas for action which categorise those topics and issues that pose the greatest corporate responsibility challenges for us. We have set ourselves at least one binding and measurable target for each of these areas. These objectives, the measures adopted in pursuit of them and the progress made are described in detail in our CR Report 2010: EMBRACING CHALLENGES
We are working hard to make the generation of electricity from fossil fuels both more efficient and less carbon-intensive. We are investing more than €12 billion in new-build projects in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Turkey and intend to have all our new gas- and coal-fired power stations with a combined capacity of more than 12,400 MW on stream by 2014. We are driving the expansion of renewables with investments in the order of billions at the same time.
Building new power stations will enable us to generate electricity more efficiently. But we are also saving energy ourselves and helping customers to use energy more sparingly too. This is the aim of the various innovative products and services that we offer our customers. We are also investing heavily in the new business area of electromobility, an innovative drive technology that we are pursuing in tandem with our expansion of renewables.
The energy of the future will be climate-friendly, efficient and intelligent. This is the goal we are pursuing with our partners in 200 projects covering the whole value chain from raw materials to power generation, distribution and consumption. They include carbon capture and storage (CCS), CO2 use, energy storage, smart grids and smart meters.
Amprion, our independent transmission system operator, intends to forge ahead with investments in the transmission grid in the order of €3 billion by 2020. These will include 800 km of new power lines and 25 new substations. Group-wide we have budgeted some €25 billion for the renewal, expansion, maintenance and operation of the our distribution networks in the period 2009 to 2019.
By signing the UN Global Compact and approving the RWE Code of Conduct we committed ourselves to respect for human rights and environmental protection throughout our sphere of influence. Procedures for monitoring our suppliers of standard products and services as well as fuels have already been introduced so that their performance can be assessed against the principles of the UN Global Compact. All service providers, moreover, are required to comply with our own high standards for both occupational health and safety and environmental protection.
With a reliable supply of electricity and gas, innovative solutions for industrial customers, the expansion of renewables and individual advice, we offer a wide range of products and services for our customers.
Long-term planning is vital to ensuring that we have a sufficiently large pool of suitably qualified employees to draw on even in future years. We have assessed our key requirements against the demographic risks and have adopted appropriate countermeasures. We support students and in Germany have traditionally trained more young people than we ourselves require.
Occupational Health and Safety
The accident rate at RWE has fallen steadily by 19 percent per year on average since 2002. The number of accidents leading to the loss of at least one person day throughout the RWE Group fell to 3.5 per one million hours worked (LTIF) in 2010. We are committed to lowering it further by constantly sensitising our employees and managers to safety-related issues. Our occupational health management system was set up to promote our employees’ health and maintain their productivity.
Full compliance with all environmental regulations is standard practice for RWE. The plants operated by the RWE Group functioned without any serious disruptions in 2010 and all the conditions of our operating permits were met. We fit our coal-fired power stations with flue-gas desulphurisation units to reduce their sulphur dioxide emissions and we recultivate our disused opencast mines to make them usable again. The preservation of biodiversity is another focus of our efforts to protect the environmental.
We engage with the community to gain understanding and acceptance of our actions and projects among all the groups affected. We are therefore committed to strengthening communities and promoting economic development in the regions in which we operate. Our corporate volunteering programme RWE Companius is now open to employees of almost every company in the Group. As a corporate sponsor and giver, we also support a wide range of regional activities with a special focus on arts and culture, science and social projects.
