For action Our commitments to you Corporate responsibility 2012
01 Our commitments to you We know we ve got a lot of work to do to regain the trust of our customers. But by acting fairly, making things simple, knowing our stuff and doing what customers want and more, we hope we can achieve our vision of being our customers Trusted Energy Partner. Many companies may be saying similar things, but we genuinely believe we re delivering on our promises. We started last year with the launch of our Reset Review, which aimed to take our relationship with our customers back to basics, and build it up again from there. So far we seem to be moving in the right direction, with uswitch.com reporting that our customer satisfaction levels increased by 10% in 2012 and naming us the UK s favourite energy company. But we want to achieve even more in 2013 and this document sets out some of the ways we plan to do it. These are our commitments for action. What we re focusing on More to come in 2013 This year we ll be reporting our progress in a slightly different way. We ll follow up this document with three further publications to make things as clear as possible: p02 Customers We want both our home and business customers to be the most satisfied in the energy industry. Our plans include working with customers to control their energy use and installing a million smart meters in homes and businesses by the end of 2014. For you Helping our customers and people April 2013 For everyone Helping our environment and communities May 2013 All together Strengthening relationships, building trust our full corporate responsibility report, including finance and governance performance July 2013 Read more online at eonenergy.com p03 p04 p05 Environment Our goal is to produce low carbon electricity in a reliable and affordable way. To help achieve this we ll continue to invest in a range of renewable energy projects and we ll close our fossil fuel power station at Kingsnorth in March 2013, which has reached the end of its life. Our people Motivated colleagues mean satisfied customers, it s that simple. By focusing on employee engagement, investing in training and supporting diversity, we ll be able to build on the customer service improvements we made last year to become better and more consistent this year and beyond. Communities Developing a positive relationship with the local communities where we live and work helps us all. We want to make a difference in a variety of ways, from supporting national charities to reducing fuel poverty and helping cities across the country reach environmental targets set by the Government. join in the discussion p06 Finance and governance We think our customers have a right to know where their money is going and how we ensure our business is run with integrity. With this in mind, we ll continue to be open and honest with our customers and maintain high standards in the way we run our business.
02 Making sure we re the best for customer satisfaction We want all our home and business customers to be the most satisfied in the energy industry, which will help us realise our vision of becoming our customers Trusted Energy Partner. We got the ball rolling last year when we launched our Reset Review. By making important changes like helping customers find the best deal for them and offering fewer, simpler tariffs we wanted to take our relationship with our customers back to basics, and then build it up again from there. It s been a great success so far, with uswitch.com naming us the UK s favourite energy supplier in December 2012. But there s still much more to do, and we ve re-worked our business strategy so we can deliver real customer satisfaction. This is reflected in two of our overall business goals achieving market-leading levels of customer satisfaction and helping our customers manage their energy use. By meeting these goals and continually improving customer satisfaction, we believe we can become our customers Trusted Energy Partner. I feel rather powerless to control my costs. Customer, YourSay customer panel Continually improve to ensure our customers are the most satisfied in the sector Happy customers are what we re all about. In fact, it forms the basis of our business strategy, with our goal to achieve marketleading levels of customer satisfaction by 2015 and continual improvements to maintain our leadership position. Work with customers to control their energy use We know that prices have been on the rise, and it s our job to work alongside our customers to help them control and manage their energy use. That s why in 2013 we ll be training 5,500 employees to give effective energy-saving advice to our home customers and to explain what goes into a typical bill. We ll also continue to help our business customers to better understand and control their energy use. And through the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, we ll provide expertise and financial support to help our customers make practical changes that create warmer, more efficient homes, while reducing their energy use. Install one million smart meters in homes and businesses by the end of 2014 Smart meters help customers save money and keep tabs on their energy use. We will install one million smart meters in our customers homes and businesses by the end of 2014. This is ahead of the Government requirements and will ensure that we and our customers are ahead of the game. Support our vulnerable customers In 2013 we ll be working to identify and better support our vulnerable customers. Our plans include continuing to offer rebates through our Warm Homes Discount, helping those in debt, offering free gas safety checks, working with Age UK to help more people get online and partnering with charities to offer more targeted support in the community. Deal with complaints quickly and thoroughly We aim to respond to all complaints within 24 hours and resolve as many of them as possible straight away, all the time keeping customers fully informed. This will help us towards our goal of being the best in our industry at dealing with complaints, by 2014. In 2013, we ll also continue to hold a series of forums with customers who have made complaints, to find out how we could improve what we do. Measure how well we are doing with our business customers We ll continue to measure the satisfaction of our business customers using the Net Promoter approach. This will help us understand how we can make life easier for them, including providing customers with a better understanding of the cost included within their energy contracts.
03 Motivated colleagues mean satisfied customers, it s that simple. That s why we want to make sure that each and every one of our 11,500 employees is engaged with what we do as a company, involved in the business strategy and given great training. And it goes without saying that we want to provide a positive, open working environment with equal opportunities for everyone. Delivering on these commitments will give us a motivated and engaged workforce and one which will give great customer service levels through being genuinely helpful. Making sure we re on the same page Keep supporting diversity We aim to improve both inclusivity and the diversity of our workforce at all levels, so that it s reflective of the customers we serve and the communities in which we operate. We will continue to implement our diversity agenda so that our recruitment process is completely fair and we can increase the percentage of women in senior manager roles from the current level of 19.3%. Continue to engage with our employees Giving our colleagues the chance to tell us what they think as openly and honestly as possible helps us identify how we can improve as a business. Our 2012 employee engagement score was 62%, which is significantly above both the UK and industry averages. We recognise that there will be a lot of change in the business in the coming year, and our goal is to achieve this score again or better in our 2013 survey. Invest in our people s capability We will support our people to fulfil their potential, by investing in learning and development to enable them to be confident in doing their job well and achieve our business goals. Find out what our colleagues think of E.ON s new strategy We will involve our employees in the direction of the business even more in 2013. Each of our managers will receive a toolkit to help them explain our strategy to their teams. We ll continue to test ideas through our 1,200-strong MySay colleague panel and hear how people feel through our employee survey and live interactive debates. There can be a lack of alignment around E.ON s business strategy and inconsistency in the messages that are given to employees. Feedback from our employee survey in April 2012 highlighted the need for our new, clear strategy
04 In the last 20 years, the way electricity is generated in the UK has been shifting from carbon intensive coal to lower carbon intensity gas and, increasingly, renewable energy sources such as wind and biomass. The long-term aspiration is a system which has no adverse environmental impact. But in the meantime we re doing all we can to reduce our impact while providing reliable and affordable energy to our customers. This includes investing in renewable energy schemes and closing our fossil fuel plants at the end of their useful life. By doing this we ll be supporting the UK Government s Energy Bill, which aims to maintain a secure and affordable energy supply for the future. Addressing the threat of climate change is the greatest challenge of the 21st century. Those countries which decarbonise their economies will not only do the right thing environmentally but also reap a huge reward economically. Tim Yeo, MP, Chair of the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee Continue to contribute to the E.ON Group carbon dioxide reduction target We will sharply reduce our CO 2 emissions in 2013. By 2025 the E.ON Group aims to reduce its carbon intensity the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emitted for every unit of electricity generated by our European power stations by half across all Group-wide operations 1. We plan to do this by investing in cleaner, lower carbon energy, cleaning up our existing portfolio and closing power stations which have reached the end of their useful lives. Close another fossil fuel power station which will reduce our emissions We closed our Grain fossil power station in December 2012 and will also close our Kingsnorth power station in 2013 as it has reached the end of its useful life. This will result in a significant reduction in our CO 2 emissions. Start to use biomass instead of coal In 2013 we ll start using biomass at our Ironbridge power station instead of the coal we currently use. This will reduce the site s carbon emissions, helping Ironbridge deliver cleaner, reliable energy until the power station closes at the end of 2015. Generate clean energy through wind farms In 2013 we will open the London Array the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, which will generate clean energy for 470,000 homes. And by 2015 we plan to complete the Humber Gateway our fifth offshore wind farm which will generate enough electricity to power up to 170,000 homes. We re also opening Tween Bridge in South Yorkshire and Rosehall in the Highlands two onshore wind farms that together will produce enough energy to power over 40,000 homes. Launch a new renewable energy plant By 2014 we plan to generate power from Blackburn Meadows renewable energy plant in Sheffield. The plant converts recycled waste wood into electricity, and will produce enough energy to power 40,000 homes. 1 Based on 1990 levels. A better environment
05 In it together We wouldn t get very far without you the people who live and work around our sites. We want to make sure that we listen to and work with you. Developing a positive relationship with local communities is beneficial for us all. It s not just about creating jobs we want to make a difference in a variety of ways, from delivering projects that help local communities and supporting national charities, to offering our expert advice to the public sector and helping communities save energy where we can. E.ON s award winning community programmes are based on strong partnerships. For many years they have stood out as exemplars with their community activity. Shona Welberry, Business in the Community Launch more community programmes We ll continue to deliver programmes in three key areas reducing fuel poverty, improving education and skills and providing funding for community groups. This will mean working closely with a range of charities and local community groups, for example our current partners Action for Children, Age UK and National Energy Action. Continue to support the NSPCC The NSPCC is our charity of the year for 2013. We ll continue to raise funds for the NSPCC throughout our offices and power plants in the UK, supporting the charity s vision of ending cruelty to children. Support community energy projects We ll continue to support low carbon community projects that deliver affordable and reliable heat to our customers. And our Fair Pricing Policy and Guaranteed Standard of Service ensure customers will always get a fair deal and will never be more than a phone call away from the help they need. Bring energy to our communities In 2012 we launched an Open House a shop in Nottingham to give customers the opportunity to drop in and speak to our staff face to face. We will review the pilot once it s been completed later this year to identify the best way of continuing to bring energy out to our local communities.
06 Openness the best policy We work in an industry where our actions and decisions affect the lives of millions of people that s a real responsibility. So we think our customers have a right to know where their money is going and how we ensure the business is run with integrity. Being open and transparent will give us the perfect platform to achieve our vision of being our customers Trusted Energy Partner. Unpack our energy bills It s key that we re open and honest with our customers so that they understand where their money is going and how we re re-investing it into the UK energy market. This year with more energy industry changes coming we ll continue unpacking our bills to make it clear how much we spend on electricity and gas, infrastructure, government programmes and our own costs. Maintain our high standards As a major UK business we have a responsibility to maintain high standards in the way we run our business. We re committed to upholding these standards and ensuring that we identify and manage any risks to our business and to our people. Rising energy prices are consumers top financial worry and it s no wonder people are left questioning whether the price they are paying is a fair one. Energy companies need to be open and transparent about their business and the Government s energy tariff reforms must go further to increase competition so consumers can be confident they re getting a good deal. Richard Lloyd, executive director, Which?
Thanks for reading So, how are we doing? We d love to hear your feedback good or bad. So why not join in the discussion on Facebook or Twitter? You can find out more at eonenergy.com join in the discussion What s next? This document is the first of three short publications, and together they make up our full report outlining our corporate responsibility progress and future plans. In the coming months we ll produce: For you Helping our customers and people April 2013 For everyone Helping our environment and communities May 2013 All together Strengthening relationships, building trust our full corporate responsibility report, including finance and governance performance July 2013