Taking our corporate responsibilities seriously: why ESG matters at E.ON

What is ESG?

Put simply, the term ESG stands for ‘environmental, social and governance’. It’s about corporate responsibility and how companies like E.ON structure our approach to being a better organisation, helping us hold ourselves to account on a range of measures to ensure we’re doing our best for our people, society and the planet.

What does ESG mean for E.ON?

• At E.ON, the environmental aspect includes engaging our colleagues with the theme of sustainability, and helping the company adopt a more mindful approach to our impact on the climate by mitigating, planning and tracking our progress, improving biodiversity and helping create a circular economy.
• Social includes managing E.ON’s external partnerships, for example with our charity partner Mind, as well as leading on areas such as our social value in our key towns and cities, and ensuring the human rights of everyone we deal with are upheld.
• Finally, governance at E.ON includes our core sustainability ambition and the decision making, reporting and auditing that underpins this.

What’s your remit as ESG lead within E.ON UK?

I’ve led on environmental, social and governance aspects of sustainability since 2022. This involves working closely with colleagues across the UK, the wider E.ON SE Group based in Germany, and external organisations, sharing best practice and collaborating to develop solutions to further improve the role we play for customers, colleagues and local communities.

What are you most proud of?

I’m incredibly proud to have led on the creation of E.ON UK’s sustainability and broader business agenda over the last 18 months, with three major highlights:

• Establishing an active colleague network called the ‘Sustainability Inspiration Hub’
• Transforming our partnership with Mind, with E.ON and our colleagues having raised £250,000 for the charity so far
• Ensuring transparency around our performance through ESG reporting and assurance

What advice would you give to other organisations looking to formalise their ESG practices?

The main advice I would give is to just get on with it. Regardless of the size of your organisation, ESG should be key in every workplace.

It can be hugely daunting to hold a mirror up to your organisation and to think about what you’re doing well and where improvements need to be made, but looking after our people, our society and our planet is everybody’s responsibility so just start and see where it takes you.

I’d also urge anyone in a similar field to build, maintain and speak to your internal and external networks; engaging colleagues, customers and communities is key to helping us find solutions for our sustainability challenges and drive the necessary cultural change.

And finally – be curious. Ask the difficult questions and see what you can learn from the answers.

Jo has been nominated as Corporate Sustainability Lead in the Women in Green Business Awards. To find out more about how E.ON is creating a new, more sustainable energy world, visit: eonenergy.com/sustainability.