The importance of Corporate Responsibility (CR) has grown significantly in recent years on the world’s financial markets. Particularly in times of financial crisis, investors are increasingly looking for companies that create long-term, sustainable value. E.ON is regularly asked about the environmental and social aspects of our business activities by representatives of different interest groups such as international shareholders, investors, financial analysts and rating agencies. Among the CR issues that interest these stakeholders are our efforts to tackle climate change, ensuring security of supply as well as the public’s trust in companies.

At E.ON, we’re actively meeting this need for information by communicating our CR activities in a transparent manner. We report in accordance with the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which, as a guideline for CR reporting, is intended to encourage the standardization and comparability of information, thereby raising transparency.

When it comes to our reporting, since 2007 we have also reflected the criteria laid down by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). The IIGCC is a forum for cooperation between pension funds and other leading institutional investors. It seeks to encourage companies to address rating issues and any material risks and opportunities to their businesses associated with climate change. The IIGCC currently has 39 members, many of which are also investors in E.ON. Together, IIGCC members have more than EUR3.500 billion in funds under management.

To find out more about which CR aspects most interest our investors, E.ON has been holding investor-specific dialog events since 2007. These roadshows are organized together with our Investor Relations and Corporate Responsibility Departments. Key topics of previous events included E.ON’s generation strategy as well as expansion of renewables, carbon capture and storage (CCS), human rights and responsibility in the supply chain, E.ON’s CR organization and strategy, including questions on the future need for well-qualified employees. We plan to hold further roadshows in key European financial markets in 2009.

Among other things, our re-inclusion in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the DJSI STOXX index for European companies in 2008 sent a strong signal to capital markets and the growing number of investors who make investment decisions based on sustainability criteria. The DJSIs are the world's most important indexes for tracking the performance of the world's leading sustainability-driven companies. They are calculated and published by the Swiss fund management firm SAM Group in cooperation with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX.

Our inclusion in these indexes confirms that E.ON creates value for its investors and the society as a whole in a responsible manner.