Our employees can also help us reduce our overall carbon footprint by reducing carbon intensity across our entire organization, not just in power generation. The measures we are taking include:

• enhancing the energy efficiency of our buildings
• using distributed generation technology
• using modern communications technologies like video conferences to minimize business travel
• increasing environmental awareness among our employees.

E.ON UK, which is taking action in many areas to reduce its carbon footprint, is setting an example for the rest of the E.ON Group. E.ON UK’s objective is to reduce its CO₂ emissions per employee by ten percent each year. E.ON UK has launched special events like "Changing Energy in Action Day" to make employees more aware of climate protection and to encourage them to take action themselves.

 

E.ON UK offices and facilities also have "environmental champions". By May 2008, 367 employees from all business units will be trained as environmental champions in cooperation with Global Action Plan, an environmental protection organization. These employees will then motivate their colleagues to "think green". In 2007, the environmental champions received an award from the United Nations Environment Program.

 

E.ON UK also created the Sustainable Energy Solutions Team in 2007. In addition to periodic energy audits, it conducted a study into ways of saving energy in E.ON UK buildings. To help in this effort, E.ON UK has developed its own energy-saving software that automatically shuts off computers after they’ve been inactive for a certain number of minutes. On top of that, a number of locations changed their electricity supply to green energy and energy generated at small-scale facilities.

E.ON UK’s environmental initiatives are paying off. E.ON UK reduced energy consumption per employee in their building facilities by more than twelve percent in 2007 after reducing it by almost 17 percent in 2006, surpassing its target two years running. For 2008, the aim is to cut energy consumption per employee by twelve percent and the CO₂ emissions of its vehicle fleet by 20 percent.

E.ON Energie employees also aim to become effective energy savers. E.ON Energie is taking part in the Energy Trophy 2007/2008, a Europe-wide energy saving competition for office buildings. There are over 150 companies from 17 countries taking part in the Energy Trophy, which runs until August 31, 2008. Each individual E.ON Energie employee should be versed in reducing his or her personal energy consumption in the office. That includes turning off the light if it is not being used for a period of time, reducing the amount of heating and disconnecting electronic devices from the mains before business trips and going home at night.

E.ON Moldova, a subsidiary of E.ON Central Europe is also making its employees more aware of how they can help reduce their company’s carbon footprint. The company holds semi-annual environmental protection workshops at which employees complete the training necessary to qualify as environment auditors according to SO 14001 and ISO 19011 standards.

 

We also provide our customers and other stakeholders with energy-saving tips and other consulting services to support their efforts to reduce their own carbon footprint.