Successful environmental protection requires a comprehensive management system. We have a groupwide system that defines areas of responsibility, processes and reporting pathways for managing environmental protection. Our environmental protection data is harmonized and clearly documented.

We’ve established behavior guidelines and groupwide minimum standards for health, safety and the environment (HSE). One of the objectives described in the guidelines is "to create a positive HSE culture" as the foundation for our HSE strategy.

All of the management systems used by E.ON companies are based on the HSE feedback loop which encompasses the development of guidelines, their translation into business processes, reporting, evaluation and management review (see graphic below). The feedback loop helps us continually improve our HSE performance.

Our long-term objective is to establish integrated management systems that combine the requirements of different organizational units into a single uniform structure. As an example, our market unit Pan European Gas has an integrated system for managing its environmental, quality and occupational safety performance.

All E.ON companies and facilities meet groupwide standards for environmental management which are based on the ISO 14001 or European EMAS standard. The U.K., Nordic and Pan-European Gas market units are all certified under the ISO 14001 International Environment Management Standard. The Central Europe market unit meets the ISO 14001 standard and also meets some of the requirements of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. The U.S. Midwest market unit has no facilities with certified environmental management systems, however these and other facilities operate with an environmental management system which is compliant with certification standards.