Guide to Sustainable Development

Our Contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, more than 150 countries adopted the United Nations 2030 Agenda, committing to ensure a life of dignity for all people by the year 2030. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as a guiding framework for this agenda. These goals represent a world free from extreme poverty and hunger, with reduced environmental risks and a globally appropriate climate.

We all share a common responsibility in achieving these goals. At EWE, we are committed to contributing to the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Based on our core business, we have identified four goals that are of particular relevance to us—goals to which we can make the most significant contribution:

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all

Our contribution: We are consistently expanding the share of electricity we generate from renewable energy sources, with a particular focus on onshore wind power. Our goal is to significantly and sustainably increase the share of renewables across sectors in the years ahead. In addition, we offer our customers solutions that help them improve energy efficiency.

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation

Our contribution: We not only maintain grid stability and thus ensure supply security, but also leverage digitalization to create an intelligent energy system. We continuously invest in innovation to meet future challenges—for example, integrating electric mobility with renewable energy. EWE operates the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in northwestern Germany. We are also proactively exploring the integration of green hydrogen into the energy system.

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable

Our contribution: We help towns and municipalities develop in a variety of ways by providing innovative solutions in energy, telecommunications, IT, and mobility. Through the consistent expansion of our fiber-optic network, we can supply an increasing number of households with very high bandwidths. As part of neighborhood development projects, we also offer integrated solutions combining energy, telecommunications, and mobility services.

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Our contribution: Climate action is an important part of what we do. We focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy to support the energy transition. To this end, we are expanding our renewable electricity generation and working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations. Our climate efforts also extend to the upstream and downstream parts of our value chain, where we take action within our sphere of influence.

In addition to our core business, we also contribute to other Sustainable Development Goals through a variety of actions and initiatives. We have identified six additional goals to which we make a meaningful contribution:

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Our contribution: The health of our employees is a top priority. EWE has established high standards to promote employee health and to create a work environment that safeguards their well-being. We expect our business partners to meet these same standards.

Ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Our contribution: Through our wide range of training and development programs across the EWE Group, we aim to give people of all ages access to quality education. We combine learning and living at our own training and education center, offering a variety of future-focused apprenticeships and dual study programs to help shape the energy transition. In addition, the EWE Foundation is committed to supporting high-quality education in our region.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Our contribution: Across the EWE Group, we are convinced that lived diversity strengthens innovation. Promoting diversity and equal opportunity is therefore an integral part of our corporate strategy and Code of Conduct. In doing so, we foster an inclusive work environment for a diverse workforce with a wide range of life paths—and fulfill our social responsibility as an employer.

Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all

Our contribution: EWE places great value on offering employees a fair and attractive work environment with transparent structures and processes. We also see respect for human rights as a fundamental aspect of our corporate responsibility. Our goal is to consistently prevent and eliminate human rights violations. We take a holistic view of the related risks along our value chain and align our actions with international standards such as the UN Global Compact.

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Our contribution: When procuring materials, we consider environmental and human rights requirements within the relevant purchasing processes. In managing waste, we follow the waste hierarchy: we assess opportunities for prevention, reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery. Any remaining waste is disposed of in accordance with applicable requirements, particularly where hazardous waste is involved.

We provide information and practical tips to help our customers use energy more consciously and identify opportunities to save energy. We publish articles on these topics in our customer magazine hallo nachbar, among other channels.

Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems

Our contribution: Environmental protection and the responsible use of resources are essential to a sustainable future. As part of our environmental management, we monitor our energy consumption and improve operational processes. We also take specific measures to limit air pollutant emissions and land use, and to protect biodiversity.