Thinking sustainably and acting strategically
Developing a sustainability strategy for a company of EEW’s size and importance requires effort, dedication, and strong motivation. Why? Because EEW not only helps other companies, cities, and municipalities achieve their own sustainability goals, but is also committed to becoming more sustainable itself – following a robust plan with clearly defined objectives.
Our materiality analysis
Guidance through external perspectives
What stakeholders expect from EEW is a key point of reference for our sustainability strategy. The materiality analysis identifies the direction in which we aim to evolve in key areas. Input was gathered from a diverse range of groups – from employees to representatives of business, politics, and the communities surrounding our plant locations. The outcome of this process is a set of twelve material topics grouped into five areas of action.
Our sustainability roadmap
Goals with vision
By 2030, we have set 14 precise goals across five areas of action. Our focus includes achieving climate neutrality in the “Environment” field and improving occupational safety by preventing reportable accidents in the “Employees” field. The sustainability roadmap guides our path – and makes our progress measurable.
Ethics and integrity
Our ambition
It is crucial to our long-term success that customers, business partners, employees and the public have confidence in our company. Our top priority is therefore to maintain and further strengthen EEW’s trustworthiness. Employees are trained consistently to ensure that they comply with the requirements of laws, directives and the Code of Conduct. We react to any misconduct of which we become aware within a few days.
Our strategic goal by 2030
Our overall aim is to ensure that there are no significant violations of laws, directives and our Code of Conduct. We react within five working days in the event of violations.
Benchmark
Number of violations of the EEW Code of Conduct/EEW’s average reaction time in the event of violations.
Innovation
Our ambition
For us, innovations are drivers of more sustainable, growth-promoting business models, products and processes. They help us to broaden our business activities and continuously improve them. We also consider projects and measures with a significant degree of innovation as a crucial key to protecting resources, the environment and climate, especially for the energy transition and strengthening the circular economy. For this reason, we invest continuously in new technologies and solutions.
Our strategic goal by 2030
Innovation-driven growth projects1 contribute at least 20 per cent to total revenue at EEW.
Benchmark
Percentage share of total revenue
Digitalisation
Our ambiton
We want to make ever-greater use of the opportunities that digitalisation presents for the circular economy and the energy sector. To this end, we will futher expand our digital infrastructure and digital channels in business and customer relationships. All employees are expected to support and help shape the path to an increasingly agile and digital corporate culture and business activities.
Our strategic goal by 2030
Our goal is that at least 70 per cent of employees take part in at least one measure or training per year to strengthen their digital skills.
Benchmark
Number of employees who have completed training or measures tailored to their needs in one year.
Working conditions and corporate culture
Our ambition
We want to establish an open corporate culture which is shaped by appreciation and mutual respect. By offering attractive working conditions, we ensure employees
strongly identify with and are highly satisfied with EEW as an employer. This allows us to attract and retain the qualified skilled workers we need.
Our strategic goal by 2030
Employee satisfaction will reach a rating of at least “good” on average.
Benchmark
Item “employee satisfaction”
Employee health and safety
Our ambition
We protect our own employees and partner companies’ staff from hazards in the workplace and in our plants. We raise their awareness of occupational health and safety and safety-conscious behaviour to avoid occupational accidents. We also promote our employees’ health through numerous offerings.
Our strategic goals by 2030
1) Our overarching objective is to avoid reportable workplace accidents involving our own employees and partner companies’ staff.
2) Through adequate working conditions and health-promoting measures, we aspire to a health rate of at least 95 per cent for our own employees.
Benchmarks
1) Number of accidents (Lost Time Injury, number of accidents resulting in time being lost (1 day and more)
2) Health rate
Employee development
Our ambition
We want to ensure the quality of our services and boost our capacity for innovation through targeted vocational training, qualification and personnel development.
We encourage talented employees and utilise modern working methods. We want to promote diversity and equal opportunity, in particular at the management level.
Our strategic goals by 2030
1) We want to enhance our employees’ further training by increasing the average number of further training hours per employee to at least 40 hours per year.
2) We will increase equality of opportunity with the aim of doubling the share of women in management positions in the EEW Group (basis: 2022 reporting year).
Benchmarks
1) Number of further training days per employee and year
2) Percentage of women in management positions
Waste (input)
Our ambition
We want to always offer reliable capacity for the safe treatment of non-recyclable residual waste for society, local authorities, businesses and industry. And to minimise any climate impacts, we are closing material loops and strengthening the circular economy.
Our strategic goal by 2030
We aim to offer reliable waste treatment capacity by making all thermal utilisation plants available for at least 92 per cent of the time.
Benchmark
Time availability (as a percentage)
Energy (Output)
Our ambition
We make efficient use of the energy contained in waste, as a resource, and provide a reliable source of process steam for industrial plants, district heating for residential and commercial areas and electricity. As a result, our customers enjoy greater security of supply thanks to a decentralised approach to energy input, and
CO2 emissions are avoided.
Our strategic goal 2030
We will increase the energy efficiency at our thermal waste utilisation plants through energy extraction by 15 per cent on average (baseline year 2021).
Benchmark
Annual energy efficiency (as a percentage)
Climate-relevant emissions (output)
Our ambition
The climate impacts of our business activity are a central issue for us. All business areas and players are actively working to avoid or lower climate-relevant emissions
and thereby reduce the footprint along our value chain.
Our strategic goal 2030
Our goal is to make our operations climate-neutral by 2030 and climate-positive by 2040. We aim to reduce our CO2 footprint by at least 20 per cent CO2eq compared with 2022 by increasing efficiency, process optimisation and greater use of renewable energies, as well as the capture, storage and industrial utilisation of CO2.
Benchmark
CO2eq figure in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
(Additional) output materials / resources
Our ambition
We are constantly working on increasing resource recovery from thermal utilisation of waste with a view to closing material cycles and substituting natural resources.
Our focus here is not just on the quantities recovered but also on the types of resources recovered. This way, we provide an alternative to primary resources. We also ensure we consistently comply with all emission limits.
Our strategic goal by 2030
n terms of the residues created at our thermal utilisation plants, we want to increase the recycling rate from an average of 7 per cent (baseline year 2021) to at least 70 per cent.
Benchmark
Recycling rate for residues (percentage)
Participation in political and societal processes
Our Ambition
We strive to maintain and enhance our reputation as a reliable and expert partner with a strong interest in sustainability – with a view to being involved in social policy discourse on the circular economy and energy sector and actively contributing our expertise. To facilitate this kind of exchange, we offer dialogue platforms for our stakeholder groups.
Our strategic goal by 2030
We want to intensify exchange on social policy matters by offering and holding five events per year and site relating to topics in the circular economy and the energy
sector.
Benchmark
Number of dialogue events held
Customer Relationship
Our ambition
Solid customer relationships and partnerships based on trust are central to what we do and to our commercial success. That is why we all are constantly working to ensure a high level of satisfaction among both customers and partners.
Our strategic goal by 2030
The satisfaction rating from our customers and partners is at least “good” on average.
Benchmark
"Good" (grade)
Our sustainability management
Taking responsibility and supporting progress
We continuously work on developing an efficient and systematic governance structure for companywide sustainability management. Sustainability management is responsible for regularly evaluating the material topics, initiating measures, pursuing our goals and measuring our progress towards reaching the goals. Sustainability management also considers feedback from our stakeholders when implementing our strategy and conducts monitoring and reporting processes.
Board of Management
Companywide responsibility for sustainability lies with the Board of Management of EEW. As the senior decision-making body, it determines the strategy and evaluates and adopts key strategic decisions and goals.
Sustainability steering comittee
Since 2019, an internal steering committee has coordinated the company’s sustainability activities. This central body is made up of representatives from company departments and plant sites. The steering committee further develops the sustainability strategy, prepares decisions to be made by the Board of Management and ensures these decisions are consistently implemented within the company. Furthermore, it monitors whether the sustainability goals are being met. In an advisory role, the committee is in close contact with the Board of Management.
Corporate sustainability team
The sustainability team ensures that the sustainability strategy is applied uniformly, manages the company-wide sustainability activities and monitors whether the defined sustainability targets are achieved. It reports on a regular and ad hoc basis to the Board of Management, the steering group and internal management bodies.
Our contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
In 2016, the United Nations introduced its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote sustainable development in economic, social and environmental dimensions worldwide. Some of these goals are particularly relevant to our business activities. Here, we highlight the SDGs we support through our operations.
Contact
We look forward to meeting you "In dialogue for sustainability". Feel free to write to us at nachhaltigkeit(at)eew-energyfromwaste.com or use our contact form.
