Sustainability in interaction with society
2006 will go down in history as a watershed year for the future of Nuon and the energy sector. In that year our merger talks with Essent were initiated, the political decision about energy unbundling was made and the debate on climate change gathered pace.
If the past period has reaffirmed anything, it is that energy companies cannot ignore social reality. We are active in a global chain, operate in a European market and must take account of world-embracing environmental impacts. The government has an important role to fulfil in setting standards on behalf of and in the interests of society. That’s one reason why I regret that in the transitional years from public utility to commercial enterprise – and particularly during the unbundling debate – the impression has sometimes arisen that energy companies and the government have conflicting interests. Nothing is further from the truth. As a matter of fact our interests coincide, namely to create an effective market with efficient companies that invest enough in a renewable and reliable energy supply.
Regarding the theme ‘towards energy sustainability’, we are most definitely pulling our weight. Major steps include the start-up of our offshore wind farm in the North Sea, the acquisition of the solar energy project Helianthos, the further development of our new coal gasification power station, our energy saving advice service and the ongoing pursuit of our district heating and cooling projects. Each and every one of these initiatives makes a real contribution towards the realisation of a more renewable energy supply, such as by reducing CO2 emissions. Sometimes the consequences of these measures are immediately noticeable, others are more long-term; renewability is often a process with a long lead time.
It’s worth noting that many of these new projects originated on our own shopfloor. Employees come forward and say: let’s do it like this, often inspired by a personal commitment to society. That is a development we welcome and encourage. One initiative in this connection is the Nuon Foundation, which supports employees in their voluntary work for community projects.
Our theme ‘towards energy sustainability’, evidently strikes a chord with our people and lots of positive ideas are coming from within our own ranks. But answers to other important themes are less forthcoming. Chain management is a case in point. In such cases we enter into dialogue with each other: who exactly is responsible? Is it within our power to do something? How exactly can we make a difference?
But in our search for answers, we also repeatedly find that inward scrutiny is not enough. The vital thing is to continue listening to signals from the outside world. That’s what makes us so keen to maintain a constant dialogue with special interest groups as well as the government, the corporate community and customers.
Amsterdam, 16 April 2007
Ludo van Halderen, chairman of the Management Board
