‘Merger offers opportunities to increase sustainability’

‘The new government is oozing with ambition for renewable energy. That pleases me greatly, because it fits in with our policy – we are aiming to play a prominent role in that field in Europe. Happily, we are leaving the era of the unbundling debatebehind us. In the heat of the battle – and partly due to our own fault - there was some undesirable polarisation between the government and energy companies. But the two share the same interests: efficient and competitive companies that invest enough in a sustainable and reliable energy supply. So a joint ambition to be sustainability leaders fits that bill. Our sustainability ambition is not only socially motivated, it also makes good business sense. Sustainability is increasingly the context in which the energy sector is moving forward. So you’ve got to invest early; in new technology, for instance, that you can sell to other countries. But obviously you can only lead the way if you have sufficient means to invest. And in a strongly competitive international context that means building sufficient scale. Viewed from this perspective, the proposed merger between Nuon and Essent is a logical step. Scale enables companies to operate more easily in the European market. What’s more, energy is a commodity market where scale is a precondition for good-value purchasing, but also for effective investing in making the sector more sustainable. Both companies have the same attitude and ambition in this field. And sustainability will be an integral part of the new combination’s mission. As for whether the integration process might push sustainability to the back burner, I have no such fear. We are preparing this merger very carefully. And because we are in a sector where radical change has been the order of the day in recent years, we have lots of experience with reorganisations. On the whole, these have not had a negative impact on our sustainability-oriented corporate culture. And particularly in the past years, there have been plenty of good initiatives from within this organisation.’

Ludo van Halderen, CEO

This viewpoint is published in Sustainable Nuon 2006 magazine. In this magazine, the reader is guided through eight key issues that are currently confronting our sector and company; we explain our viewpoints and their relevance to the wider world. You can order the magazine through the order form on this website.