Efficient sustainability organisation
The responsibility for ESG and its further development lies with the Executive Board, i. e. at the highest corporate level. All these issues flow into our sustainability strategy which, in turn, is derived from the corporate strategy (which is also the responsibility of the Executive Board). Moreover, the Executive Board exchanges information on the sustainability strategy with the Supervisory Board on a regular basis and reports quarterly on the principal developments and measures involving ESG.
The staff department for innovation, sustainability and environmental protection, which reports directly to the Executive Board, is responsible for coordinating
sustainability activities and for environmental and climate protection. Management conferences, in particular the biannual all-day innovation conferences, provide a platform for the department to report on the innovation and research projects under its direction. The primary objective of these projects is to make a positive contribution to environmental and climate protection and to customer benefits.
The innovation, sustainability and environmental protection department also coordinates an intradepartmental sustainability team which ensures compliance with our high sustainability standards and the operational development and implementation of new ESG aspects in our Group. The aspects of climate change that are relevant for our business activities also have high priority for this team.
In view of the high relevance of ESG issues and to further strengthen sustainability expertise, a sustainability expert was appointed to the Supervisory Board’s Audit Committee in 2022/23.
Our sustainability steering committee, which also meets four times each year, includes the members of the Executive Board, key managers from various areas of the company, the managing directors of the most important Austrian and international subsidiaries and the members of the intradepartmental sustainability team. This committee deals with current ESG issues, approves major ESG activities and, based on its broad composition, ensures that the strategies, measures and goals defined in these meetings are rolled out and implemented in operating activities throughout the EVN Group.
Valuable external inputs
In addition to the regular exchange of information with internal experts, our Executive Board and Supervisory Board are supported by various advisory boards. These panels include external experts from different disciplines who contribute their expertise and outside perspectives on the ESG aspects of our activities: the Sustainability Advisory Board, the EVN Social Fund and the EVN Art Advisory Board.
