Uniper publishes 2020 Sustainability report, further increasing transparency
- Decarbonization strategy is implemented systematically
- Uniper scores better with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and commits to introduce reporting in accordance with specifications of Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
- Due diligence and risk management processes for sustainability were further developed
- Uniper was one of the most attractive employers in Germany in 2020
Uniper publishes its fifth sustainability report on World Earth Day today. The report provides insight into Uniper's most important sustainability issues, describing how these are managed and how progress towards targets is being achieved.
David Bryson, COO Uniper says: “Uniper’s purpose — Empower Energy Evolution — and its strategy, has sustainability at its heart. In 2020, we made important progress in improving our sustainability performance, as outlined in our sustainability report. Uniper is posed to tackle the challenges in transitioning to a more sustainable business”.
Further developed processes for managing ESG due diligence, cooperating with business partners and risk management go a long way to helping us implement our sustainability strategy.
However, the significant reduction of CO2 emissions remains of greater relevance for Uniper. The company's path in the coming years involves phasing out coal-fired power and using gas as a bridge to producing energy from renewable sources. In taking these steps, Uniper is pursuing its ambitious goal of making energy production in Europe climate-neutral by 2035 and reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to the 2019 baseline. It aims to be an overall climate-neutral company by 2050.
Since 2005, Uniper has been able to reduce direct scope-1 emissions in Europe by almost 78 percent. At the same time, Uniper plans to build up production capacities of one gigawatt from wind and solar by 2025, and three gigawatts in the following years. The additional clear strategic focus on green hydrogen shows how Uniper's transformation into a carbon-free company can succeed.
Corporate citizenship – Uniper assumes responsibility for being a good neighbor
In addition to decarbonization, Uniper continues to stand for a secure, reliable and affordable energy supply — after all, it is the basis for societal development and coexistence. As an international energy company, Uniper has a responsibility to make a contribution to society – especially in communities close to our power plants and branches. The sustainability report outlines initiatives that make a positive difference in local communities and for our employees.
Since its inception, Uniper has always placed great importance on presenting its business activities in a transparent manner to all stakeholders. The assessment by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) shows that Uniper is on the right track: the ranking improved compared to the previous year, this time from B- to B. In March, Uniper published its first tax transparency report. The report reveals how Uniper deals with tax issues and how tax payments totaling over EUR 1.3 billion are made up. Uniper has also started to analyze and report on the opportunities and risks that climate change has on its business according to the criteria of the “Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure” (TCFD).
However, the path to a sustainable future for the company starts with its own employees. Last year, Uniper ranked among the top 10 percent in Sweden's leading employer ranking, and, in Germany, the company was voted by Kununu into the top 1 percent as an excellent employer.
Uniper's Sustainability Report 2020 can be downloaded here:
https://uniper.cc/sustainability-report-2020
About Uniper
Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. With about 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220 bcm. Uniper is also a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonizing their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper is active worldwide along the entire value chain and is implementing projects to make hydrogen usable as a mainstay of energy supply.
The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf and currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.
