UN goal 16 compliance culture

Our strategic plan

 

Commitment

  • Screen our operations and suppliers for ESG risks, including human rights risks, and collaborate with stakeholders to support mitigation measures.

Targets

  • Become actively involved in up to three multistakeholder associations by 2023 that support ESG due diligence along the supply chain for Uniper’s energy commodities.

 

Ensuring respect for human rights

Severe human rights violations such as unlawful forced displacements or forced labor can be a direct or indirect consequence of business activities. This is particularly the case in countries with a history of insufficient standards for security, social development, and inclusion.

Uniper does not tolerate human rights violations anywhere in our business or along our supply chain. We therefore systematically screen our operations and suppliers for ESG risks, including human rights risks.

59%

of our active counterparties were assessed in 2021.

By the end of 2021, we’d used our screening process to assess 59% of our active counterparties. The target for year-end 2022 is 100%.

To enhance our human rights commitment and effort, we set a new target. By 2023, we aim to become actively involved in up to three multistakeholder associations that support ESG due diligence along our energy commodity supply chain.

Bettercoal

In 2021, Uniper bought 12,1 million metric tons of coal. It’s thus our responsibility to help establish adequate measures to prevent, monitor, and mitigate human rights risks in the coal supply chain. We engage with our suppliers both directly and in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and multistakeholder initiatives.

Uniper is a founding member of Bettercoal, a not-for-profit initiative established by a group of major European utilities committed to a more responsible coal supply chain. Bettercoal assesses the performance of coal mining companies against its Code 2.0, which includes detailed provisions for human rights due diligence. In response to the assessments, the companies design and implement continuous improvement plans.

Bettercoal established country-specific working groups in 2018. The aim is to better coordinate its monitoring of improvement plans and to facilitate the dialogue with relevant stakeholders. Uniper chairs Bettercoal’s Colombia working group and was a member of the Russian working group. The latter group’s activities are now suspended due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis.

71%

of our coal was purchased directly from Bettercoal suppliers.

We track the proportion of coal we purchase under direct contracts from Bettercoal suppliers. 71% of our directly purchased coal came from Bettercoal suppliers in 2021 compared with 68% in 2020.

Sustainability criteria in supplier selection

13%

of all tenders in 2021 included sustainability criteria.

We require all suppliers to comply with the Uniper Supplier Code of Conduct. In 2021 we introduced a new spreadsheet tool. It enables us to identify additional sustainability criteria, such as those related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to apply sustainability criteria to 20% of all tenders in 2022.

Energy Industry Dialogue

The "Industry Dialogue on Respect for Human Rights along the Global Supply and Value Chains of the German Energy Industry" (abbreviated to: Energy Industry Dialogue) initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) is part of the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP). The NAP implements the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) in Germany with the aim of improving the human rights situation along global supply and value chains.

Uniper has been participating in the dialog, which is organized as a multi-stakeholder process, since the beginning of 2023. The industry dialog consists of 21 members made up of companies, associations, trade unions, civil society organizations, initiatives, the German Institute for Human Rights, and the BMAS. In addition, the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection participate in the industry dialog as observers.

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Michael Lewis, CEO Uniper

Uniper's CEO Michael Lewis says of participating in the Energy Industry Dialogue:

For us, fulfilling our corporate due diligence obligations is part of our understanding of responsibility. The “Branchendialog Energiewirtschaft” initiated by the BMAS helps us to assess potential human rights risks along the value chains, on the basis of which we can then work specifically on preventive and remedial measures.

Goals of the Dialogue

The members of the Energy Sector Dialogue work together to respect human rights along the global supply and value chains. In doing so, they are guided by the goals of the UN Guiding Principles. The overarching goal of the dialogue is to provide guidance to companies and support them in adequately implementing the requirements formulated in the NAP on human rights due diligence along their supply and value chains.

To this end, two subordinate goals are being pursued:

  • Developing a common understanding of sector-specific human rights risks.  

  • Developing common prevention and mitigation measures for human rights risks along supply and value chains, as well as pilot projects (if needed). 

 

 

 

 

For the first objective, the publication "Potential human rights risks along supply and value chains. Selected sectors of the German energy industry" was published. This provides an overview of potential risks along the supply and value chains of six selected sectors of the industry (photovoltaics, wind energy, electricity distribution grids, natural gas, battery storage, hydrogen). The relevance of the risks described here for individual companies depends on their respective business activities and the associated supply and value chains.  

Dr. Andreas Niehoff Head of Sustainability & Systems

Andreas Niehoff

Head of Sustainability & Systems
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Kathrin Becker

Head of Sustainability Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement
Anne Hem Sustainability Manager

Anne Hem

Senior Sustainability Manager
Oliver Roeder

Oliver Roeder

Head of Sustainability & Financial Media Communication
+4915112658465

Our global presence

We continue to strengthen our presence in key markets, develop innovative solutions and acquire companies in prioritized areas. Uniper solutions are sold to over 100 countries and we currently operate in over 40 countries.