CSR <strong>Report</strong> 2006<strong>Essent</strong> N.V.1 Our corporate social responsibility policyThe basics<strong>Essent</strong> has been, and still is, thelargest business operator ofsustainable energy in the Netherlandsfor many years now. Apart from beinggood news in itself, it also acts as anextra incentive for us to put our policyon corporate social responsibility intopractice.We would not wish people to gain theimpression that our sense of socialresponsibility goes no further than thegeneration of sustainable energy.We regard corporate socialresponsibility as a managementphilosophy that calls on us to takecareful account, when makingdecisions, of the positive and negativeimpact our operations could have onsociety in general and on ourstakeholders in particular.Having carefully weighed up thevarious interests at stake, we canthen proceed to take a carefullyconsidered decision that takes us astep closer to resolving certain issuesaffecting society as a whole.Apart from implying that we shouldgenerate energy sustainably,corporate social responsibilityembraces a huge range of issues inwhich we are interested. In order tomake a meaningful contribution to thesolution of the problems, we need todefine our role more clearly. As anenergy company, we play fourdifferent roles, i.e. those of businessoperator, market player, employer andcorporate citizen.<strong>Essent</strong> as business operator createsproducts and services to satisfy thedemands of the market.<strong>Essent</strong> as market player sells itsproducts and services on the marketand purchases products and servicesfrom other suppliers.<strong>Essent</strong> as employer providesemployment for people.<strong>Essent</strong> as corporate citizen is acommitted member of society. It isboth part of the community and acitizen.In each of these four roles, we exertan influence on our surroundings(i.e. People, Planet and Profit).The effects of our actions may beexpressed as a number of topicalsocietal issues. We accept ourresponsibility for each of these, andtry to come up with solutions that areboth socially acceptable andcommercially viable.Hence, we seek to:1. promote sustainable development(including limiting climate change);PeopleFigure 1 Power to triple PSocially responsiblebusiness practicesEnvironmentallyresponsiblebusiness practicesPower2. strengthen the competitiveness ofthe countries in which we operate;3. ensure our suppliers observeinternationally agreed human rights;4. raise the rate of labour participationby groups who are currentlyunderrepresented in our company;5. raise the quality of work in ourcompany;6. raise the quality of life in ourenvironment/surroundings; and7. improve internal and external safety.We wish to achieve the above byadding a fourth P (i.e. Power) to theconventional ‘Triple P’ (i.e. People,Planet and Profit). Apart fromsymbolising the sustainable energywe supply, Power also stands for thePassion with which we pursue oursocial responsibility and the strengthof our convictions in this respect.Sustainablebusiness practicesPlanetTopics for 2006Based on the seven societal issueslisted above, and the results of ananalysis of our strengths andweaknesses in relation to each of ourroles, we have selected the followingfour themes for 2006.Conductor of Business :excelling in the generation ofsustainable energy;Market player:assessing whether our suppliers meetcertain sustainability criteria;Employer:encouraging our employees in theirpersonal and professionaldevelopment; andCorporate Citizen:fostering the welfare of localcommunities.Last year saw the launch of a numberof special projects in relation to eachof these four topics. <strong>Report</strong>s on theresults of these projects, broken downaccording to the role we play, aregiven from page 24 of this report.Targets for 2007 and beyondAs an energy supplier, we are at theheart of the public debate on climatechange.Among the topics of this debate are:• the effects of the use of fossil fuels;• the depletion of fossil fuel stocks;• the development of new, moresustainable alternatives.We believe we have a sharedresponsibility for the long-term futureof energy supplies, and for this reasonfind ourselves facing a wide range ofissues involving energy transition andsustainability. This position entailsboth threats and opportunities.In fleshing out the details of ourpolicy on corporate socialresponsibility (CSR), we take our leadfrom the Sustainable Value Portfoliodeveloped by Professor Stuart Hart.*We intend to focus on three themesfor the 2007-2010 period:• energy conservation;• innovation;• employability.* Professor Stuart L. Hart of Cornell University,New YorkInternalClean Technology• develop new competencies• pursue disruptive innovationPollution Prevention• minimimize process waste• enhance resource productivityFigure 2 The Sustainable Value PortfolioBy mounting carefully targetedactivities and campaigns in relation tothese themes, we will also contributeto solutions for the seven societalissues for which we feel a specialresponsibility.Monitoring progressBy gradually incorporatingincreasingly detailed CSR targets intoour reporting cycles, we can revealmore about our progress and theopportunities for performing CSRaudits and making improvements.Our Business Plan for 2007 is the firstbusiness plan to include a section onCSR policy.The CSR Advisory Board we set up atthe beginning of 2007 has been giventhe task of overseeing the consistencyof our CSR policy and monitoring theprogress made in implementing it.A document known as the “State ofthe Risk” will be extended to includeCSR-related risks and the measureswe intend to take to mitigate them.(See also the section on corporategovernance for more information onthe CSR Advisory Board and the Stateof the Risk.)TomorrowTodaySustainability Vision• meet unmet needs• raise the base of the pyramidProduct Stewardship• lower product life cycle impact• increasetransparancy/accountabilityExternal