An annual report which is as ambitious as our Group

Every year, Elia and 50Hertz carry out the enormous task of compiling and presenting our operational, financial and sustainability data, in line with the latest disclosure requirements. Let’s take a closer look at this joint effort.

The energy transition lies at the heart of societal issues and all eyes are on us because of our central role in the energy sector and our stated ambition to make this transition happen as quickly as possible. To achieve this, we will need to be able to finance the massive investments planned over the coming years and attract many new talented staff. Our annual report offers all our (potential) partners a wealth of detailed, documented and transparent information about our activities. It includes all our achievements from the past year, our objectives and our commitments – all backed up by figures.

“The integrated annual report is one of the Group’s key communication channels, displaying how the company creates value for society in a transparent and honest way.”

“Our annual report this year includes the integrated report – the centrepiece – which is supplemented by the financial report and the sustainability report that include all associated, detailed figures. This is our second ‘integrated’ report. It involves a new type of reporting that combines operational, financial and sustainability aspects to give our stakeholders a broader picture of our activities and their impact – which is one step further than the traditional approach to financial reporting. It is a transparent and honest approach which– addresses the negative impacts of our work – not just its positive aspects. The core of the report comprises a representation of our eight business activities and the 6 types of capitals that we rely on to carry these out (society & relationships; environmental; intellectual; financial; assets; and employees & subcontractors) and how, through our operations, we impact these and create, erode or preserve value over time.”

“Sustainability reporting is becoming more and more technical, as Europe and investors attach increasing importance to our sustainability-related performance.”

“I have been doing CSR reporting for several years now, and it is a rapidly evolving field. Sustainability reporting is becoming more and more technical, as Europe and investors attach increasing importance to our performance in terms of sustainability. A big change this year is the introduction of the double materiality matrix: we assess how a series of ‘material’ topics (tangible criteria, to avoid greenwashing) impact our company, and how our company impacts them. This double approach allowed us to clearly highlight the key elements on which we must focus to improve our sustainability-related performance. This year was also the first time that non-financial KPIs were audited by an external company. This will happen more and more in the future. In this way, we are already preparing for the upcoming corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting directive.”

Madalina : “Group reporting is the result of close work between staff from the Finance & Accounting, Communication, Sustainability, Investor Relations, Strategy, European Affairs, Secretary General, Internal Audit & Risk Management departments from Elia and 50Hertz. A core team of about 12 colleagues meets once a month to work on the continuous improvement and simplification of our reporting. The work intensifies in November to prepare the annual report. From January onwards, the editing, translation and layouting is carried out. It’s a long-term project that we are all happy to see come to fruition!”

Christian : “In recent years, we have done a lot of work to align Belgian and German CSR reporting. And we continue to work together to improve our indicators every year, to analyse the new standards and prepare for them as best we can. I would especially like to thank my Belgian colleague @Deshpande Savitri-Aurélie: for her excellent teamwork and our co-creation of the report. Each year brings its share of novelties, we have to be creative and always stay up to date… That I find very exciting!”