Nuon GreenOffice

In 2007 FM and the CSR Department jointly started up the GreenOffice programme to create more cohesion in the numerous measures that make the working environment within Nuon more sustainable. GreenOffice is a long-term programme designed to achieve central control and communication. As this is a very broad subject, we have opted to concentrate on four focal areas:

• Energy consumption
• Mobility 
• Office supplies
• Catering 

At the end of 2007 a zero measurement was performed in respect of these focal areas and ambitions and targets were set. By communicating new and existing measures, we want to make colleagues more aware of the opportunities for more sustainable behaviour. The annual measurement among employees using the CSR Barometer revealed that only 25% of the employees on the shop floor had noted that Nuon attaches value to CSR. In 2007 employees were also asked what Nuon itself can do about climate change. The first thing they mentioned was office-related measures. Various existing initiatives are being brought under the auspices of this programme and new projects are being developed and implemented. One key area of improvement is employee behaviour. For one thing, employees are still less energy-aware at the office than at home. 

Energy Management in Buildings

2007 saw the start of the process for the certification of Nuon’s own buildings according to the GreenCalc+ environmental index. The awarded indices show that some buildings score well, but that many are capable of improvement. Not all buildings are suited to accommodate the large number of people currently working there. The GreenOffice programme was developed in 2007 to make employees emphatically aware of the opportunities that they themselves have to improve the sustainability of our operations.

Office supplies

The ICT department has placed multifunctional printers (MFP) throughout the entire organisation, with double-sided black-and-white printing set as standard. Stand-alone laser printers are being phased out. The aim of these measures is to reduce our energy and paper consumption.

Mobility

In 2006 the CSR lease car policy was successfully introduced. The replacement of old with new lease cars meant that Nuon’s car fleet became significantly cleaner in 2007. The share of cars with an A to C energy label rose strongly to 66%. Nuon’s policy meets all CSR criteria of the lease car policy initiated by the environmental organisation Milieudefensie in 2006. In line with this policy we continued to fit the existing lease car fleet with retrofit soot filters. Most of the commercial vehicles will also be equipped with a soot filter in 2008, thus reducing the fine particle emissions of the overall fleet.  

The hybrid pool cars meet a substantial part of the mobility requirement within Nuon. The use of the pool cars, which are available to all employees, increased in 2007. In addition, following a pilot in 2006 a special service (‘Band op Spanning’) was introduced to ensure that all cars have the correct tire pressure. In combination with the obligatory economical driving course (‘Het nieuwe rijden’), employees can thus help to reduce our fuel consumption. As in 2006, the CO2 emissions of our fleet were fully compensated by the purchase of VER certificates (Verified Emission Reductions).
 
To reduce the number of short car trips, company bicycles have been introduced at all locations. Employees can use these bicycles during working hours to go to business appointments in the city for instance. All in all, 45 bike-share bicycles were placed at 18 locations. The option of using the bicycles was highlighted during the Week of Progress in which Nuon participates. During this week a campaign was conducted to promote sustainable transport by using public transport or the bicycle. The mobility behaviour of employees remains an issue. The greatest environmental gains can be achieved if employees take up the very extensive sustainable mobility options that are now in place. Alongside more sustainable mobility, efforts are being made to prevent unnecessary travel by encouraging teleconferencing and implementing videoconferencing facilities. 

Catering

The percentage of organic products in our catering range came to about 28% in 2007, slightly higher than in 2006. Together with the catering firm, healthy eating weeks will be organised in our company restaurants in 2008 to further emphasise the importance of a healthy diet. Coffee remains an important theme. Nuon has already used socially responsible coffee for its meeting services for some time. Socially responsible coffee has now also been selected for the hot beverage dispensers. In 2007 the European tender for hot beverage dispensers was completed. Early in 2008 the new dispensers were installed at our locations. The coffee from the new beverage dispensers is certified by Rainforest Alliance.