For a detailed overview of activities and parameters monitored concerning environmental protection, social and labour issues, respect for human rights and the fight against corruption, please refer to the newly published CEZ Group Sustainability Report 2022. In total, the report contains almost five hundred different pieces of data reported in accordance with internationally accepted standards, with the most important indicators (such as parameters related to greenhouse gas emissions, water management, waste management, employee diversity and others) externally audited. This year’s report also classifies CEZ Group’s activities in detail in accordance with the European taxonomy’s rules.
“Two years ago, we announced our Clean Energy of Tomorrow strategy and the current data confirm that we are on track to meet our goals. The share of investments in sustainable activities was 65% last year, an increase of 12 percentage points compared to the previous year. We are also gradually increasing the share of operating investments from these sustainable activities. We take our role as a Central European leader of the energy transformation seriously and our results prove it,” said Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ČEZ.
The data show that in 2022, the share of eligible and taxonomy-aligned on KPI revenues was 33.7%, compared to 30.3% the previous year.
“Our ESG performance is also recognised by international rating agencies - we have improved significantly in many areas and are now among the top 20% best-ranked companies in the world. Data and numbers from sustainability reports are also an increasingly important source of information for banks, insurance companies, investment funds and even large companies with international supply chains. The range of areas covered and the volume of data reported is growing year by year,” said Kateřina Bohuslavová, Director of the ESG unit.
The published data for 2022 show that, despite the energy crisis, the ČEZ Group is successfully continuing to meet its ambitious decarbonisation goals set out in the Vision 2030 - Clean Energy of Tomorrow strategy. Scope 1 emissions decreased by 4% year on year, equal to 826,448 tonnes. Thus, CEZ Group is still targeting an emission intensity of 0.26 tons CO2e/MWh in 2025 and full carbon neutrality by 2040.
Progress was also made in reducing other monitored emissions or waste production. At the same time, CEZ increased the share of emission-free energy in total production, the number of charging stations built for electric vehicles, as well as the number of installations of rooftop photovoltaic power plants for households and the number of small domestic photovoltaic plants connected to its distribution network. The company has also made progress in the social pillar (educating customers about energy savings) and the corporate governance pillar (increasing the proportion of women in management to 15%).
The current Sustainability Report also includes a chapter on climate risk management as recommended by the international Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). More detailed information can be found in the separate TCFD Report.
Both the 2022 Sustainability Report and the TCFD report are available on CEZ’s website. All data is also uploaded to a special data library, the most extensive ESG database of any European energy company. Interested parties can view trends in individual indicators from 2018 to the present.