In accordance with the EU Taxonomy (‘Taxonomy’) for sustainable activities, we report explicitly on our sustainable activities in this annual report. The Taxonomy is a classification system for economic activities that arose from the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance. The Taxonomy clarifies which activities can be classified as sustainable based on scientific criteria for preventing or mitigating climate change.
The criteria
An economic activity qualifies as sustainable if it meets the criteria in the Taxonomy Delegated Regulation. The criteria focus on six environmental objectives:
Climate change mititgation;
Climate change adaptation;
Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources;
Transition to a circular economy;
Pollution prevention and control; and
Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.
The Taxonomy refers to ‘Taxonomy-eligible’ and ‘Taxonomy-aligned’ economic activities. If an economic activity matches the description of an activity in the Taxonomy, then the activity is Taxonomy-eligible. If the eligible activity meets the technical screening criteria and is carried out in accordance with the minimum social safeguards prescribed in the Taxonomy, then the activity is Taxonomy-aligned. The technical screening criteria consist of criteria to determine whether the activity contributes substantially to one of the environmental objectives and criteria to determine that the activity do no significant harm to the other environmental objectives. When an activity is classified as Taxonomy-aligned, it meets the criteria for being considered sustainable under the Taxonomy framework.
For 2024, we report on three key performance indicators (KPIs), namely the share of revenue, capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx) associated with eligible economic activities and the share of these that are considered aligned.
Our sustainable activities in 2024
The following paragraphs explain how Enexis has applied the Taxonomy.
Eligibility
We have compared our business activities – electricity, gas and other – with the descriptions in the Taxonomy. Enexis reports on these five eligible activities in 2024:
4.9 Transmission and distribution of electricity;
4.14 Transmission and distribution networks for renewable and low-carbon gases;
4.15 District heating/cooling distribution;
6.5 Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles; and
7.7 Acquisition and ownership of buildings.
Enexis has determined that these activities are in accordance with the description as set out in the Taxonomy. The above activities can contribute to the first two environmental objectives: climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. Enexis assessed these activities against climate change mitigation criteria. The descriptions of these activities in the taxonomy do not overlap, so there is no risk of double counting.
We do not carry out activities that contribute to the other four environmental objectives.
In 2024, Enexis also recognized activity 4.14 ‘Transmission and distribution networks for renewable and low-carbon gases’ for the first time. This includes Enexis’ activities related to green gas. It is currently not possible to break down this activity in our accounts. All expenditure on activity 4.14 is included under ‘non-eligible activities’.
Alignment
Technical screening criteria
Of the five activities mentioned above, activity 4.9 ‘Transmission and distribution of electricity’ is the most important to us. This activity pertains to one of our core tasks: the distribution of electricity. Our electricity grid is part of the European network of electricity grids and thus substantially contributes to climate change mitigation. In addition to customers who purchase electricity from our grid, a growing number of customers feed electricity back into the grid. This electricity is mainly generated from solar and wind energy, though in some cases also from natural gas through combined heat and power (CHP) systems. As natural gas is a fossil fuel and does not contribute to climate change mitigation, these connections are excluded from alignment. This also applies to conventional meters, as they do not meet the requirements of the Taxonomy for smart metering systems and therefore do not satisfy the alignment criteria. Therefore, the revenue, OpEx and CapEx related to Activity 4.9 qualify for alignment, with the exception of the revenue, OpEx and CapEx attributable to CHP connections and conventional meters. Activity 4.9 is an enabling activity in the Taxonomy.
Activity 4.15 ‘District heating/cooling distribution’ oversees the heat network of Mijnwater Warmte Infra B.V. for Enexis. We cannot yet demonstrate that this activity meets all the technical screening criteria in the Taxonomy. This is mainly related to proving the sustainability of components in the network that were purchased in the past.
For activity 6.5 ‘Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles’, Enexis relies heavily on information provided by lease companies to meet the technical screening criteria. For 2024, the relevant information is (partially) unavailable. In addition, part of the fleet does not comply with the maximum emissions of 50 grams CO2-eq/km. Activity 6.5 is therefore not considered to be aligned.
For activity 7.7 ‘Acquisition and ownership of buildings’, Enexis met the technical screening criteria in 2024 for the investments in its head office in Den Bosch. The investments in this specific building are therefore classified as aligned. The other investments in buildings do not meet the requirements and therefore do not qualify for alignment.
Minimum social safeguards
A key requirement of the EU Taxonomy is that companies do not violate minimum social safeguards. These minimum social safeguards in the Taxonomy focus on ethics and human rights and are based on OECD and United Nations treaties and guidelines. Companies must have policies and procedures that comply with these treaties and guidelines and be transparent about violations. Because we believe in equal rights for all and a safe working environment, we have established policies, including codes of conduct and whistleblowing arrangements. You can read more about how we implement these measures in the chapters 'S1 Our employees' and 'S2 Workers in the value chain'.