EU Taxonomy

In this chapter, Enexis reports on the requirements of the EU Taxonomy (‘Taxonomy’). The Taxonomy is a classification system for economic activities developed under 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 mitigation;

  • 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 are used to determine whether the activity contributes substantially to one of the environmental objectives and whether it does not cause significant harm to the other environmental objectives. When an activity is classified as Taxonomy-aligned, it meets the criteria for sustainability under the Taxonomy framework.

For 2025, 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.

On 4 July 2025, the European Commission adopted a new delegated regulation to simplify EU Taxonomy requirements. The amendments introduce, among other changes, a materiality threshold and reduce the number of data points required in the tables. Under the materiality threshold, non-financial companies may refrain from assessing whether certain activities are Taxonomy-eligible or Taxonomy-aligned if the cumulative value of each mandatory KPI (turnover, CapEx, and OpEx) for those activities is less than 10% of the total. The new regulation applies to annual reports for the 2025 financial year.

Our sustainable activities in 2025

The following paragraphs explain how Enexis has applied the Taxonomy.

Eligibility

We have compared our business activities – electricity, gas, and others – with the descriptions in the Taxonomy. Enexis reports on these five eligible activities in 2025:

  • 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.

Materiality

Based on the new delegated regulations, Enexis applied a materiality threshold to its EU Taxonomy activities for the first time in 2025. For the turnover and CapEx KPIs, activities 4.14, 4.15, 6.5 and 7.7 were deemed immaterial, as their combined value did not exceed the 10% threshold. For the OpEx KPI, activities 4.14, 4.15, and 7.7 were also considered immaterial, as together they did not exceed the 10% threshold.

Activities 4.9 and 6.5 may contribute to the first two environmental objectives: climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. Enexis assessed these activities against the criteria for climate change mitigation. As the descriptions of these activities do not overlap within the EU Taxonomy, there is no risk of double counting. Enexis does not carry out any activities that contribute to the other four environmental objectives.

At present, it is not possible to separately identify Enexis’ expenditure on activity 4.14, ‘Transmission and distribution networks for renewable and low-carbon gases’, in the accounts. All expenditure relating to activity 4.14 is therefore classified as ‘non-eligible activities’.

Alignment

Technical screening criteria

Activity 4.9, ‘Transmission and distribution of electricity’, relates to one of our core tasks: the distribution of electricity. Our electricity grid is part of the European network and thus substantially contributes to climate change mitigation. In addition to customers who purchase electricity from our grid, a growing number of customers are also feeding electricity back into it. This electricity is primarily generated from solar and wind, with some also from natural gas via 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, which do not meet the Taxonomy requirements for smart metering systems and therefore do not satisfy the alignment criteria. Moreover, it was determined that Activity 4.9 has no substantial negative impact on any other environmental objectives. 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.

According to Enexis’ strategy, activity 6.5, ‘Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars, and light commercial vehicles’, is of limited strategic importance. We therefore made a deliberate choice to focus on reducing CO₂ emissions from our vehicle fleet (see E1 Climate change), rather than on meeting all EU Taxonomy criteria. As a result, activity 6.5 is not considered aligned.

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 work environment, we have established policies, including codes of conduct and reporting arrangements. You can read more about how we implement these measures in the chapters ‘S1 Own workforce’ and ‘S2 Workers in the value chain’.