back 
Our company’s performance is not expressed in terms of commercial success alone. It is also reflected in the manner in which we take on social responsibility at the local level, both as employer and customer and as promoters of social volunteering. We have awarded far more than €1 billion in contracts to companies located in North Rhine-Westphalia solely for the construction of the new twin-unit lignite-fired power station in Neurath, close to Cologne, Germany. Our day-to-day business is another means, besides large-scale projects, by which we contribute to creating value in regions in which we operate, e.g., by contracting services, procuring commodities and consumables, and offering jobs in our operating units. We take our responsibility to young people very seriously, offering around three times as many apprenticeships as required to meet our own needs.
For us, assuming regional responsibility also means supporting charitable work–especially when it comes to the projects of our own employees. “People Make It Possible” is the motto of RWE’s groupwide “Companius” initiative. Established in September 2007, the umbrella organization promotes the active commitment of RWE staff to charitable purposes. Our social volunteers can qualify for €500 and–in special cases–up to €2,000 to support their projects. Furthermore, RWE Companius, often working hand in hand with charitable organizations, also develops its own projects in which RWE employees can become involved. As well as giving RWE’s social engagement a new face, RWE Companius has given this field of activity a boost: Since the launch in September, over 1,500 staff have submitted more than 1,800 projects. This makes RWE Companius one of the biggest volunteering institutions in Germany.
In the UK, RWE npower has been promoting its employees’ social involvement for years. As in the past, more than one tenth of the staff did pro bono work in 2008. Through its volunteers, RWE npower helps a series of charitable organizations such as “The National Trust,” which refurbishes and maintains historic buildings, industrial monuments and gardens. In addition, the company organizes major donation campaigns for institutions like the Macmillan Cancer Fund and helps the underprivileged heat their homes with dedicated programmes such as “Spreading Warmth” and “Health through Warmth.”
The future of our society largely depends on the future it offers children and young adults. This was one of the guiding principles of the RWE Youth Foundation, which in January 2009 was folded into the RWE Foundation, which has since continued its work. In co-operation with experienced project partners, we ensure that young underprivileged people do not become marginalized and that youths in structurally weak regions receive vocational training. In addition to the RWE Youth Foundation’s traditional advancement areas, the RWE Foundation also oversees our charitable activities aimed at supporting schools, institutions of higher learning, universities and cultural development.
