Centrica Introduces Responsible Business Ambitions Out to 2030

LONDON, April 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrica plc, the international energy and services company with brands including British Gas, Bord Gáis Energy and Direct Energy, is introducing Responsible Business Ambitions out to 2030.

The Ambitions set out 15 long-term goals, focused on four areas: customers; climate change; colleagues; and the communities in which Centrica operates.

Regarding climate change mitigation, Centrica believes strongly in precautionary action and has set out clear goals to 2030, which are aligned to the Paris Agreement, in areas where it can make a real difference as a responsible energy and services company:

• Helping customers reduce their emissions by 25%, directly contributing 3% via its products and services, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 2.5 million UK homes. In addition, Centrica's actions will indirectly reduce customer emissions through providing insight and influencing policy.
• Enabling a decarbonised energy system by delivering 7GW of flexible, distributed and low carbon technologies, which is comparable to more than 10% of the UK's current peak demand.
• Reducing Centrica's internal emissions by 35% in the ten years to 2025 and by 2030 demonstrate that we are on track with Paris, and develop a path to net zero by 2050.

Centrica has already reduced its own emissions by 80% over the last decade and is a global leader in action and disclosure on climate change, having retained its A- rating with CDP which runs the global disclosure system that enables companies, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their environmental impacts.

Iain Conn, Group Chief Executive, said: "Our Responsible Business Ambitions bring the company's purpose to life. We are, of course, here to satisfy the changing needs of our customers and to deliver long-term shareholder value. Together our Ambitions give meaning to the goal of 'helping you run your world in ever more sustainable ways.' We've been active in all of these areas for many years, and we wanted to bring them all together and set specific targets out to 2030 that will accelerate the positive impact we can have in society.

"Our Ambitions are not going to be easy, but it is the right thing for us to set challenging goals and they will help us deliver better long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders."

For more details about Centrica's Responsible Business Ambitions, watch Iain Conn's video at www.centrica.com/Ambition2030.

Notes to editors:

Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a guide, we have mapped the challenges facing society against our business capabilities, to better understand how we can make the greatest difference.

Centrica's 2030 Responsible Business Ambitions also include:   

• Doubling the number of female recruits into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) roles, up to 40%.
• Supporting 2,500 young people not in education or employment with skills development opportunities.
• Encouraging employees to share their skills by volunteering over 100,000 days.
• Building a more inclusive workforce by helping 1 million carers stay in or return to work via active promotion of carer-positive policies.
• Applying new energy technologies to drive positive change by delivering £5 billion of value for communities, including £300 million in energy efficiency savings to public and essential services

The Ambitions build on Centrica's strong credentials:

• Awards for diversity and inclusion which includes Business in the Community's Best Employers for Race Award and Centrica's Group Chief Executive being ranked as a Top 30 Ally Executive in the Financial Times' OUTstanding 50 Ally Executives 2018 List.
• Following the company's first steps into connected care, Hive Link won an award for innovation in the Tech for a Better World category at the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest consumer technology event.

About Centrica plc:

Centrica plc is an international energy and services company. Everything we do is focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers. We aim to deliver shareholder value through returns and growth, be a trusted corporate citizen, an employer of choice and to be known as a forward-looking energy and services company.

We supply energy and services to more than 25 million customer accounts in the UK, Ireland and North America through brands such as British Gas, Direct Energy, Bord Gáis Energy and Hive, all supported by around 15,000 engineers and technicians.   

We have three global business divisions: Centrica Consumer, Centrica Business and Exploration & Production. All are underpinned by investment in technology.