17 Appendices

Both internal and external sources (such as manuals, management information systems and third-party data) are consulted when collecting the data for this report. The departments bearing final responsibility for executing our key policy themes are involved in collecting the non-financial data for this report. The data they provide is verified by our Internal Audit department as part of their auditing activities. 

In broad terms, the environmental data of Gasunie in the Netherlands is measured and recorded as follows: 

• Data relating to energy usage is derived from the overviews provided by the energy suppliers at our principal locations. Data relating to the other locations is estimated, based on normal usage and/or third-party invoices. 
• Emissions are mainly registered by the Olympus computer system, developed for registering compressor data. CO₂, CH₄ and NOₓ emissions are calculated on the basis of the fuel consumption of the equipment, which is measured continuously. Each piece of equipment has its own emission characteristics, which have been registered in Olympus. 
• Data on fugitive emissions is obtained from recent measurements, in accordance with the NEN-EN 15446 method, and from historical research on emissions at specific types of location. 
• HFC emissions are calculated on the basis of amounts (in kg) recorded in the logbooks at the various locations. 
• All environmental irregularities are registered according to their cause in the Accident database system, from which the reported data is derived. 
• Specifications of nitrogen are based on purchasing data and on our own records. We produce and take in nitrogen at the Ommen, Wieringermeer, Zuidbroek, Kootstertille, Pernis and LNG peak shaver locations. 
• Data in relation to our safety KPIs comes from our Accident reporting system. 

The environmental data from GUD is collected in various ways in Germany:  

• These include direct measurements (electricity, water consumption and emissions), indirect measurements (e.g. calculations of CO₂ and NO_X emissions from fuel gas) and registration (waste collection reported by external suppliers). All data is entered in our environment database. This database is the source of all forms of environmental reporting, including our emissions trading, which is audited and certified each year by an independent third party (the auditing and certification only applies to the emissions trading part). Although we treat our measuring and registration systems with care, we acknowledge that the information provided is, in part, subject to a degree of uncertainty, which is inherent to limitations at the measuring location and with regard to calculation periods.

We comply with all national and international legislation in so far as it applies to our company. Furthermore, we apply strict demands: our technical standards are laid down in the Gasunie Technical Standards (which is also what they are called in Germany); what we expect from our employees in terms of acting honestly, safely and responsibly is laid down in our Health, Safety and Environmental standards and in our Conduct Guidelines. Various brochures and documents relating to these topics can be found on our website. 

We have a whistle-blower policy in place and have appointed seven internal confidential counsellors and one external confidential counsellor to deal with any issues raised. They will not only deal with integrity issues raised, but also handle complaints about misconduct. Our employees can also take any complaints they may have to our complaints committee. Finally, we always make sure we handle with care any complaints that arise from the local communities in which we work. 

To guarantee that we take the environment into account in relevant business processes, we have set up our environmental management system in accordance with the international standard, ISO 14001. To ensure compliance with this standard, our environmental management system in the Netherlands is checked annually by an external auditing agency. In 2021, the external audit of the ISO 14001:2015 resulted in the certificate being renewed. 

The table below shows the calculation of the CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e) for 2021 for the largest sources of emissions, broken down by country (the Netherlands and Germany). The conversion factor for the electricity consumption is based on the CO₂ emissions factors list. The conversion factor for the network losses is derived from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ‘Climate Change 2007’ (Direct Global Warming Potential, Methane, time horizon 100 years = 25).

As the Works Council, we safeguard the balance between the interests of the organisation and those of its employees. A large number of projects in line with our Vision 2030 got underway in 2021, and we are actively exchanging ideas with the Executive Board on how to carry out the plans needed to realise this vision. We count on our Executive Board to give employees the opportunity to grow with the changes required within the company. 

This year, the Works Council handled a variety of requests for advice and requests for consent. The ones that stand out the most concerned making our organisation a smoke-free workplace as of 1 January 2022, the issue of the company’s new sustainability-linked bond loan, and the final investment decision for WarmtelinQ. We also adjusted our screening policy, enabled a travel allowance based on access control logs from our building management system (due to changes in the tax regulations) and introduced a home working allowance.  

This year we applied the simplified approach to requests for advice on two occasions. With the simplified approach, similar steps to those of a standard request for advice were followed in part, though the process did not involve the submission of an official advice document or an official response from management. We used this for organisational changes that were limited in scope and impact, and yet not so limited that we were willing to do away with the advice process altogether. The idea of a simplified approach originated with our Executive Board. We have evaluated this approach and have determined that, with some minor adjustments, it can be applied in the future as well. The Works Council is the only party entitled to assess and decide on whether to require a standard or simplified approach to a request for advice, or not to require a request for advice at all.

Last year we started looking for two new Supervisory Board members to replace Martika Jonk and Willem Schoeber during the 2022 AGM. The specific focus in the profile drawn up was on the added value created for our area of work as a whole. The new members would have to be able to contribute to the role we want to fulfil in the energy transition within Europe. Experience working at an organisation in a state of flux was also considered a plus. We appreciate the way the management involved the Works Council in the process, and we are pleased that the company was able to bring Prof. Johannes Meier and Anja Mutsaers on to the Supervisory Board as new members. We wish our brand-new Supervisory Board members every success and enjoyment in the performance of their new roles.

We are currently busy preparing the elections for the new Works Council, which will take place from 7 to 10 March 2022. Our numbers are growing along with the organisation (from 15 to 17 members) and we are moving towards a system of staggered elections, where half of the Works Council members can be elected every two years. The effect will be that the term of office of a Works Council member will increase from three to four years, though for some of the elected members this will initially be two years in order to bring this system into operation. This will be on a voluntary basis as much as possible, possibly supplemented by drawing lots to arrive at eight or nine retiring members in 2024. We have chosen this system for the sake of continuity. In the current situation, theoretically none of the members can stand for re-election or be elected for a new term. By replacing half of the Works Council members every two years, new Works Council members can join in more easily and make use of the existing experience on the Works Council.

We defined strategic workforce planning, and in particular enabling the company’s own employees to adapt to the changing needs of the organisation, as the most important topic on the Works Council’s agenda during the past year. Though good results are being achieved in this regard, we are still a long way from, in particular, bringing internal mobility up to speed. Accordingly, during the remainder of our term of office we will continue to focus on and seek this, and we will also apprise the Works Council in its new composition why we consider this an important topic for the coming years.  

Gasunie has a large number of stakeholders with different interests. Our stakeholders range from customers, suppliers and strategic partners to governments, employees and local residents. As a company, we are in constant dialogue with these internal and external stakeholders. We keep them as up to date as possible on our positive and negative value creation, the risks and the opportunities that we see, and the impact of all of this on our stakeholder groups.

To maintain our standing among Europe’s best energy infrastructure companies in the future, we offer services that meet the needs of our customers and are in line with developments in the energy market. We do so by informing our customers well and by responding to situations that we identify through touchpoints with customers and other stakeholders. 

In the Netherlands, GTS engages in dialogue through market consultation and information meetings, conversations with representatives of customer groups (representative organisations) and via our shipper customer desk. In Germany, GUD is not the only gas transmission network operator. and therefore often teams up with other TSOs for market consultations and information provision. The GUD website provides a list of all points of contact that are relevant to shippers. 

• Complaints to GTS
  In 2021, GTS received one complaint from a shipper. This complaint concerned a REMIT report that GTS should have placed out of the shipper’s sight. GTS settled this complaint in 2021. In response to complaints from shippers concerning the long-term capacity they have reserved, GTS has submitted a code amendment proposal to ACM via Netbeheer Nederland regarding adding a cancellation option for the annual capacity product. This proposal is being processed by ACM.
• Complaints to GUD 
  There were no complaints from gas transport customers in 2021. Even controversial discussions on issues such as capacity provision were always held in a constructive and solution-driven climate. 

As part of its Vision 2030, Gasunie is constructing ever more new energy infrastructure. Given that having sufficient support from the local community is key to us being able to carry out these projects quickly and efficiently, we put a lot of energy into an open and constructive dialogue with this stakeholder group. In the year under review, this applied specifically to our WarmtelinQ and HyStock projects.

Thanks to our active role in the energy transition and due to the supply and demand dynamics on the national and international gas market, Gasunie has been attracting the attention of journalists much more than before. The information needs of our own staff have also increased. We expanded our Corporate Communications department in 2021.

Government stakeholders with whom we maintain contact (on a more or less regular basis) are: 

• European Commission 
• European Parliament  
• Dutch Ministry of Finance (our shareholder) 
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Netherlands) and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Germany) 
• Regulatory authorities Authority for Consumers & Markets (Netherlands) and Bundesnetzagentur (Germany)
• Provincial authorities

In addition, Gasunie has identified twelve strategic stakeholders, with whom we hold regular consultations at management level.

For our contacts with government bodies and regulatory authorities, both at European and national level, bilateral communication on a regular basis is the most common.  

We also participate in consultation platforms organised by government bodies and industry associations. The meetings of these platforms are sometimes organised on a regular basis throughout the year; however, it is also possible that a platform will only operate for a certain period (for example, for the duration of a policy process of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy). Examples of platforms and organisations are: 

European 

• Clean Hydrogen Alliance 
• European Hydrogen Backbone (we were one of the initiators) 
• ENTSO-G  
• Gas for Climate 

National 

• Netbeheer Nederland 
• Nederlandse Vereniging voor Duurzame Energie (Netherlands association for sustainable energy)
• VNO-NCW, Energie Nederland, NEC, KVGN, Greenpeace, and others

For many matters, stakeholder communication plays a role at both European and national level given that many laws and policies relate to EU laws, regulations and directives on which the Dutch national law is based. A few examples are:  

• Market regulation on hydrogen and natural gas  
• Scaling up the production of renewable energy (or in a broader sense, of renewable, low-carbon gas value chains)  
• Sustainable financing 
• CO₂ transport (Ministry EFCP) 
• Heat transport (Ministry EFCP) 
• Security of supply (Ministry of Finance) 

We also engage in ad hoc stakeholder management activities to address problems directly. This includes forming coalitions with other individual market players and infrastructure companies when we have specific issues to address. 

And lastly, we engage in stakeholder communication by: 

• providing our responses to government consultations 
• organising events, such as the joint presentation of II3050. 

Where this report refers to ‘we’ or ‘us’, this means the activities of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, unless otherwise explicitly specified. Activities of the two segments of Gasunie always refer to Gasunie Deutschland (GUD) and Gasunie Transport Services (GTS).

The interactive annual report presented on our dedicated annual report website and the PDF version of the annual report on our corporate website are derived from Gasunie’s 2021 Annual Report based on the European Single Electronic Filing format (hereafter: the ESEF reporting package). The ESEF reporting package is also available on our corporate website. In case of any discrepancies between the dedicated annual report website, the PDF version, and the ESEF reporting package, the latter prevails. The auditor’s report and assurance report of the independent auditor on our dedicated annual report website and included in the PDF version relate only to the ESEF reporting package.

In the event of inconsistencies or differences of interpretation between the original Dutch report and the translated English report, the Dutch report shall prevail.