Energising a greener, fairer future
28 August 2024
Energy continues to challenge many businesses with higher-than-normal commodity prices and market volatility that isn’t going away. So, for the last 12 months our focus has been on stepping in to support our customers with price fluctuations, as well as improving our own resilience so we’re in the best possible position to be there for all of our customers no matter what lies ahead.
Despite the challenges of the last year, we’re still energising a greener, fairer future as we journey towards net zero. You can see this in our investment in building a low carbon, reliable energy system, and helping customers save money and decarbonise. You can read about how we’re moving forward as a business and what progress we’ve made in our Annual Report. Some of the key takeaways are covered below.
Supporting...our customers
Energy price fluctuations have had a massive impact on many businesses. Since 2022, we’ve committed £140 million to support customers struggling with their energy bills. We’ve also hired 700 more UK-based colleagues to support customers over the energy-intensive winter months and into the future.
Supporting...communities, our planet and each other
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the world faces and our People & Planet Plan is a key part of how we’re responding as a business. It focuses on everything from achieving net zero and creating the diverse and inclusive team we need to get there, to making important contributions in the wider community.
The five Group-wide goals in our People & Planet Plan are:
Goal #1: Create a diverse and engaged team
Our aim is to build a more sustainable future with the best team – one with a diverse mix of people and skills and where everyone feels able to succeed. By 2030, we’re working towards 48% of all company and senior leaders to be women, 18% ethnically diverse, 20% disability, 3% LGBTQ+ and 4% ex-service 1.
However, because delivering systemic change across our business and society may take time, we’re taking action in several ways to help accelerate these plans. They include creating a Great Minds programme to better support neurodiverse colleagues, and helping carers better balance work with caring.
Goal #2: Improve career development opportunities for all
We recognise that to get to net zero we’re going to need to create thousands of high-quality jobs and then fill them with the best people. By 2030, we want to recruit 3,500 apprentices as well as provide career development opportunities for underrepresented groups, including 2,000 apprentices by the end of 2025. We’re also reaching out to young people to encourage the next generation to choose a career in energy by supporting things like Tech She Can’s educational programme.
Goal #3: Build inclusive communities
Strong communities are at the heart of a sustainable future, so we’re committing to building inclusivity in several ways. One key area is volunteering, which has grown significantly in recent years, reaching 20,383 days in 2023 (since 2019). By 2030 we want to increase this to 100,000 days, 35,000 by the end of 2025.
To help us reach this target, we’re expanding volunteering opportunities in 2024 including via our Get Set for Positive Energy schools partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB. We’re also supporting communities with donations and fundraising programmes and in 2023 we invested over £500 million in total community contributions.
Goal #4: Help our customers be net zero
One of the biggest things we can do to tackle climate change is to help our customers be net zero by 2050. That means helping our customers use energy more sustainably with measures to decarbonise power, heat and transport. Some of the ways we worked towards this target in 2023 was by offering heat pump price and performance guarantees, by providing free electric vehicle (EV) charging for a year with the purchase of a Hive charger 2, and by installing over 34,000 EV charging points since 2013. This is in addition to our Zero Carbon Electricity as standard offering, which is independently verified by the Carbon Trust, and helps business customers meet their sustainability targets.
Goal #5: Be a net zero business
We’re working towards being a net zero business by 2045, with a 40% reduction in our greenhouse gases (GHG) by the end of 2034 3. And as of 2023, we’re on track with our total GHG emissions reducing by 21% against the 2019 base year. Sustainability savings have also been made thanks to the gradual roll-out of our EV road fleet and property portfolio driven by FlexFirst.
Supporting...a sustainable future
To meet net zero, a combination of technologies will likely be needed to balance profit and planet. As we continue to cut our own emissions, we’ll also continue to identify new ways to support customers with lower carbon energy alternatives. We’re already one of the largest heat pump installers in the UK and we’re leading on hydrogen innovation across the UK and Ireland. But we’re not stopping there.
Centrica intends to invest between £600m and £800m a year over the next five years in key areas such as security of supply and flexibility, renewable generation, and our customers. It’s all part of the new Green Focused Investment Strategy, which will help support the energy transition and make sure it’s affordable for everyone. The road ahead may not be easy but we’re committed to energising a greener, fairer future.
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Additional information
Updated at the start of 2023 to align with newly released 2021 Census data for working populations. We aim to be 40% women, 16% ethnically diverse, 10% disability, 3% LGBTQ+ and 3% ex-service by the end of 2025.
Net zero goal measures scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) GHG emissions based on operator boundary. Comprises emissions from all operated assets and activities including the shipping of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) alongside the retained Spirit Energy assets in the UK and Netherlands. Non-operated nuclear emissions are excluded. Target is normalised to reflect acquisitions and divestments in line with changes in Group structure against a 2019 base year of 2,132,680mtCO2e. It’s also aligned to the Paris Agreement and based on science to limit global warming, corresponding to a well below 2°C pathway initially and 1.5°C by mid-century.
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