Sustainability
Sustainable development Energy Cells: priorities, goals and results
As part of the EPSO-G group of energy transmission and exchange companies, our concept of sustainability is inseparable from that of the group as a whole. We understand sustainability as the implementation of the transformation of the energy sector, ensuring a sustainable balance between environmental, social and economic objectives, thus contributing to the creation of a climate-neutral economy.
We are guided by the belief that the principles of sustainability must be integrated into all our activities and processes. We therefore aim to contribute to the overall sustainability of the EPSO-G group by making a contribution commensurate with the size and performance of our company.
Detailed information on the sustainability performance of Energy Cells can be found in the Annual Report, while the information on the sustainability performance of the EPSO-G Group is listed in the Consolidated Group Sustainability Report.
Energy Cells contribute to the EPSO-G group's sustainable activities:
Environmental Area
Enabling climate-neutral energy by reducing the environmental impact of activities
Social Area
Building a progressive organisation which acts in observance of principles of sustainability
Governance Area
Transparent and efficient management and development of the energy exchange platform
Through our activities, we also aim to contribute directly to the implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on ensuring access to clean and modern energy, combating climate change, developing modern infrastructure and innovation, safe and decent working conditions, employee well-being and a sustainable supply chain.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals relevant to our work:
Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth:
• We actively take care of the safety and health of our employees
• We work to create an organisational culture based on respect for human rights
• We invest in the professional and personal development of our employees
• We ensure clear and transparent principles of employee remuneration
Goal 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure:
• We ensure reliable and safe operation of the electrical system
Goal 13. Climate action
• We assess the environmental impact of our activities, including plans to reduce such impacts
• We use green energy in our activities and seek to electrify our existing car fleet
Sustainability topics relevant to the Energy Cells company
Energy Cells has assessed the significance of sustainability issues relevant to it, involving relevant stakeholders. The survey, conducted in early 2022, involved 17 respondents, including Energy cells employees, suppliers, partners and executives.
Sustainability topics relevant to Energy Cells:
Sustainable development Energy Cells: priorities, goals and results
We aim to contribute to the long-term sustainability goals of the EPSO-G Group by 2030. Depending on the specifics of Energy Cells activities:
| AREA | GOAL | INDICATOR | |
| Environment protection | ENABLING CLIMATE-NEUTRAL ENERGY BY REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ACTIVITIES
 |
|
· Calculated Scope 3 GHG emissions. |
| Corporate Social Responsibility | BUILDING A PROGRESSIVE ORGANISATION WHICH ACTS IN OBSERVANCE OF PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY
 |
|
· 0 human rights or discrimination violations · 0 serious and fatal accidents · Client and staff evaluation |
| Governance | TRANSPARENT AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENERGY EXCHANGE PLATFORM
 |
|
· 0 cases of corruption · 100% green procurement · Good Governance Index 2022 |
Sustainability and risk management
At Energy Cells, sustainability principles are integrated into our business processes, and the management of sustainability areas according to competences permeates at all levels. The Company’s Board is responsible for setting, reviewing the long-term strategic sustainability objectives and monitoring indicators. The Board also approves policies on the environment, equal opportunities, health and safety of employees, anti-corruption, remuneration, performance evaluation and development. Within its remit, the Board also approves the Company’s annual objectives, which include sustainability-related objectives.
EPSO-G’s Board of Directors also approves a list of risks at Group level, which includes risks related to sustainability: risks of non-compliance with occupational health and safety requirements, lack of adequate skills, turnover, motivation risks, risks of damage caused by natural phenomena, etc. The results of the monitoring of the implementation of the identified risks and the risk management plan are regularly communicated to the Group’s corporate managers, the corporate and Group Boards of Directors, and the Audit Committee, in accordance with the remit of each of them.
The Group Sustainability Development Manager is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the achievement of the Group’s sustainability objectives. Meanwhile, within the Group companies, the relevant environmental, social and governance objectives are delegated to individual functional units within the EPSO-G Group companies (e.g. environmental, occupational safety, human resources, risk and compliance management, etc.) according to their respective competences.
The Company, as other EPSO-G Group companies, are guided by common Group-wide policies governing the unified management of environmental, social and governance issues:
- Sustainability Policy
- Occupational Safety and Health policy
- Equal Opportunities Policy
- Environmental Policy
- Transparency and Communication Policy
- Anti-Corruption Policy
- Remuneration, Performance Appraisal and Development Policy
- Corporate Governance Policy
- Procurement Policy
- Interest Management Policy
- Support Policy
- Code of Ethics
- Supplier Code of Conduct
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In 2023, Energy Cells calculated greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol methodology “The Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard”. GHG emissions are classified into three scopes: direct (Scope 1), indirect (Scope 2) and other emission sources (Scope 3).
The Company started operating its battery energy storage system (BESS) in Q3 2023, therefore the GHG calculations do not fully reflect the emissions (Scope 2) that may arise from the Company’s direct operations. Scope 2 includes technological losses at BESS sites, resulting in an almost 5-fold increase in Scope 2 emissions in 2023 compared to 2022.
In 2023, Energy Cells (together with the Group) conducted the first inventory of Scope 3 GHG emissions in 2022-2023. Most emissions came from the following categories: capital goods (Category 2), purchased goods and services (Category 1) and extraction and transport of fuels (Category 3). These emissions come from transportation of fuels or energy from the extraction point to the moment of sale or distribution (Well to Tank), not included in scope 1 or scope 2.
| EMISSIONS | 2022 | 2023 |
| Scope 1, tCO2e | 6 | 4.5 |
| Scope 2, tCO2e | 258 | 1,076 |
| Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions, tCO2e | 264 | 1 080 |
| Scope 3, tCO2e | 1,258 | 277 |
| Total emissions, tCO2e | 1,487 | 1,354 |
Calculated using the market-based method. When calculating under the location-based method, i.e. based on the country-specific nature of energy production, the total Energy Cells’ GHG emission would be 97 tCO2e s in 2022, and 1,487 t CO2e in 2023.
Energy
Energy Cells aims to create an organisational culture based on a philosophy of conservation of nature and other resources. In the Group’s environmental policy, EPSO-G companies are committed to using certified green electricity in their administrative activities, to expanding the use of renewable energy sources to meet the technological energy needs of the energy storage system, to prioritising and expanding the use of clean transport, and to consistently reducing the use of polluting fuels and energy efficiency measures.
The Company does not have data on electricity and heat consumption for administrative activities in 2021.
As of October 2022, all electricity consumed in the Company’s administrative activities is generated from RES. The electricity consumed at BESS sites during the project implementation came from other non-RES electricity generating facilities.
As of October 2023, all electricity consumed in the Company’s administrative activities is generated from RES. The electricity consumed at BESS sites during project implementation and operational activities came from RES and other generation sources. In 2023, 95.2% of the Company’s total energy consumption came from RES.
| ELECTRICITY AND HEAT CONSUMPTION, MWh | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||
| RES | NON-RES | RES | NON-RES | RES | NON-RES | |
| Electricity consumption in administrative activities | n/d | 3.9 | n/d | 26.9 | – | |
| Electricity consumption for technological needs at BESS sites | – | – | 466.2 | 4,279.0 | 194.4 | |
| Heat consumption in administrative activities | n/d | – | 5.3 | – | 5.6 | |
| Electricity consumption for charging electric vehicles | – | 0.1 | – | 1.1 | 0.3 | |
| FUEL CONSUMPTION, MWh | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||
| Diesel fuel | – | – | 2.1 | |||
| Petrol | 4.2 | 28.8 | 15.7 | |||
| Total energy consumption, MWh | 4.2 | 504.3 | 4,525.1 | |||
| Share of renewable energy, % | 0% | 1.8% | 95.2% | |||
Occupational safety and health
One of the key strengths of the EPSO-G Group as a whole and of each of its companies, including Energy Cells, is its experienced and competent workforce, whose safe working environment, well-being and health are a prerequisite for the achievement of the strategies and objectives of EPSO-G and of its companies, including Energy Cells, and for the maintenance of an excellent business reputation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Policy adopted by EPSO-G’s Board of Directors, to which Energy Cells acceded and which applies to all the Group’s companies, sets out the objective of providing employees with safe and healthy working conditions in their workplaces, to prevent work-related injuries and occupational diseases, and to create a company-wide culture of fostering safe and healthy working environments, with the obligation for each employee to strive for, and to make a contribution towards achieving this.
There were no serious and/or fatal accidents involving the Company’s employees in 2021-2023.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Number of accidents | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total hours worked | 13,873 | 27,689 | 37,307 |
| TRIR (total recordable injury rate per 200 thousand hours worked) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dialogue and involvement of local communities
The battery energy storage systems (farms) of Energy Cells are installed in districts of Vilnius, Šiauliai, Alytus and Utena. From the inception of the project, the company communicated to the neighbouring communities the nature of the project, its importance for the energy sector, and the phases of the project. The awareness of communities was raised through meetings in their municipalities, the media and face-to-face meetings with residents, as well as through the company’s website. Given that battery storage facilities are the first of their kind in the Baltic region and that residents may have questions about the operation and environmental impact of such facilities, the company has put great emphasis on describing, explaining and presenting these questions. Moreover, during the construction phase of the project in 2022, efforts were made to minimise construction-related inconvenience to residents by properly planning heavy-duty vehicle movement routes and timing to maintain peace of residential neighbourhood during rest periods.
In 2023, as during previous years of the project, Energy Cells aims to build open, transparent and socially responsible relationships with communities, municipalities, and the representatives of the National Public Health Centre (NPHC). A great deal of attention was paid to noise issues. Once testing of the battery farms was launched, the representatives of the Vilnius Battery Farm’s neighbouring communities were offered the opportunity to visit the battery farm to look at the acoustic sound-absorbing walls installed. Moreover, acoustic measurements were carried out in all four battery farms, which, as confirmed by representatives of the National Public Health Centre, showed that the noise abatement measures installed around the battery farms were adequate.
To minimise noise exposure, the following measures were implemented:
- measurement of current ambient noise level and noise projection modelling prior to planning activities;
- modelling of noise reduction measures during the design process;
- post-project noise level measurements and assessment of their compliance with legal acts. In 2023, the latter were carried in Utena (07-11, 09-26, 10-16), Alytus (07-27, 10-30, 12-06, 2024-01-04), Šiauliai (09-19) and Vilnius (09-26, 12-04, 2024-01-04).
Energy Cells also teamed up with the communities to replant vegetation and trees removed from the territory of the battery farm, as required by the procedure of Vilnius City Municipality Administration. The company asked the residents to identify the areas where they thought tree planting would be extremely necessary and useful and, after coordinating with the Vilnius City Municipality Administration, planted the trees in the areas identified by the residents.
Transparent governance and anti-corruption
The Company’s anti-corruption activity is based on the zero tolerance to corruption principle, i.e. corruption and any related behaviour is not tolerated in the Company and the following measures of the Group’s Anti-Corruption Policy are implemented to manage corruption risks:
- setting restrictions on the acceptance and provision of Gifts, and procedures for making donations;
- using measures to manage interests of employees and members of the collegial bodies to ensure the primacy of interests;
- screening of business partners;
- ensuring the credibility of staff;
- operating a Helpline;
- conducting internal investigations;
- transactions between Group companies are subject to transparency measures;
- Training, communication and other targeted actions are used to raise the anti-corruption awareness of Employees;
- ensuring transparency of procurement.
The Company’s anti-corruption activities are based on corruption risk assessment and management. Corruption risks in the Company are identified measures on an annual basis, by establishing adequate management, and assessing the implementation of the management measures and the risk status on quarterly basis. No corruption cases were identified in 2023.
In creating an anti-corruption environment in the Company, a great emphasis is paid one the development of anti-corruption awareness among employees through various means and methods. In 2023, the Company organised anti-corruption training, attended by 20 employees, i.e. 100% of the Company’s total workforce. 4 (100%) managers and 16 (100%) professionals participated in the training.
The Company employees’ corruption resilience is also enhanced through other measures, such as internal communication, and by bringing to the attention of employees and members of management bodies to the most important Group’s and the Company’s internal anti-corruption legislation. In 2023, the internal documents were made available to 20 employees or 100% of the total number of the Company’s employees, of these, 4 (100%) were managers and 16 (100%) were staff members. All (100%) of the Board members (3) were also communicated on key anti-corruption legislation. Members of the management bodies did not receive anti-corruption training in 2023, however, in 2024, the EPSO-G Group is planning to launch a corruption prevention training platform, and therefore, it is expected to extend training to the members of the management bodies.
The Company strives to ensure that its business partners are committed to its transparency standards. Therefore, the Company’s key anti-corruption documents were communicated to the Company’s business partners on the Company’s website www.energy-cells.eu, in the section dedicated to anti-corruption issues.
In 2023, as every year, the Company conducted an anonymous employee tolerance to corruption survey to identify the employees’ perception of corruption and their willingness (not) to tolerate any forms of corruption. 14 employees participated in the survey (2022: 12 employees). The survey shows that 100% of employees have not encountered any forms corruption in their work in the last three years (2022: 100%), and 100% of employees know whom to contact if encounter corruption (2022: 100%). The trend in the survey results shows that the anti-corruption objectives are being implemented purposefully.
During the reporting period, the Group’s key anti-corruption legislation applicable to the Company was updated: the Group’s Anti-Corruption Policy and the Group’s Policy of Management of Interests of Members of Collegial and Supervisory Bodies and Employees. The Group’s anti-corruption policy has established that the Group’s anti-corruption activities are based on the Anti-Corruption Management System in accordance with the international standard ISO 37001:2016 “Anti-bribery management systems. Requirements with guidance for use”. The anti-corruption management system in the Group companies may vary depending on the context of the operations and the corruption risk. In 2023, employees were invited to participate in a non-traditional training, a lecture on modern corruption.
Key anti-corruption indicators in 2021-2023
INDICATOR | NUMBER |
Cases of corruption identified | 0 |
Staff members sanctioned and dismissed for corruption | 0 |
Corruption-related cases filed against the Company/employees | 0 |
Corruption cases identified due to which contracts with business partners were not concluded/renewed | 0 |
The Company also has the Helpline to report infringements by: (1) email [email protected]; (2) sending information by the post to the address of the Company’s registered office – Ozo str. 12A-1, LT-08200 Vilnius, to Romas Zienka, the Head of Group Compliance and Risk Management of EPSO-G. The report is confidential, and the envelope must not be opened; (3) submitting directly to the designated person in charge or to other members of the Group Compliance and Risk Management Department of EPSO-G – Romas Zienka, Head of Group Compliance and Risk Management, tel.: +370 612 58162, email [email protected] or any other member of the Group Compliance and Risk Management Department, where employees and other stakeholders can directly or anonymously report, without fear of negative consequences, potential violations, unethical or unfair behaviour. In 2023, the Helpline received 0 (zero) reports, as in 2021-2022.