Sustainability

How Axpo practices sustainability

Sustainability is the compass that guides our corporate stewardship, enabling Axpo’s long-term success and value creation. It has a long tradition in our company, defining Axpo’s path for more than 100 years and becoming an integral part of our business. Environmental, social and economically sustainable objectives shape our strategy and inform our daily actions. Sustainability represents a core element of Axpo's corporate purpose, which is to ‘enable a sustainable future by providing innovative energy solutions’.

Energy & Environment

Axpo is a key contributor to the energy transition. As Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy, we take responsibility for environmentally friendly energy production and actively support the climate targets set in Switzerland and Europe. The expansion of photovoltaics (PV) plays an important role in this, not least to produce electricity urgently needed during the winter months. Axpo is also making progress in energy efficiency and investing in new technologies such as storage systems for electricity and green hydrogen.

Axpo places great importance on the sustainability of our energy production. We are constantly expanding the proportion of renewable energy Axpo produces and continue to make improvements in the energy efficiency of our own operations and those of our customers.

By 2030, Axpo aims to:

  • increase our PV portfolio by 10 gigawatts (GW) – around 20 times more than in 2020
  • expand our onshore wind power by a factor of 10 to around 3 GW

Axpo is making an important contribution to climate protection with our low CO2 production profile. Additionally, we put a strong emphasis on technology and innovation, such as the development of our green hydrogen and battery storage projects. You can find out more about Axpo’s Generation & Distribution business here:

Generation & Distribution

Axpo’s CKW subsidiary provides a wide range of energy-related services to both private and commercial customers. As a leading innovative enabler of the shift towards attractive, climate-neutral energy solutions, CKW is transforming its role from a pure energy supplier to that of a holistic decarbonisation partner. Optimising the overall energy efficiency of its customers in terms of both electricity and heat, for example, CKW replaces many oil-fired heating systems every year with highly efficient heat pumps. 

More on CKW

Social Responsability

To ensure the broad acceptance and success of our projects, a relationship of trust with our stakeholders is essential. Accordingly, within the company we foster an environment of openness and diversity in which employees can develop both professionally and personally.

Axpo’s employees are our most important asset and crucially important to our long-term success. To continue to operate successfully and remain innovative, a variety of perspectives, attitudes and skills are required. Promoting diversity within the company, our working environment is characterised by mutual respect regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity. Within this environment, we help our employees make the best use of their unique skills, experiences, perspectives and backgrounds to make an active contribution to the company’s success.

More on diversity at Axpo

With growing competition in today’s rapidly changing markets, employee performance and motivation are key to Axpo’s continued success. Maintaining regular dialogue with our employees is therefore essential, keeping them informed, listening to their ideas, encouraging and inspiring their efforts.

We empower our people’s ongoing development through various learning formats, providing  formal and informal opportunities as well as on-the-job training. We also offer flexible cost and time-sharing models to support their pursuit of further education, including additional degrees or professional certificates.

Our innovative power switcher tool was created to share knowledge, insights and the challenges and opportunities presented by the energy transition with the general public. Since its launch, this useful tool has stimulated well-informed debates on how the energy system of the future can be developed. In providing an overview of the development of Switzerland’s electricity supply, the power switcher has also represent a useful aid to policymakers, Swiss industry and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

Power switcher 

Economy

As Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy, we are financing a greener future through sustainability-linked bonds, green bonds and other transparent and sustainable financial offerings. These initiatives help fulfil our corporate strategy as well as the needs of our customers, shareholders, and investors. 

One of Axpo’s key corporate objectives is to secure the long-term economic income that is required to finance all Axpo’s future activities. We see the energy transition and shift to renewable energy sources as both a necessity and a growth opportunity. Last year, we focused heavily on expanding our renewable energy capacity. In addition to hydro power, wind and solar energy, we are also pushing ahead with the development of battery storage systems and the use of hydrogen as an energy source. The majority of our investments go into the expansion, security and maintenance of Swiss power plants and grids. Axpo intends to continue making an important contribution to the energy transition in Switzerland and will invest more than one billion Swiss francs in the expansion of renewables over the next five years.

Read more about Axpos Financial Results in 2021/2022

Sustainability is a central pillar of our corporate strategy and an increasingly important factor for investors. Our first sustainable finance initiative was the issuance of the Axpo Green Bond and creation of the Green Bond Framework in 2020. Other sustainability-linked financial instruments were added in 2022. 

Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework

 

Green Bond Framework

Axpo’s Trading & Sales business is primarily responsible for marketing electricity from renewable energy sources. We trade physical energy and energy-related financial products through Axpo’s origination services, which enable the development of energy solutions based on renewable energy.

Read more about our business area Trading & Sales

Governance

In all aspects of governance, Axpo is guided by our responsibility to people, the environment and society. The precautionary principle is of key importance to us. We ensure the safe operation of our grids and production plants, integrity in trade, and make a significant contribution to the quality of life.

As a corporate entity, Axpo is clearly responsible for complying with legal and regulatory requirements. But we also have responsibility for meeting the high expectations of stakeholders regarding our conduct as a company. Axpo’s understanding of compliance includes the adherence to laws and internal regulations, as well as acting with integrity, responsibility and respect when dealing with internal and external partners.

More about Ethics & Compliance

Axpo recognises that our responsibilities go beyond the direct control of our own operations. For this reason, it is of great importance to have business partners who share Axpo’s values and our principles of compliance and ethical behaviour. To achieve a mutually fair, trusting and long-term partnership, we ask our business partners and suppliers to abide by Axpo’s guiding principles for sustainable and ethical business conduct. These principles are set out in Axpo’s Code for Business Partners, which applies worldwide to the business partners and suppliers of Axpo and their employees.

More about Responsible Supply Chain

We enable a sustainable future by providing innovative energy solutions

ESG Corporate Rating

Axpo has received an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating of C+ from leading sustainable investment advisor ISS ESG. This means that Axpo is among the top 20 per cent of companies investigated in the relevant sector. 

Reports & Policies

To find out more about our sustainability strategy, you can download the latest Sustainability Report or our Sustainability Policy.

Contact us

Our Head of Sustainability, Philipp Näf, is looking forward to receive your message.

News on our sustainability efforts

Fair and clean

Sustainability is more than a buzzword

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A team for six years

Axpo works together with arwo, a charity foundation for people with disabilities

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Quite sustainable on the road

Axpo CEO Christoph Brand on the importance of sustainability within the Group

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