ENGIE

Engie has a business segment dedicated to providing energy solutions to its clients. This business segment works with clients to aid their decarbonisation efforts through the development of decentralised energy networks, including urban heating and cooling networks, and decentralised solar capacity. The company plans to add 8 gigawatts (GW) of installed assets to these decentralised networks by 2025 compared to 2020. Engie’s energy solutions segment also installs electric vehicle (EV) charging points for its clients.

Engie’s renewables segment is a profitable and significant part of the company’s business, generating 18% of the company’s earnings. The company currently has 38 GW of installed capacity and is planning a rapid expansion of this segment targeting 80 GW by 2030, with a planned investment of over USD 12 billion to achieve this goal. Engie is also planning a significant expansion of its renewable hydrogen and biomethane businesses between now and 2030. With these business models, Engie has identified a credible vision of how it will transition away from oil and gas and successfully operate in a low-carbon economy.

Engie has set a target to achieve net-zero scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2045. The company has multiple interim targets, including targets to reduce its absolute emissions from use of sold gas products by 32.5% and its scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 55% by 2030 compared to 2017. Moreover, all its 2030 targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as being aligned with a well-below 2°C scenario. The company has made significant progress towards achieving its targets. It should build upon its successful reductions and increase the ambition of its targets to align with a 1.5°C pathway.

Engie’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions intensity increased over the period 2020 to 2022. This was due to the increased proportion of gas in the company’s energy sales as its electricity sales declined and its gas sales remained stable. The company’s gas transition strategy is based on the increased use of renewable hydrogen and biomethane from organic waste. However, these alternative fuels are likely to be most impactful in the period 2030-2045. To align with its 1.5°C pathway, the company needs to make significant reductions in its emissions intensity this decade with an average annual decrease of around 4% per year.

Engie is aiming to achieve net-zero scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2045. The company has interim targets to reduce emissions from gas sales by 35% and scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 55% by 2030 compared to 2017.

Engie is planning to reduce its gas sales between now and 2030, while expanding its renewable energy, biogas and renewable hydrogen capacity. The company is aiming to have a 58% renewables share in its energy production by 2030, with plans to add 4 GW per year during 2022-2025 and 6 GW per year during 2026-2030. Further, Engie intends to have 4 GW of renewable hydrogen and 10 terawatt-hours of biomethane capacity by 2030. However, the company has not committed to phasing out gas entirely.

Engie is phasing out its coal-fired electricity capacity, with plans to have completed the phase-out by 2027, and is prioritising closure and conversion ahead of sales. The company added 7 GW of renewables capacity between 2020 and 2022. The company also offers decarbonisation services to clients through its energy solutions segment and is developing battery storage capacity to help facilitate the switch to renewables.

The company has made significant progress in reducing its scope 3 emissions from gas sales from 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2017 to 61 MtCO2e in 2022. However, the rate of progress slowed during the period 2020-2022. There is no evidence that the company’s emissions intensity has decreased over the last three years, as the proportion of gas compared to electricity in the company’s energy sales has increased between 2020 and 2022.

Engie has made significant progress to align its business model with the low-carbon transition, having exited upstream oil and gas production and significantly increased its renewable electricity capacity. However, the company is still heavily reliant on gas and has not set targets that are aligned with a 1.5°C pathway.

The company commits to engaging in social dialogue with workers and unions. It also discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with on a just transition, including workers, consumers, local communities and suppliers. However, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s ongoing social dialogue and meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders. No evidence was found of the company undertaking just transition planning to mitigate the social impacts of the low-carbon transition on workers, affected stakeholders and its business relationships. Additionally, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s engagement in social dialogue and with stakeholders in just transition planning.

The company has a commitment to create and support access to green and decent jobs as part of the low-carbon transition. However, no evidence was found of the company’s action to promote these jobs in a way that ensures gender balance and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Additionally, no relevant disclosure was found of the company’s assessment of employment dislocation risks. The company has a commitment to re- and up-skill workers and stakeholders affected by the low-carbon transition. However, no relevant disclosure was found of the company embedding equality of opportunity for women and vulnerable groups in these actions. Furthermore, no evidence was found of the company having a process for identifying skills gaps for workers and affected stakeholders or a public commitment to help workers displaced by the transition to reskill or upskill.

No relevant disclosure was found to show if the company identifies impacts of the low-carbon transition on social protection for workers and affected stakeholders, nor how it contributes to social protection. Additionally, no evidence was found that the company expects its business relationships to contribute to the social protection of their workers and affected stakeholders. The company discloses its process for understanding the alignment of its lobbying activities with policies and regulations that support the just transition. While the company discloses its action plan to address any misalignment, no evidence was found that it discloses the instances where its lobbying activities do not align with policies and regulations that support the just transition. Furthermore, no evidence was found that the company lobbies for policies and regulations for green and decent job creation; retention, education and reskilling; and social protection for workers.

The company commits to respecting human rights and the ILO fundamental rights at work, and it expects its business relationships to respect the ILO fundamental rights at work. The company also describes its process to identify its human rights risks and impacts. However, no evidence was found that it assesses its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. Moreover, no evidence was found that the company takes action to mitigate these risks in its own operations and in its supply chain and that it engages with affected stakeholders. The company does, however, have a grievance mechanism available to workers and external stakeholders.

The company commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers and expects the same commitment of its business relationships. However, no evidence was found of the company having a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage. No evidence was found that the company discloses the proportion of its direct workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements or its required working hours. The company discloses some indicators of workforce diversity, including the age and gender of its workforce by employee category. However, no relevant disclosure was found of additional indicators of workforce diversity. The company commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The company commits to protecting personal data. However, no evidence was found of the company having a privacy statement regarding the collection, sharing and access to personal data. While the company discloses its global tax strategy, no relevant disclosure was found of the corporate income tax it pays in each relevant jurisdiction. Additionally, while the company includes clauses prohibiting bribery and corruption in its business relationship contracts, no evidence was found that it has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions, but there was no evidence that it has a lobbying and political engagement policy. No relevant disclosure was found of the company’s expenditure on lobbying activities.