At Powergen, we recognise that we have an impact on the communities in which we operate and that, managed well, this impact can bring significant benefits both to these communities and to us. We have a positive impact on our communities because of the employment that we provide.

We know that we can add an extra dimension to this by taking the initiative, and by supporting and building the community through a programme of corporate community investment. This investment extends beyond simply making charitable donations and can take the form of staff volunteering and providing other resources, such as the use of professional skills or the use of equipment and premises.

We also know that we can have a negative impact, including, for example, possible disruption and noise from the day-to-day operation of our sites and poor relationships with key stakeholders. A good community programme should go hand in hand with measures to keep these negative impacts to a minimum.

Community initiatives

Relationships are vital for all businesses, whether with customers, shareholders or local communities. Being recognised as a good corporate citizen helps sustain these relationships and we undertake a range of community activities that demonstrate our commitment to acting in a socially responsible manner.

Our targeted programmes should be relevant to our stakeholders to ensure that we continue to maintain these strong relationships moving forward.

The community initiatives in Powergen UK, upon which we report here, are:

• Community investment
• Volunteering and charitable support
• Safety in the community
• Membership and awards.
• Community investment
  

While we make a considerable contribution to local communities through the employment of some 10,000 people in the UK, we strive to make a real difference over and above this.

In particular, our programmes are focused both on where we operate as a business and where our employees live and work. Our activity is predominantly in and around our offices, contact centres (call centres) and power station sites, which are spread across the UK.

Our activities are wide ranging and all impact directly on varied, local communities. As well as the regional focus, we target our community activities on areas relevant to our business and where we can bring maximum benefit. These initiatives are either undertaken on our own or in partnership with other organisations.

Some key points of our community activities over 2003 are:

• Education: Our community programme particularly focused on support for education - mainly at primary level
• Environment: We undertook environmental action in partnership with voluntary and community groups
• Children and sport: Through our sponsorship of English Cup rugby, we have been heavily involved in encouraging children to participate in grass-roots rugby
• Charities: We also support a number of charitable causes.