Why customers, colleagues and communities matter at E.ON

People are at the heart of our business. From supporting our colleagues to thrive at work to delivering energy efficiency measures and targeted support to our customers and communities across the UK, we’re committed to making things better for society.

Empowering our colleagues

Creating a more sustainable future must start at home and for us that’s with our colleagues. We can’t expect to deliver strong results for our customers or for our business if our colleagues don’t feel supported, respected and valued.

We want to lead by example and encourage other organisations to follow. The future of the energy transition is inherently inclusive – we need everyone to be a part of it. We’re committed to ensuring our organisation is inclusive, representative and supportive.

We’re proud to be recognised in the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List for nine years in a row and currently rank in the top 10. Our gender-neutral policies, including fertility leave, equal parent leave and special leave for pregnancy loss and neonatal care all aim to support all working families, no matter what life stage they’re at.

We offer flexible working from day one, empowering our colleagues to work in the way that allows them, and our business, to thrive. And we’re delivering targeted action to address career barriers for our women and ethnically diverse colleagues.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone is welcome and where we support each other to learn, grow and thrive. Our colleague-led networks provide a safe space where colleagues can come together to share experiences, broaden knowledge and increase appreciation of a whole host of topics such as racial and gender equality, parenting, LGBT+, menopause and mental and physical wellbeing.

Supporting our customers

We want to do right by our customers too. One of our key priorities is helping our E.ON Next customers who may be struggling to afford their energy bills, both today and into the future.

We have a range of tailored support for our E.ON Next customers, including our Priority Services Register, free gas safety checks and financial advice and benefits checks. Our E.ON Next Energy Fund helps eligible customers clear accumulated debt on their account, allowing them to start afresh and pay only for what they use, and could even replace their old appliances too.

For some of our customers who may need additional support, we have partnerships with various organisations. E.ON Next works with SignLive to empower our hard of hearing customers to manage their energy account over the phone. Plus, E.ON Next works with Kidney Care UK to ensure vulnerable customers living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) can benefit from vital additional support that can help them to live better with the condition.

And we’re making sure we’re supporting our customers as best we can through E.ON Next’s partnership with TellJo. We may contact our customers to offer a TellJO wellbeing check to make sure we’re providing the support our customers need and find out how best we can help.

We also deliver a range of energy efficiency grants which support vulnerable customers with home improvements to help lower energy use and bills. Schemes such as the Great British Insulation Scheme and ECO 4 help households across the UK feel warmer and more comfortable in their homes, without spending more than they need to on energy.

Improving our communities

As well as supporting colleagues and customers on an individual level, we’re also working with local authorities, housing providers and government bodies to make homes warmer, more comfortable and healthier for thousands of households across the UK.

From York to Great Yarmouth, our Green Funding Solutions team are helping customers like Margaret and Glennis and their communities to benefit from a variety of energy efficient measures, such as solar panels, insulation and heat pumps. In 2022 and 2023 alone, our Green Funding Solutions team supported over 12,000 vulnerable households and installed 14,000 energy efficiency measures.

Through schemes such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), we’re teaming up with social housing providers across the country to help install £778 million of free energy-efficient upgrades to reduce the energy costs for social housing tenants and provide warmer, more comfortable homes.

And we’re helping to bring these communities together too. We organised a Summer Fun Fest for all the residents at Lincolnshire Housing Partnership’s Reed Mere estate in Immingham for the whole community to come together and celebrate the improvement to their homes.

Immingham resident, Joshua Foskett, said: "It’s brilliant that the whole community has come together today to celebrate the end of the project, and it’s great to see the houses looking like brand-new homes. We can’t wait to see how much we’re going to save on our bills."

Our npower Business Solutions Foundation is designed to support local projects that help build stronger, more sustainable communities. The fund is supporting community projects that help forge stronger community bonds, improve the environment, encourage responsible business and support skills and employment opportunities. The types of projects considered for funding include those which support energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures, recycling and waste reduction and projects that improve outdoor environments.

Plus, our Strategic Energy Partnership with Coventry City Council is delivering real value for local residents.

As part of our 15-year partnership, we’re improving community buildings, including libraries, sports centres, and family hubs, making them more comfortable for the local community who use the services provided. We’re also trialling an innovative pilot scheme in Coventry, offering eligible customers a comprehensive package of support to resolve their existing energy debt while tackling some of the root causes of their high energy use.

And we’re taking part in community initiatives across the city. We’re educating and inspiring the next generation through workshops focused on sustainability, renewable energy and the exciting changes taking place in their city. With Coventry City Council, we proudly sponsored the Care Leavers Awards for the third year in a row, celebrating key achievements from young people across Coventry and have taken part in a variety of career events across the city, providing everything from CV writing top tips to advice on developing the skills needed to thrive in a greener future.

Discover more about E.ON’s social impact across the UK here.