The redirection of capital streams into sustainable investments is one of the objectives of the action plan for funding sustainable growth (“EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance”). The Taxonomy Regulation came into effect in the middle of 2020 and serves as a uniform binding classification system that defines the economic activities in the EU that are deemed “environmentally sustainable”. The companies report on the outcomes of this classification on an annual basis. Accordingly, the non-financial reports of these companies include information on how and to what extent their activities are to be classified as environmentally sustainable.
Based on the previously published regulations and delegated acts, an interdisciplinary project initially defined the economic activities within Energie AG Group that are to be classified as environmentally sustainable. In accordance with the Taxonomy Regulation, a differentiation was made between an economic activity’s taxonomy-eligibility and taxonomy-aligned. The reporting for fiscal year 2021/2022 requires information on whether an economic activity is described in the delegated act and thereby rendered taxonomy-eligible.
For the two environmental goals “climate change mitigation” and “climate change adaptation”, the EU has published the delegated acts on sustainable economic activities within the meaning of the Taxonomy Regulation. The remaining four environmental goals are not yet applicable to Energie AG Group in the current fiscal year.
According to relief granted by the EU, the reporting year 2021/2022 only requires Energie AG to disclose the proportions of the economic activities that are eligible and not eligible under the taxonomy in the sales revenues as well as capital expenditure and operating expenses. This consideration in principle includes all fully or partly consolidated subsidiaries.
Owing to Article 8 no. 1 of the Taxonomy Regulation in conjunction with § 243b and/or § 267a Austrian Commercial Code (UGB), application of the regulations under the Taxonomy Regulation is compulsory for Energie AG. As required under § 245a para 1 UGB, the Consolidated Financial Statements of Energie AG as of the closing date were compiled in accordance with the “International Financial Reporting Standards” (IFRS). The figures used to calculate the key figure for sales revenues, investments (capex) and operating expenses (opex) stem from the figures reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Based on a complete analysis of the company’s economic activities with respect to the environmental goals “climate change mitigation” and “climate change adaptation”, the proportion of taxonomy-eligible sales revenues, capex and opex in the respective total figures are stated in accordance with the Taxonomy Regulation for fiscal year 2021/2022.
Identified economic activities within the meaning of the EU Taxonomy Regulation
Economic sector according |
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Material economic activities identified in the Energie AG Group |
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Energy |
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Electricity generation from hydroelectric power and photovoltaics |
Water supply, waste water management and waste management |
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Construction and operation of systems for water extraction, treatment and supply |
Traffic |
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Transport using passenger cars and light commercial vehicles |
Building industry and real estate |
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Acquisition and ownership of buildings |
Information and communication |
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Data processing, hosting and associated activities |
The economic activity “electricity generation from wind power” is not included in Energie AG’s taxonomy disclosures because the wind power-related participating interests within Energie AG Group are not consolidated or only consolidated at equity.
Sales revenues – definition
According to the Taxonomy Regulation, the numerator only considers taxonomy-eligible goods or services that are produced or rendered directly by Energie AG Group. The proportion of taxonomy-eligible economic activities in the total sales revenues was determined as the proportion of sales revenues from goods and services that is associated with taxonomy-eligible economic activities (numerator), divided by Energie AG Group’s consolidated net sales revenues determined in accordance with the “International Accounting Standard” (IAS) 1.82 (a) (denominator) (also see the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, Consolidated Statement of Income). The proportion of Energie AG Group’s taxonomy-eligible sales revenues was 22% in the reporting period.
Sales revenues
Investment expenditure (capex) - definition
The key figure capex expresses the proportion of the investment expenditure that is either associated with a taxonomy-eligible economic activity or relates to the procurement of products and services from a taxonomy-eligible economic activity.
The key figure capex is defined as the taxonomy-eligible investment expenditure (numerator) divided by the total investment expenditure for intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and IFRS 16 leasing investments (denominator) (also see the Group Management Report, Business development in the Group). 84% of the investment expenditure was defined as taxonomy-eligible in fiscal year 2021/2022.
CapEx
Operating expenses (opex) - definition
The key figure opex expresses the proportion of the operating expenses within the meaning of the Taxonomy Regulation that is either associated with a taxonomy-eligible economic activity or relates to the procurement of products from a taxonomy-eligible economic activity.
The key figure opex is defined as the taxonomy-eligible operating expenses (numerator) divided by the total defined operating expenses (denominator). The operating expenses are comprised of the expenses for research and development (R&D), expenses for maintenance and repairs, direct expenses in relation to the daily maintenance of assets, and short-term leases. 56% of operating expenses in the reporting period were classified as taxonomy-eligible within the meaning of the Taxonomy Regulation.
OpEx
