SO1 Nature, scope, and effectiveness of any programs and practices that assess and manage the impacts of operations on communities, including entering, operating, and exiting.
These aspects are described in the narrative of the Society section under “Approach to development”, “Approach to site management” and “Approach to decommissioning”.
SO2 Percentage of employees of business units analyzed for risks related to corruption.
All business units are analysed for corruption, through the preparation of the legal risk report. There was no corruption reported in 2010.
SO3 Percentage of employees trained in the organization’s anti-corruption policies and procedures.
We do not have information on specific training undertaken by employees on corruption, but all employees receive a copy of the Group-wide Code of Conduct, which contains areas relating to anti corruption such as Compliance with Laws and Regulations, Fraud, Conflicts of Interest, Gifts and Hospitality.
IBEDROLA training on the new Bribery Act is to be cascaded to the business units.
SO4 Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption.
There were no incidents of corruption reported or detected in 2010.
SO5 Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying.
We make representation to public powers through meetings and responses to government and regulatory consultations to explain ScottishPower's stance and provide the necessary information.
We are also represented through the following organisations: Energy UK (formerly the Energy Retail Association); Energy Networks Association (ENA); Association of Electricity Producers (AEP); United Kingdom Business Council of Sustainable Energy (UKBCSE); the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI).
SO6 Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country.
We are a politically neutral company and subject to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which defines political “donations” and “expenditure” in wider terms than would be commonly understood by these phrases.
During the period to December 2010, we made donations totalling £27,500 for the sponsorship of conferences and events – activities which may be regarded as falling within the terms of the Act. The recipients of these payments were:”
The Labour Party £9,500
The Conservative Party £7,000
The Scottish National Party £6,500
Plaid Cymru – Party of Wales £2,000
The Liberal Democrats £2,500 - Payment via Renewable UK (Sponsorship of Dinner at the Liberal Democrats UK Annual Conference 2010)
SO7 Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices and their outcomes.
There were no actions for anti-competitive behaviour in 2010. However, In September 2010 Ofgem announced an investigation in to four of the six large Domestic Suppliers (EdF, Npower, ScottishPower and SSE) in relation to their compliance with Standard Licence Condition 25 of the gas and electricity supply Licences. The investigation is considering whether the four suppliers are complying with obligations under SLC 25 with regard to telephone and face-to-face sales activities. The investigation is ongoing and we are co-operating fully, in order to provide Ofgem with all relevant information. No findings had been confirmed against any supplier at the end of 2010.
SO8 Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Nil.
EU19 Stakeholder participation in the decision making process related to energy planning and infrastructure development.
See response to SO1
EU20 Approach to managing the impacts of displacement.
Not applicable in the UK.
EU21 Contingency planning measures, disaster/emergency management plan and training programs, and recovery/restoration plans
Each of ScottishPower's businesses has emergency plans in place that are tested regularly through exercises to ensure they are robust.
Exercises generally are conducted internally, but occasionally may involve members of the emergency services taking part.
In Energy Retail, the focus is on ensuring customer systems and contact centres can be quickly re-established at off-site recovery centres.
At our power stations, the focus is on ensuring the safety of employees and the general public and protecting asset integrity, while emergency plans in Energy Networks are geared towards the safety of staff and communities and restoring electricity supplies to customers as quickly as possible.
Energy Wholesale operates a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS), managed by the Business Continuity Manager. This system was certified to BS25999 in 2010. Through this system, each EW generation station, and the business as a whole, can plan for disaster, emergencies, pandemics and other eventualities that could pose a risk to the business' ability to continue to operate. It also includes recovery plans to respond to such emergencies.
Business Continuity and Emergency Plans exist for each site. An annual programme is prepared and delivered each year. This programme includes various activities, such as conducting emergency exercises at each site and training key personnel. Every site as key performance indicators in place to ensure different elements of the emergency plans are tested throughout the year. Actions and lessons learned from these exercises, and real emergencies, are assessed and used to improve the BCMS and the procedures through which the business, and each site, prepares for and reacts to an emergency. All documents relating to business continuity management system are maintained on a web-based portal, so employees can access the plans easily.
ScottishPower Energy Networks and the other UK distribution companies have an agreement to assist each other should one (or more) of the distribution network companies require assistance in the event of a major series of network failures e.g. extreme weather.
Energy Wholesale maintains plans at each of its main generating sites to respond to a 'Black Start' (collapse, or partial collapse, of the national electricity transmission system). These are designed to support National Grid's efforts to restore electricity supplies. Certain generating sites contract with National Grid to provide specific services e.g. maintaining reserves of hydro-electric power to provide a reliable source of energy when supplies from traditional sources (thermal and nuclear generators) have been interrupted e.g. by extreme weather conditions.
EU22 Number of people physically or economically displaced and compensation, broken down by type of project.
Not applicable in the UK.