Accountability + Transparency
Transparency and accountability to commitments to better customer and community outcomes through the Energy Charter are critical. The purpose of our Accountability Process is to add value to customers and energy businesses by identifying positive outcomes and endeavours being undertaken by Signatories and providing guidance, based on stakeholder consultation, on where there are opportunities for improvement.
The Accountability Process focuses on stakeholder consultation rather than on internal processes, ‘box ticking’ compliance or indicators that are measured through mandatory reporting to other organisations.
Our Accountability Process
As part of their commitment to the Energy Charter, Full Signatory CEOs agree to publicly disclose how they are delivering against the Energy Charter Principles through Public Disclosures and engagement with their customer/community councils or stakeholder forums, highlighted in Feedback Summaries.
Signatories assess their maturity against the Energy Charter Maturity Model, indicating where on the maturity scale they are, where they intend to progress to, over what period and how they plan to achieve this.
From 2024, we will also be leveraging the Energy Charter Impact Framework to highlight the outcomes and impact delivered for customers and communities.
The Energy Charter also publishes a Disclosure which sets out how collaboration through the #BetterTogether initiatives have delivered tangible outcomes for customers and communities, themes of focus for future #BetterTogether initiatives and identifies areas for continuous improvement.
The Energy Charter Industry Working Group meets with the End-User Consultative Group and representatives from Signatory Customer and Stakeholder Councils to reflect on the yearly Accountability Process to review and reflect and discuss suggestions on how we can do better.
The key themes highlighted in the Accountability Process are discussed by our CEO Council to guide the agenda for sector collaboration through the #BetterTogether initiatives.
2024 Accountability Process
Each year the Energy Charter provides Disclosure Guidance to support Signatories in the preparation of their Disclosure and supporting Feedback Summary.
The 2024 Disclosure Guidance was developed with the Industry Working Group and Impact Working Group and incorporates all recommendations made by the End-User Consultative Group, independently chaired by Cath Smith.
This year, some Signatories will be reporting on a calendar year basis, so will hold over their annual Disclosure until March 2025.
Disclosures + Feedback Summaries
Read the Disclosures and Feedback Summaries from 2019-2023 to discover the ongoing commitments Energy Charter Signatories have made to deliver better outcomes for customers and communities.