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Corporate Principles

Object and strategic focus

RAG Austria AG is Austria’s largest gas storage company – making it the country’s biggest energy storage provider – and one of Europe’s leading gas storage facility operators.

A responsible corporate citizen

a) Customers
We aim to live up to our customers’ requirements by providing reliable gas storage, oil and gas supply and related services.
This involves meeting their expectations in terms of price, quality, safety and environmental impact. To achieve this, we call on our decades of experience, state-of-the-art technologies, modern safety management systems, and environmental and commercial know-how.

b) Employees
We respect our employees’ personal rights. We aim to provide our employees with high-quality, flexible and secure working conditions, and a stable, creative working environment, as well as deploying them as effectively as possible in line with their abilities, and promoting and supporting their development.

Equal opportunities, integration and diversity are central to RAG’s corporate philosophy. The company has employees from various countries, and all of them are treated equally in terms of pay and career opportunities regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnicity, marital status, disability, social backround or ideology.

We encourage our employees to use their initiative when it comes to organising their work within the company structure, on the basis of clearly defined targets and responsibilities. Our employees’ commitment and collaboration are vital to the company’s commercial success.

c) Shareholders
We aim to safeguard shareholders’ and investors’ capital and to use the funds entrusted to us with care. This involves generating attractive returns on capital employed, in line with market standards, over the long term.

d) Business partners
We strive to build fair, ethical, transparent and mutually beneficial relationships with our contractual partners and suppliers. We are strongly committed to forming relationships with companies that respect and operate in line with our corporate philosophy.

e) Society and the environment
We aim to be a responsible member of the community, operating in accordance with the principles of corporate social responsibility. We comply to the letter with laws in the countries where we operate. We protect fundamental human rights as part of our role as a commercial enterprise. We play our part in promoting sustainable development by going beyond statutory requirements when it comes to health, safety and the environment. In this regard, strong environmental awareness and the responsible use of resources in all of our projects and at all facilities are essential.

RAG’s activities promote regional economic growth, and as a major employer the company makes an important contribution to the Austrian economy.

f) Local residents and neighbours
Neighbourly relations will be critical to maintaining sustainable energy supplies in the future. Responsible treatment of all stakeholders, especially local residents in the regions where we operate, has always been an article of faith for RAG. That is why we constantly strive to engage stakeholders in an active and open dialogue. Constant communication with local authorities, public agencies and key local institutions are essential for building long-lasting partnerships.

These six areas of responsibility are inextricably linked. As a result, management is committed to applying these principles in order to weigh up the various priorities and to make sound business decisions on the basis of their assessments.

Corporate governance and compliance

a) Compliance with legal requirements
RAG operates with a strong sense of social responsibility and in conformity with relevant legislation.

b) Political independence
RAG does not work on the basis of political affiliations and considers itself politically neutral. The company does not make financial contributions to political parties or organisations, or their representatives.
However, RAG is both entitled and obliged to clarify its position to public bodies in relation to matters that affect the company itself and its employees, customers or shareholders. We are also entitled to comment on issues and situations that have an impact on society as a whole, and where the company has a part to play.

c) Personal integrity
RAG employees are prohibited from demanding or accepting offers of or promises of personal gains, and from offering, promising or granting personal gains. This applies to all transactions and all individuals, irrespective of whether they are private businesspeople or public officials.
Employees must avoid conflicts of interest between their personal affairs and the duties they perform for the company.

d) Internal controls
Compliance with internal guidelines and processes is ensured by means of the four-eye principle and an internal control system. All business transactions concluded on behalf of RAG must be recorded in accordance with applicable regulations, and must be verifiable.

Health, safety and the environment

One of RAG’s top priorities is eliminating the potential risks and dangers facing all of the people employed by the group, as well as avoiding damage to the environment. This is in line with our commitment to promoting sustainable development.

This involves:

  • Avoiding waste, risks to health and damage to the environment
  • Constant reductions in emissions and waste
  • Efficient use of energy and resources
  • Being prepared to deal with emergency situations
  • Helping our employees, contractors and business partners to reach a shared understanding of health, safety and environment (HSE) issues, and
  • Regular assessment of our HSE targets


Health, safety and environmental management systems enable us to achieve continuous improvements in the measures we implement.

Financial principles and competition

RAG works under diverse and constantly changing social, political and economic conditions. We believe that the interests of society are best served by a functioning free market.
RAG is committed to the idea of free competition. We aim to compete fairly and responsibly, and in conformity with current competition law. RAG will not take any steps to obstruct companies from competing against it.

Profitability is essential if we are to live up to the responsibilities outlined above and to hold our own on the market over the long term. Profitability is also a yardstick of efficiency and the effective deployment of the group’s resources. Cost-effective investment is essential to meeting future energy demand. In the absence of profits and a solid financial base, it will not be possible to achieve our targets in the long run. The criteria applied to investment and spending decisions are not purely financial; they also take into account social, environmental and safety factors.

Communication

Owing to the importance of its activities for the economy as well as for individuals, RAG believes that open, proactive communication is essential. Providing all stakeholders with transparent, comprehensive information is one of the company’s responsibilities. We do this by holding face-to-face discussions with residents, neighbours and local communities, for instance during open days. We look to involve all of the relevant parties in administrative procedures to the greatest possible extent, with the goal of fostering acceptance of and trust in our operations and capabilities.