Stakeholder overview

As a society, we are facing a major challenge: we need to have a completely new energy system in place within half a generation. A future-proof energy system starts with a strong infrastructure. From that foundation, Gasunie brings parties together and works on solutions that contribute to a sustainable future.

Collaboration is key. Partnerships with stakeholders are crucial to maintaining the current energy system and developing the new one. By actively listening, sharing knowledge, and making use of each other’s expertise, valuable connections are formed that contribute to shared goals, both in the short and long term.

Stakeholder groups

Each stakeholder has their own role and perspective. Together, we go further: meet the partners with whom we realize this progress.

Gasunie is an energy infrastructure company operating in the Netherlands and Germany. We manage and develop infrastructure for natural gas/biomethane, CO2, hydrogen, and heat. Our services encompass transmission, transport, terminals and storage, which together enable us to meet the wide-ranging needs of industrial companies, power plants and energy suppliers.

The energy value chain goes from source to end user. Gasunie uses its infrastructure to connect suppliers and consumers of natural gas, CO2, hydrogen and heat. Together with partners we develop new infrastructure, and we work closely with stakeholders to create an integrated, sustainable, affordable energy system.

Gasunie maintains close contact with international, European, national, provincial and local government bodies. In the field in which Gasunie operates, laws, regulations and political decision-making play an important role. Accordingly, we actively seek dialogue with government bodies. Such dialogue is especially important, for example, in areas where we carry out our construction projects, so that we can take local interests and circumstances into account.

Given its immense importance to society, Gasunie is fully owned by the Dutch State (with the Ministry of Finance acting as its representative). The Supervisory Board is tasked with overseeing the policies of the Gasunie Executive Board and the general operations of Gasunie.

We carefully coordinate our activities with the local community. We maintain a dialogue with local residents and businesses so that we can work together to find suitable solutions. And we keep everyone up to date through newsletters. We also organise open days at various Gasunie sites and give guest lectures at schools and universities.

Gasunie’s success rests on its employees. They contribute to our results, innovation and reputation. We highly value safety, health, diversity, inclusion and equality. The Works Council, which represents the interests of employees, is actively involved in organisational issues and policy development.

We collaborate closely with suppliers to source the goods and services we need to do our work, such as suppliers of physical resources, contractors, and engineering services, who support us both in managing existing infrastructure and in seeing new projects through to their completion.

Gasunie pursues a sound financial policy. To have good access to the financial markets, it’s essential that we have sufficient liquidity and a solid capital position, both now and in the future. This ensures continuity of a reliable energy supply and allows us to continue investing in sustainable energy infrastructure.

Gasunie collaborates closely with various parties such as industry associations, joint arrangements, various industrial clusters and port authorities. This collaboration is essential if we are to make well-informed choices concerning the energy supply of the future.

The natural gas market is legally regulated at national and EU levels. In the Netherlands, market oversight is the responsibility of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), in Germany the market is regulated by the Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) and the UK by Ofgem. The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) coordinates regulation within the EU, with a focus on cross-border collaboration and projects.

An optimal energy system, one with the lowest possible costs for users, can only be achieved through continuous innovation. It is thanks in part to the valuable contributions of researchers and scientists in the Netherlands and around the globe that these innovations are being implemented so quickly and intensely. Their research and insights form an important basis for technological progress and smart choices in the energy transition.

NGOs (non-governmental organisations) play a key role both in the energy transition and in the broader public debate about energy. In many cases they represent the voice of citizens and the interests of nature and the environment, and they offer valuable perspectives on sustainability, the living environment and social justice.

To engage the right stakeholder at the right time, we employ different forms of engagement, with increasing intensities of collaboration. These levels are described in our stakeholder policy.

Environmental management

One stakeholder we would like to highlight is the environment. For the successful completion of our projects and during the management phase, having a good relationship with the environment/local communities is essential. It’s with this conviction that we strongly focus on environmental management as part of our stakeholder policy.

Our projects impact the environment in which people in the surrounding area live and work and in which businesses operate. Works like installing pipelines, carrying out maintenance work and developing new energy infrastructure have an impact. From local residents and landowners to industrial companies, local, provincial and national government bodies, and civil society organisations, we actively seek dialogue with stakeholders.

In practice, this means engaging stakeholders early on in our plans. We listen to concerns, ideas and wishes from the local community and try to find solutions that align with the various interests. Furthermore, we communicate transparently and promptly about the progress of our projects and we organise events and open days on a regular basis.

This helps us build trust, reduce risks and increase support for our projects. We do not see environs management as an obligation but rather as a natural part of how we work: with consideration for people, local communities, the environment and the future.

Land use/real estate matters

A key element of our environs management is our contact with landowners and land users. During the construction and management of our infrastructure, like pipelines for natural gas, heat, hydrogen or CO2, we are often guests on other people’s land and, as such, need to ensure care and transparency and establish mutual respect. Our Real Estate Affairs staff are the first point of contact for landowners. They make sure that there is:

  • personal contact about scheduled works at an early stage
  • a clear explanation of the known or envisioned route, the schedule and the impact on the plot of land
  • agreements regarding access to the land for the purpose of conducting surveys/inspections or carrying out works
  • agreements on land use and the associated compensation
  • careful handling of any claims and restoration work

We aim to reach acceptable agreements with every landowner, taking into account matters like accessibility, non-interruption of agricultural activities, drainage, and ecological values. And we stay involved after construction and during management: we monitor whether the plot has been properly restored and remain available for questions.