Sustainability as a value driver from day one

Every renewable energy park tells a story — long before the first megawatt is produced. It begins with the choices made at concept stage: who we work with, how we manage impacts, risks and opportunities, and what standards we set across the value chain.

In this interview, Rita Cardoso Nabais, Head of Group Sustainability at European Energy, takes us behind the scenes and explains how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are integrated from day one, turning sustainability into a core driver of long-term value.

Sustainability is an increasingly decisive factor for investors assessing renewable energy projects. How does European Energy work with sustainability?

Rita:
Sustainability is not something we add at the end of a project — it is integrated across the lifetime of our assets, i.e. from the very first concept and design stages through operations and ultimately to end-of-life. That approach is fundamental to how we create long-term, resilient assets that add commercial value to the business and to our stakeholders.

Supplier selection is often where sustainability ambitions meet reality. How do you incorporate sustainability requirements into your supplier screening process?

Rita:
As part of our 2026 Sustainability Strategy, we have a dedicated cross-functional workstream on Responsible Business Partnerships that works towards embedding sustainability criteria into our supplier prequalification processes. This means that environmental, social, and governance considerations are assessed alongside traditional parameters such as cost, quality, and delivery capability.

We continuously assess suppliers against the sustainability criteria outlined in our Code of Conduct for Business Partners. This applies across our value chain and reflects our view that sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities often sit with suppliers just as much as within our own operations. As part of this work, we engage with industry associations to advance our efforts in sourcing from production sites that are ESG certified (e.g.: through the Solar Stewardship Initiative’s traceability standard).

Why is this level of scrutiny important from an investor perspective?

Rita:
For investors, sustainability is fundamentally about risk and impact management and long-term value creation.

Poor supply chain sustainability practices can lead to delays, cost overruns, or reputational damage. This means a holistic integration of sustainability across the business provides a multitude of benefits: it reduces execution risks, strengthens stakeholder relationships, increases the resilience of our assets and ultimately aligns these with the expectations of capital providers.

How does sustainability feature across the different stages of a project’s lifecycle?

Rita:
In early 2025 we launched a Sustainability Operating Model, comprising a strategic, cross-functional framework designed to standardise how sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities are managed across the entire life cycle of renewable energy projects, from initial screening and development through structuring, construction, operations and the sale of renewable electricity, fuels and assets.

This model ensures that sustainability considerations are present at every stage. During early development, we perform an environmental and social screening of the asset, whose findings then inform the development of an Environmental and Social Management System to address identified material impacts and risks covering construction, operations and end-of-life. Examples of topics covered include environmental management (including waste management, GHG emissions, and biodiversity), compliance with labor laws, stakeholder engagement, etc.

This full lifecycle perspective is increasingly important for investors looking at long-term asset value, supported by sustainability.

How does EU legislation on sustainability influence your work?

Rita:
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive was designed to improve and expand the scope of sustainability reporting, with a focus on transparency, comparability fostered by standardization, and a more comprehensive approach to risk management through the introduction of Double Materiality Assessments.  It requires companies to demonstrate not just ambition, but tangible processes, governance, and results.

For European Energy, 2025 marks our second-year reporting under the CSRD. We see reporting as a tool to communicate on our progress on the strategic sustainability priorities embedded in our corporate strategy. This means that reporting is not merely viewed as a compliance exercise, but as a way to support data-driven strategic and commercial decisions and to demonstrate progress and performance to stakeholders.

What would you say to stakeholders evaluating European Energy’s parks primarily through a sustainability lens?

Rita:
I would say that sustainability is embedded in how we develop, construct and operate our assets. This is not about short-term positioning, but about building high quality renewable energy assets that remain attractive, compliant, and resilient over decades. And while implementation challenges remain, we address them systematically and use the experience gained to continuously strengthen our practices.

For investors, offtakers, and financial institutions, these efforts translate into reduced risk, stronger long-term performance and the confidence that they are backing a renewable energy company committed to creating lasting value through sustainability.