Corporate Responsibility

Successful and sustainable business practices are not mutually exclusive; rather, they offer new potential for innovation and value creation. To achieve national CO₂ reduction targets quickly and efficiently, we aim to play an active role in shaping the energy transition. Together with VNG AG, we are pursuing the updated 2030+ Strategy and continuously expanding our green offerings. Our corporate mission statement, developed in 2024, supports us in the green transformation. In addition to our core gas business, we are expanding our activities to include biomethane. To accelerate this transition, the biomethane trader bmp greengas GmbH has been a wholly owned subsidiary of VNG Handel & Vertrieb since 2024. Furthermore, we are involved in the Energy Park Bad Lauchstädt, where green hydrogen is produced, stored, transported, and marketed. To meet these challenges and ensure our business operations, compliance with the legal framework is a matter of

course for us. The Code of Conduct and other measures and tools help us avoid risks of market manipulation, corruption, and compliance violations. In addition, regulations such as the Procurement Policy, business partner screening, and the General Terms and Conditions of Purchase assist us in selecting our business partners to prevent liability claims. These measures are supplemented by regular training and support from a Compliance Manager who serves as a point of contact. As part of our efforts to implement the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), we have also introduced a Supplier Code of Conduct, which we intend to gradually incorporate into our procurement contracts to promote human rights compliance in our supply chains. In addition, VNG AG has adopted the Policy Statement on the LkSG, thereby assuming its role of responsibility within the value chain.

Climate and environmental protection are central elements of our sustainability efforts. In addition to our strategic focus on biomethane and hydrogen as energy sources of the future, we also want to make our own contribution as a company. That is why we report on our internal energy, paper, and water consumption, waste volumes, and CO₂ emissions generated by business travel. Documenting this data provides insight into our current progress and serves as the foundation for future environmental goals within the company. We aim to reduce resource consumption in the future and plan business travel with CO₂ considerations in mind. Our choice of IT service provider, GISA GmbH, also

underscores our commitment to protecting the environment. GISA’s Green IT solutions result in significant savings in electricity and CO₂ emissions and utilize energy- and resource-efficient cooling, as well as hosting and housing services. The environmental management system, certified according to DIN EN ISO 14001, ensures compliance with environmental measures. This low-carbon partnership strengthens the environmental performance of our internal IT systems and processes. Another effort to operate in a resource-efficient manner is the switch to 100% recycled paper for various printed materials, as well as the elimination of physical copies of invoices and reminders.

In the area of social affairs, our focus is on employees. We deal with issues here such as human rights, diversity, working conditions and training. The corporate culture, family- and life phase-oriented HR policy and the protection of employees' health are particularly important for us. A core topic is the performance indicator LTIF, which measures the current status of occupational safety and lists accidents with lost time. Furthermore, with an attractive and fair remuneration system, health protection offers and measures, options for home office and mobile working as well as diversity, we ensure a modern and friendly working environment

that enables the compatibility of career and family. This also includes data protection and security. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has led to a high degree of process digitization while simultaneously raising the bar for security requirements. Since 2022, the new Information Security Policy has been in effect, addressing the current challenges in this area. Social engagement is also an important part of VNG Handel & Vertrieb’s corporate culture. Under the umbrella of the VNG Foundation, VNG AG brings together social, cultural, and community activities and projects in the fields of science, education, art, sports, culture, and social welfare.