Building sustainable markets together

Climate change is an ongoing factor for economies and businesses worldwide. At EEX Group, we are committed to facilitating decarbonisation and a transition towards clean sources of energy through the products and services that we offer to our customers, as well as how we operate our business and engage communities worldwide. 

Sustainability at EEX Group

Sustainability is at the heart of EEX Group – it shapes what we offer to our customers, how we engage our staff, and contribute to wider society. We continue to serve energy transition efforts by introducing new services and products, in addition to strengthening emerging markets that are essential to build a low-carbon future. As part of our commitment, we also focus on reducing the carbon footprint of our business operations as it is important for us to grow our global presence in a sustainable way. We are proud to have colleagues from across our global offices working on sustainability initiatives, building customer offerings that meet market demands, and contributing to local charitable causes.

Our People

People are key to our success and delivering on our commitment to sustainability. Therefore, we strive to create an enabling and inspiring environment for the people we work with, both internally and externally. In addition to financial success and environmental considerations, we are continuously improving our social initiatives. Below, you can learn more about our annual highlights and ongoing programmes.

Corporate Social Responsibility

EEX Group has dedicated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives through sponsorship, donations, and volunteering programmes. We have a sponsorship policy and commitment to supporting non-profit organisations that are active in education and social cohesion. In addition, our annual company-wide fundraisers support a variety of causes, such as the Heart Race in 2023 and Wings for Life in 2024. We also build community service into our events, partnering with local non-profits in Europe, the US, and Asia to engage with elderly communities, underprivileged groups, as well as environmental restoration organisations. Finally, we support staff-led initiatives, such as used item donations to local charities for people in need.

Employee satisfaction and work-life balance 

We recognise the value of ensuring modern work environments that meet the needs of our staff. In recognition of this, we aim to support flexible work arrangements as well as the physical and mental well-being of our staff. We offer parental benefits, routine health check-up services, a remote work-friendly culture with the option of working abroad in selected countries, as well as part-time arrangements, amongst others. In addition, we review our employee satisfaction through a Group-wide annual survey.    

We also organise learning opportunities for our staff to thrive in their professional and personal lives. These include trainings and workshops for professional development to help individuals develop skills, as well as regular sports activities and company-wide team events to foster a sense of belonging within the EEX Group family. We have also been certified as a family-friendly employer since 2016 and therefore place strong emphasis on employee satisfaction and creating a supporting, family-and work-life balance conscious work environment.

Diversity and inclusion 

At EEX Group, we are continuously expanding our initiatives so that more of our diverse colleagues can be recognised, represented, and supported. Across our 23 office locations, we have employees with different gender identities, nationalities, ethnic origins, religious beliefs, abilities and disabilities, and sexual orientations. We aim to provide an environment where individuals can feel included, voice their needs, and initiate changes.

We host and support employee-led groups across our global offices. Over the years, we have supported groups that offer community and professional support for gender, LGBTQ+ communities, and international employees.

EEX Group continues to be active as a signatory of the “Charta der Vielfalt”, together with 5,000 companies across Germany. This employer initiative serves to promote diversity in companies and institutions. In addition, we are a member of “Wirtschaft für ein weltoffenes Sachsen” as well as “Zukunftswege Ost” and actively promote the benefits of diversity for companies and wider society.

Our Products

EEX Group builds business environments that facilitate the energy transition and decarbonisation through financial solutions and regulated markets. As a market builder and trading platform provider, we believe that markets can provide the best available options for partners at every stage of their path toward sustainability. Operating at the intersection of finance and energy sectors, we focus on building successful and secure market ecosystems through innovating products, services, and related tools for decarbonisation.

We bring expertise into building renewable energy markets, carbon markets, and complementary tools. In addition, we facilitate transparency, price formation, and trust to pave the way for the adoption of new energy solutions for a low-carbon future. Across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, we strive to create a facilitating environment for emerging solutions such as voluntary carbon markets and hydrogen markets, allowing both the demand and supply sides to confidently navigate new markets by providing indices as a guiding light for prices. In addition, we enable transparency and traceability for renewable power generation through our registry services, increasing confidence in the genuine origin of energy and heating sources, such as biogas, solar, hydro, and other renewable sources.

Building renewable and sustainable energy markets 

We have developed tradable products on power spot markets to accommodate the fluctuating nature of renewables on existing grids and products to cover hedging needs for companies at different stages. Spot offerings play a key role in the steady rise of renewables as part of the energy mix, connecting producers to a growing demand from industry and consumers alike.

In addition, we create financial instruments that allow for the increased integration of renewables into the market. Through our power futures product suite, we facilitate long-term PPA hedging on the exchange, supporting the transition to a subsidy-free renewable power market.

At the same time, we are building products and related tools to support the development of additional energy sources to meet demands for the energy transition. In 2023, EEX launched the world’s first market-based green hydrogen index (HYDRIX), and has developed a trading platform for hydrogen markets. 

Building markets and tools for decarbonisation 

Since 2004, we have been offering market-based products and services for decarbonisation, including those later used by governments as part of their emissions trading systems (ETS). Since 2010, EEX has been operating spot and derivatives markets within the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and running the EU ETS auctions for its member states, with more than 3,000 auctions conducted on its platform. By 2024, the EU ETS had cumulatively raised over 216 billion euros in revenue on behalf of the participating member states, which can be used for climate and innovation funds, and additionally expanded to include the maritime industry. In recent years, EEX has also been operating the sell-off platform for the German fuel ETS (nEHS), which raised a record 18.5 billion euros in 2024. We also support governments to develop their ETS, such as working with the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) to operate the managed auction service for New Zealand's ETS (NZ ETS). Finally, we offer the world’s largest suite of unique environmental contracts in the US market through Nodal Exchange. Learn more about our environmental markets here. 

Facilitating market transparency and trust  

Trust, transparency, and traceability are key to driving large-scale adoption of new energy solutions. In 2024, a volume of 56 TWh of Guarantees of Origins (GOs) for renewable energy were traded on EEX Group markets. The same year, we launched a suite of​​​​​​​ GO Futures to allow companies using GOs to meet decarbonisation goals to hedge their exposure with derivatives products. GOs provide transparent tracking for renewable energy within the EU to promote the production and consumption of more sustainable energy sources, such as renewable electricity, biogas, and hydrogen to name a few.

In addition, we offer services across the entire registries’ value chain from providing unique services for issuing bodies across Europe to providing trading solutions for GOs. Our Group company, Grexel, is the leading registry provider in Europe, with solutions focused on, but not limited to, GOs in 18 countries. In addition, EEX is the French issuing body for power and biogas GOs and operates the associated primary auctions. Furthermore, EPEX SPOT operates pan-European power GO spot auctions.

Trust-building mechanisms can also extend beyond traceability, to include products that facilitate energy efficiency and transparent price signalling. Since 2018, EEX has been operating the French registry for energy savings certificates. Last year, EEX’s price signal tools and indices grew to include Europe GO, Europe Hydro, Europe Wind, Europe Solar, Nordic Hydro, HYDRIX, and the Global Carbon Index Family. Learn more about our registry services here.