Our resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges: Insights from Fabienne Twelemann

In 2022, the energy industry was hit with unprecedented challenges, leaving many companies struggling to maintain supply chain continuity amidst global energy supply shortages. Uniper, found itself at the center of this crisis. The Corporate Communication & Governmental Relations (CCGR) team was tasked with communicating the company's response to the crisis, both internally and externally. In a recent interview with the German PR Magazin, Fabienne Twelemann , EVP, Corporate Communication & Governmental Relations, provided insights into how the company navigated the crisis. 

Our resilience in the face of numerous challenges is evident. From being mocked as E.ON's "residual ramp" to the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, we have faced many obstacles in recent years. Despite this, we remain optimistic about the company’s future, with a great portfolio as well as our resilience and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. 

„This company has tremendous resilience. And we have managed to pull ourselves together time and again - that's something we can be proud of.“ 

Internal communication was top priority 

During a crisis, it is crucial to ensure that employees are informed and engaged. Our CCGR team created a dedicated community on the company's social intranet to provide information and fact-checking on the crisis. This source was extensively used by all colleagues and thereby ensured that employees were informed and could answer questions from friends and family. Getting employees behind management decisions was essential to the company's success. 

“We placed a focus on employee communication. In an energy crisis friends and family ask you questions, if you work at Uniper. We wanted to make sure make sure people were able to respond promptly. And we also had to make sure that colleagues knew where we stood with our considerations along the bumpy road. This approach reflects our corporate and communication culture.“ 

External communication aimed to create transparency 

External communication aimed to create transparency by providing simple and clear material to external stakeholders, such as customers and journalists. The goal was to raise awareness about the company's business and the context of the crisis, and to prevent rumors from spreading.

“We made efforts to create transparency and to raise awareness. First and foremost, the most important thing is to get the basics right. We have tried to provide easy-to-understand material and to give answers as quickly as possible.“ 

Team spirit and resilience were key to success 

Our team spirit and our resilience were key to our success, and we attribute it to the company's culture of doing difficult things and not shying away from challenges. We were able to pull the company together and secure the German government's signature for the takeover, averting insolvency. 

Looking back and forward with pride 

Looking to the future, we are focused on shaping the company’s future. We have been working on diversification of the gas business for some time, and the crisis has accelerated plans to build an LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven that can also be used for hydrogen in the next phase. We face the challenge of speaking with pride about our power plants, which will continue to be needed in the transition to low-carbon energies. Here, too, we need to educate people: The energy transition and the switch to low-carbon energies must be implemented as quickly as possible. But it must be clear to everyone that security of supply must not be allowed to fall by the wayside.  

„My approach to credible communication in a complex environment is: We deliver what we promise. And that’s why we only promise what we can deliver. We need to achieve our targets for 2030 – at the same time, everyone must have a warm home and jobs.“ 

With the concretization of the new business strategy also comes a communication strategy. Both are in the making. We must bridge the gap between the present and the future. One thing is clear: Uniper is a complex and in some ways singular company. Accordingly, we are not the first port of call when it comes to the very simple answers. We rely on the media and the public to understand our path. And that way is: safe energy and at the same time continuous reduction of emissions.  

“If we succeed in explaining this pragmatic transformation well, then I am convinced that we will remain credible and be perceived as part of the solution.” 

At Uniper we are optimistic about the company’s future, and we are committed to doing difficult things to achieve success. With a strong focus on transparent and credible communication and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances, we are well-positioned to weather any future storms.