Coal sourcing

Vattenfall's goal is to enable a fossil-free living within one generation and we have a clear plan for phasing out fossil fuels in our business.

With the closure and sale of in total four hard coals plants in Germany and the Netherlands during 2019, our consumption of hard coal decreased to 1.2 million tons in 2020, compared to 4.4 million tons in 2019. In 2021, we stopped the Moorburg plant in Hamburg. This led to a further reduction in hard coal consumption of less than 1 million tons in 2021. The Moorburg plant was divested in 2023.

We currently operate two hard coal plants in Berlin (Moabit and Reuter-West). According to a plan that we have agreed with the City of Berlin, we will phase out all coal in our heating business in Berlin until 2030 replacing it with climate friendly solutions.

As long as we need coal in our operations, we are committed to source responsibly.
Coal supply chain due diligence (PDF 98 kB)

Bettercoal

We are a founding member of Bettercoal. As a common platform for energy utilities, trade unions, NGOs and coal mining companies, Bettercoal works towards a global responsible coal supply chain. The initiative assesses the sustainability performance of coal mining operations against the principles of the Bettercoal Code, a globally accepted standard for sourcing coal, and promotes continuous improvements.
Bettercoal (PDF 141 kB)

The origin of our hard coal

In 2021, 85 percent of the hard coal that Vattenfall used in its two plants in Berlin was imported from Russia, 15 per cent from the US.

In March 2022, Vattenfall decided to not place any further orders for Russian coal. We are currently investigating the best way to replace hard coal from Russia, ensuring our high sourcing standards.

Sourcing from Colombia

Vattenfall has sourced hard coal from Colombia for many years. In 2017, we ran an extensive on-site Human Rights Risk Assessment to identify possible human rights risks through our coal procurement activities in Colombia. We publish this report and continuous updates on this webpage. Currently, we do not source coal from Colombia anymore.

A human rights risk assessment in Colombia - November 2017 (PDF 2 MB)
In Spanish:  Evaluación de riesgos para los derechos humanos en Colombia – Noviembre 2017 (PDF 2 MB)

We published regular updates on how we are progressing with our work with Colombian mining companies:

Human Rights Risk Assessment in Colombia – update July 2018 (PDF 130 kB)
In Spanish: Evaluación de los riesgos relacionados con los derechos humanos en Colombia. Actualización de julio de 2018 (PDF 133 kB)

Human Rights Risk Assessment in Colombia – update January 2019 (PDF 157 kB)
In Spanish:  Evaluación de los riesgos relacionados con los derechos humanos en Colombia. Actualización de Enero de 2019  (PDF 151 kB)

Human Rights Risk Assessment in Colombia – update September 2019 (PDF 140 kB)
In Spanish: Evaluación de los riesgos relacionados con los derechos humanos en Colombia – actualización de septiembre de 2019 (PFD 153 kB)

Human Rights Risk Assessment in Colombia – update June 2021 (PDF 498 kB)
In Spanish: Evaluación de riesgos para los derechos humanos en Colombia – de junio de 2021 (PDF 514 kB)

We take criticism concerning issues of the mining business seriously and aim to contribute to continuous improvements in hard coal producing countries in dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. Please, don't hesitate to contact us: press@vattenfall.com