Assurance report on non-financial information
This independent limited assurance report is an English translation of the signed Dutch independent limited assurance report as issued at 16 February 2024
LIMITED ASSURANCE REPORT FROM THE INDEPENDENT ASSURANCE ENGAGEMENT ON SPECIFIC NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION 2023 OF STEDIN HOLDING N.V.
To: the shareholders and the supervisory board of Stedin Holding N.V.
Our conclusion
We have performed a limited assurance engagement on the specific non-financial information 2023 of Stedin Holding N.V. (hereafter also: Stedin Group) based in Rotterdam, as described below.
Based on the procedures performed and the assurance information obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that this specific non-financial information is not prepared in all material aspects, in accordance with the applicable criteria.
The scope of our limited assurance engagement concerns the following non-financial information 2023 as included on page 7 of the annual report of Stedin Group:
% Consumer convenience Costumers (excluding Zeeland)
Additional capacity MVA
Additional MV stations
Additional realised cables KM
Congestion areas
Flexible capacity MW
% Availability of smart meter data
% Supply reliability Electricity and Gas
% Planned maintenance Electricity and Gas carried out
Brittle pipelines replaced KM
Cultural value ‘Charging Forward’
Total workforce (FTE)
LTIR
% Participation Act jobs
% Greening of grid electricity losses
CO2 equivalent emissions
Basis for our conclusion
We have performed our assurance engagement in accordance with Dutch law, including Dutch Standard 3000A 'Assurance-opdrachten anders dan opdrachten tot controle of beoordeling van historische financiële informatie (attest-opdrachten)’ (assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information (attestation engagements)). This engagement is aimed to obtain limited assurance. Our responsibilities in this regard are further described in 'Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement of specific non-financial information'.
We are independent of Stedin Group, in accordance with the 'Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten’ (ViO, Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, a regulation with respect to independence). Furthermore, we have complied with the ‘Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants’ (VGBA, Dutch Code of Ethics).
We believe that the assurance information we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Applicable criteria
The reporting criteria applied, including definitions and calculation methodology, for preparation of the specific non-financial information are stated in the connectivity table as included on pages 258 to 268 of the annual report in the section "Connectivity table".
The comparability of non-financial information between entities and over time can be influenced by the lack of a uniform system on which this information can be based, evaluated and measured. This allows for the application of different, but acceptable, measurement techniques.
Therefore, the specific non-financial information must be read and understood together with the applied criteria.
Responsibilities of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board for specific non-financial information.
Management is responsible for the preparation of specific non-financial information in accordance with the applicable criteria, including the identification of the intended users and the criteria being applicable for their purposes. Management is also responsible for selecting and applying these criteria and for determining that these criteria are adequate for the legitimate information needs of stakeholders.
Management is also responsible for such internal control as it deems necessary to enable the preparation of specific non-financial information without material misstatements resulting from fraud or errors.
The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the company’s reporting process. Het bestuur is ook verantwoordelijk voor een zodanige interne beheersing als het noodzakelijk acht om het opstellen, meten of evalueren van specifieke niet-financiële informatie mogelijk te maken zonder afwijkingen van materieel belang als gevolg van fouten of fraude.
Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement on specific non-financial information.
Our objective is to plan and perform our assurance engagement in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate assurance evidence for our conclusion.
The procedures performed in this context differ in nature and timing and are less extent as compared to reasonable assurance engagements. The level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is therefore substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance engagement been performed.
We apply the 'Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitssystemen' (NVKS, Regulations for quality management systems) and accordingly maintain a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Our limited assurance engagement included, among others:
Determining the plausibility of the specific non-financial information.
Evaluating the appropriateness of the reporting criteria, their consistent application, and related disclosures, that are included in the connectivity table as included on pages 258 to 268 of the annual report in the section "Connectivity table".
Obtaining through inquiries a general understanding of control environment, reporting processes, information systems and risk-assessment process relevant to the preparation of the specific non-financial information, but not to obtain assurance evidence about their implementation or their operating effectiveness.
Inquiries with the Board of Management, the internal audit department, and other employees of the company.
Identifying areas of the specific non-financial information with a higher risk of misleading or unbalanced information or material misstatements, whether due to errors or fraud. Designing and performing further assurance procedures aimed at determining the plausibility of the sustainability information responsive to this risk assessment. These procedures consisted amongst others of:
interviewing management responsible for the specific non-financial information;
interviewing relevant staff responsible for providing the information for, carrying out internal control procedures on, and consolidating the data for the specific non-financial information;
obtaining assurance information that the sustainability information reconciles with underlying records of the company;
assessing relevant internal and external documentation based on limited sample observations;
performing an analytical review of the data and trends;
Evaluating the consistency of the spcific non-financial information with the information in the annual report which is not included in the scope of our review.
We communicate with the Supervisory Board, among other things, about the planned scope and timing of the assurance engagement and about the significant findings that have emerged from our assurance engagement.
Rotterdam, 16 February 2024
Deloitte Accountants B.V.
Digitally signed on the original: drs. A. van der Spek RA
