Lisa Franke – Gasnetz Hamburg GmbH

Gasnetz Hamburg GmbH is a wholly owned company of the city of Hamburg. It manages the extensive natural gas infrastructure in Hamburg spanning approximately 7,900 kilometres with high, medium, and low-pressure transmission lines, along with nearly 160,000 house connection lines and roughly 600 gas pressure regulating systems. In this interview, Lisa Franke, responsible for Corporate Communications at Gasnetz Hamburg, discusses the company’s strong CSR strategy, including both internal and external CSR initiatives. Furthermore, the discussion delves into the topics of brand growth, awareness and image for a state-owned gas network and provider company with a monopoly position.

CSR and sustainability in the gas sector

As a gas network provider, CSR and sustainability initiatives are becoming increasingly important to consider, as gas supply to private households is decreasing in favour of more sustainable solutions. For Gasnetz Hamburg, CSR and sustainability initiatives have already been strongly incorporated since its establishment in 2010, both externally and internally.

When asked about Gasnetz Hamburg’s CSR strategy in a nutshell, Lisa replies like this; “We aim to create a good climate within the firm, adhering to values such as sustainability, safety, solution-oriented dialogue with customers, and collaboration for Hamburg.” Gasnetz Hamburg’s mission is to ensure a reliable gas supply to citizens and businesses, increasingly focusing on preparing Hamburg for the energy transition by pioneering hydrogen, and the goal is to improve the climate in Hamburg with a safe and greener gas network.

“We aim to create a good climate within the firm, adhering to values such as sustainability, safety, solution-oriented dialogue with customers, and collaboration for Hamburg.”

The biggest project at the moment is to build a 60-kilometer-long hydrogen distribution network in the port of Hamburg by 2030, also called the ‘Hamburg Hydrogen Industry Network’. Hydrogen is used instead of gas because this is classified as a more sustainable energy source. There are different types of hydrogen, for example, blue or green hydrogen, classified based on their ecological impact.

The goal of this network is that it would transport green hydrogen, but the problem is that there is not much green hydrogen available yet. Therefore, Gasnetz Hamburg might have to start with other types of hydrogen first. It is estimated that, by 2030, this project can save up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 compared to gas. In addition to this big project, Lisa mentions that Gasnetz Hamburg has a climate team that works on various projects, like switching LED lighting and adjusting systems in the gas pressure regulation plants to save CO2 emissions.

“By 2030, it’s possible to save up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 by using hydrogen instead of gas.”

Brand Building and Public Perception

Being a municipality-owned company poses some challenges for brand building and communication. For the corporate customers, Gasnetz Hamburg’s main concern is that these would consider leaving Hamburg for greener hydrogen; “Everyone wants to become greener and use hydrogen. We need to hold conversations and act quickly so our customers don’t consider leaving Hamburg,” Lisa says. In addition to discussions and rapid actions, Gasnetz Hamburg also holds customer events to keep in touch with important industrial customers, politicians and key influencers.

For the private customers, Lisa reveals that Gasnetz Hamburg emphasises hydrogen in its communications but doesn’t do much general advertising. However, Gasnetz Hamburg did use outdoor billboards for a hydrogen image campaign, which was its first major outdoor advertising effort. This campaign aimed to raise awareness about hydrogen as a sustainable energy source. In the recent brand survey, hydrogen infrastructures were also included, and it turns out that people increasingly associate Gasnetz Hamburg with producing green gas, but it is not the first thing people think of yet.

“We emphasise hydrogen in our communications but don’t do much general advertising.”

Additionally, Gasnetz Hamburg conducts yearly brand studies to track brand perception and image. A part that they are working a lot on is increasing spontaneous brand awareness. “A common misconception that we constantly face is also that people think we offer gas tariffs,” Lisa says. This seems to be very difficult to correct in people’s minds. Therefore, a stronger focus on communication relating to green hydrogen and the Hamburg Hydrogen Industry Network has been deployed.

Gasnetz Hamburg has also started with employer branding activities and is actively using LinkedIn and TikTok to communicate its environmental initiatives and recruit new people. Lisa says that “Social media, particularly LinkedIn and TikTok, play significant roles in our communication strategy, focusing on recruiting and environmental initiatives.” However, despite the efforts, Gasnetz Hamburg still faces challenges in raising its profile compared to more established entities like Stromnetz Hamburg and Hamburger Energiewerke, especially in attracting apprentices and skilled workers in the current market climate.

“Social media, particularly LinkedIn and TikTok, play significant roles in our communication strategy, focusing on recruiting and environmental initiatives.”

Internal CSR initiatives

Internally, Gasnetz Hamburg has focused a lot on corporate culture; “We’ve embarked on a culture journey, emphasising agility and transforming ourselves from an ageing company,” Lisa says. Some examples include introducing a “you” culture and meetings where employees can ask questions directly from the management, maintaining approachability in the company of just over 600 employees.

Regarding diversity, Gasnetz Hamburg focuses significantly on gender diversity, aiming to promote women within our ranks. “We’ve made progress, including appointing a female managing director and heads of departments. We also have a diversity code and pay attention to diversity in job advertisements, ensuring a welcoming and inclusive work environment,” Lisa says. “However, there’s a tension between promoting diversity and preserving traditional elements of our workplace culture,” Lisa adds.

Additionally, the workers, also including those on construction sites, are well-protected and fully paid. “We avoid creating a two-tier system among employees and have successfully merged different work cultures,” Lisa says, mentioning that also the technical staff is well-regarded and included in company communications. “For example, those on call during holidays receive appropriate rewards, and efforts are made to highlight their work in the company newsletter to ensure their visibility and appreciation within the broader company.”

“We avoid creating a two-tier system among employees and have successfully merged different work cultures.”

Future merger

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that Gasnetz Hamburg will merge with the electricity provider Stromnetz Hamburg in September 2024. This will inevitably affect the Gasnetz Hamburg brand, but Lisa looks at the merger positively. At the moment, Gasnetz Hamburg is working with a branding agency to develop the new brand. We are excited to see what the future holds.