Milestone in renaturation of the Emscher river achieved

As part of its pit water concept, RAG Aktiengesellschaft decommissioned the Amalie water management site – the last of what used to be four locations – for discharging pit water into the Emscher in March. For the first time in over 100 years, the river is free of pit water again. Renaturation of the Emscher river is a once-in-a-century European project.

Excellent mining music

A great honour for the coal mining industry’s musical tradition: The Bergkapelle Saar, which is supported by the RAG-Stiftung, won first prize at the European Championship for Wind Orchestras at the Philharmonie Luxembourg in June 2023. Shortly afterwards, singing of the traditional miners’ hymn “Das Steigerlied” was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Finally, mining music from Saarland was included in the State List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Board of Executives reported on the past financial year 2022 at the annual press conference on 6 June and provided information on ongoing developments (from left to right): Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia, Bernd Tönjes (Chairman) and Dr. Jürgen Rupp.

Haus Aden: RAG completes new pit water pipeline

As part of optimisation of pit water management in the Ruhr region, the six remaining sites are to be converted and equipped with state-of-the-art submersible pumps. At Haus Aden, the central lifting site in the east of the Ruhr region, RAG Aktiengesellschaft achieved an important milestone in August: completion of the two new media channels below the Datteln-Hamm canal. Based on a contract and expert report from the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, it submitted an application to increase the planned rise in pit water from the original –600 metres to –380 metres. According to the expert report, the pollutants in the water can be reduced even further as a result.

Ruhr teacher training scholarships help ensure greater educational equity

Under a letter of intent signed in September, a broad alliance of foundations, universities and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia agreed to make pinpointed efforts to encourage students on teacher training programmes to work at schools in challenging locations in the Ruhr region. The RAG-Stiftung will provide more than EUR 1.5 million to support 140 students with EUR 300 a month for up to three years. Support for the first students will commence in the summer semester 2024.

BRYCK starts cooperation with Universitätsallianz Ruhr

Initiated by the RAG-Stiftung, BRYCK and the Universitätsallianz Ruhr (Ruhr University Alliance) are joining forces to facilitate student start-ups. The cooperation strengthens the transfer of knowledge and innovations between Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Technical University of Dortmund and the start-up ecosystem. Around 120,000 students at the universities in the Ruhr region will thus gain access to BRYCK’s programmes and network.

Contribution to the SDGs documented

As part of the further development of its sustainability strategy, the RAG-Stiftung systematically documented its concrete contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2023. The multi-stage process comprised a large number of expert discussions and workshops in the RAG-Stiftung’s immediate sphere of influence, including its strategic holdings, risk management of liquid capital investments and support partners. As part of that, the RAG-Stiftung also organised an expert day in September, at which representatives from all strategic holdings shared information about methodological approaches, ESG topics and lighthouse projects within the foundation network.

RAG-Stiftung places new exchangeable bond

At the end of November, the RAG-Stiftung announced the successful placement of an exchangeable bond of EUR 500 million which can be exchanged for shares in Evonik Industries AG. The RAG-Stiftung intends to use the net proceeds to finance the buyback of the old bonds and also to expand its investment portfolio.