Like many businesses, our stakeholders are many and diverse, including our shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, the local community, Government, non-governmental organisations, opinion formers, and the media. Communication with all our stakeholders is considered to be an essential part of our business and we aim to be open and transparent in all
that we do. We fulfil our communication commitments through an investor relations programme and a wide-ranging external relations programme.

Investor relations

Drax is committed to delivering shareholder value. We communicate our results and prospects to our shareholders in an accurate and timely manner using a variety of channels. In addition to the Annual General Meeting, we communicate through our Annual Report and Accounts, Half Year Report, Interim Management Statements and Trading Updates. All of these documents are made available on our website at www.draxgroup.plc.uk. Significant matters relating to trading and the development of the business are disseminated to the market by way of announcements via a regulatory information service and those announcements appear as soon as practicable on our website.

Announcements are followed up with either conference calls or presentations to provide further detail and greater understanding. In addition, face-to-face meetings are held with our major institutional shareholders, again to assist them in their understanding of the announcements, but also to ensure that the Board is aware of their views and concerns. In 2008, a formal meeting programme was delivered in the UK after each of the Preliminary and Half Year Results announcements and in the US after the Preliminary Results announcement. To aid our communication with our private investors, during 2008 we continued to develop further the investor section of our website improving the information that is readily available.

External relations

As with previous years, we maintained our engagement with public affairs audiences on issues with implications for our business.

We engaged with Parliamentarians and officials both in the UK and the EU on issues including forthcoming environmental legislation, energy prices, security of supply, renewables policy and wholesale market issues.

The form of engagement was varied and included both face-to-face and written briefings, participation in public consultations, written and oral evidence to select committees and visits by Parliamentarians and officials to Drax Power Station.

Locally, we have continued to engage with parish, town, district and county councillors and officers, with the intention of keeping them up to date with our business issues and developments. Our regular communication channel with these and other local opinion formers takes the form of an annual consultative meeting, and three meetings each year with our local parish and town councillors.

No political donations were made in the UK or elsewhere during 2008, and the Company’s contact with those active in the political arena has been and will continue to be aimed solely at the promotion of the Company’s business interests.

Suppliers

As in previous years, we encouraged local and national companies to bid for contracts to supply the many goods and services required by the Company. In making purchases, we are mindful that some companies or indeed countries may have poor ethical standards or human rights issues. Covering, as we do, a varied marketplace with a number of indirect manufacturers supporting the end product, it is impossible for us to be certain that we do not indirectly trade with certain companies or countries whose standards are poor. However, we do not knowingly support or trade with such companies or countries and we remain alert to changing circumstances.