Code of conduct with Energy Suppliers 

    Last Updated: 1 July 2026

    Please find below the literal text of the document that E&C shares with all the Energy Suppliers that it is in contact with

    1.   Context

    Since its creation in 2005, E&C has always tried to have a correct relationship with the many Energy Suppliers with whom we have had contact. Our loyalty lies foremost with our clients, and our aim is to arrive at the best possible energy market solutions for them. Nevertheless, we are convinced that correct working relationships between E&C and Energy Suppliers can help us in finding those solutions. 

    The few frictions that we have observed were mostly due to lack of communication. Moreover, we have often observed that such misunderstandings were easily solved when we sat together and explained the specific position of E&C as an energy procurement Consultant. However, the number of individual account managers with whom we have contact is large, which makes it impossible to explain E&C’s way of working to all of them in detail. Therefore, we have decided to create this code of conduct. It can be distributed among all account managers in the energy companies with whom we have contact. 

    2.    E&C's position

     E&C has a clear view on its position. We are Consultants; people who are hired by companies to give them the knowledge and expertise to arrive at better results. E&C has no intention of being a broker, a middleperson, or a sales channel for Energy Suppliers. Our position is behind the client, helping them in interpreting the information they get from Energy Suppliers. Our position is not in between the Client and Energy Suppliers. This implies: 

    1. The Client decides with which Energy Supplier they will work, not E&C. 

    2. E&C cannot ´sell´ an Energy Supplier’s Energy Contract Proposal to a client; it is up to the Energy Supplier to do this. 

    3. Therefore, it is up to an Energy Supplier to contact the Client if they think this is necessary. We have no objections against such direct contact between Energy Supplier and (potential) clients, on the contrary. 

    4. To promote transparency, we promote that Energy Suppliers send all the information in an RFQ procedure to the Client as well as to us. 

    Our independence is one of our most important assets. It reassures clients that the information that we give them on Energy Suppliers is in their own interest only. It reassures Energy Suppliers that their position is treated objectively. No hidden agendas or mixed loyalties. We have a commitment regarding this independence in every Energy Contract that we sign with a client. To ensure this independence, E&C has taken the following measures. 

    1. We accept payments for our Services from clients only, and in no circumstances from Energy Suppliers. 

    2. We only work for energy consumers; we accept no work from Energy Suppliers. 

    3. We accept no gifts or invitations to attend social events from Energy Suppliers.

    4. Our staff is contractually bound not to hold any shares in an Energy Supplier. 

    5. Our staff is asked to disclose any personal relationships (family or friendship) with staff of Energy Suppliers to E&C’s management. 

    3.   RFQ Procedure

     Most Clients asks E&C to organize the RFQ procedure for them. The following is the procedure that we usually adopt.

    1. Together with Client, we make up a list of Energy Suppliers that will be invited to submit an Energy Contract Proposal. It is the Client who decides which Energy Suppliers go on the list.

    2. We organize a ‘first round’ in which a broad group of Energy Suppliers is invited to submit an Energy Contract Proposal.

    3. We analyse all the Energy Contract Proposals that we receive and make up an evaluation of the following elements: price, price fixing conditions, volume conditions and all other conditions. This analysis is discussed with the client.

    4. Together with the client, we determine which Energy Suppliers go onto the short-list. The Energy Suppliers on the short-list are informed of the elements in their Energy Contract Proposals that they should improve to raise their chances of winning.

    5. Unless the Client decides that he/she wishes to stop working with her/his current Energy Supplier (because he/she is unhappy with him/her), we will encourage clients to give their current Energy Suppliers a fair chance of keeping them as a client.

    6. If all other conditions for all Energy Suppliers have been sufficiently clarified, a final bidding round is organized.

    4.   Feedback

    We understand that Energy Suppliers want to know the reasons why their Energy Contract Proposals are rejected. However, E&C gets to see a lot of Energy Contract Proposals from a lot of different Energy Suppliers. We obviously want to avoid passing on confidential information from Energy Contract Proposals to other Energy Suppliers. Based on our discussions regarding this topic with many Energy Suppliers, we have observed that this is the information that we can provide as feedback:

    1. The position of your company in the overall ranking of Energy Suppliers (e.g., 3rd of 6 Energy Suppliers).

    2. The distance in % of your overall price Energy Contract Proposal compared to the first in rank (e.g., 1,2% on the overall price, based on yesterday’s oil forward prices for a gas contract).

    3. Any other conditions that led to a negative evaluation of your Energy Contract Proposal.

    Feedback on a particular RFQ for a particular Client can only be given after we have discussed the results of the RFQ with the client. We will not discuss Energy Contract Proposals if we have not discussed them with the Client first. Feedback to Energy Suppliers is a time-consuming process. It has been proven to be impossible for us to be pro-active in this feedback process. Therefore, we kindly invite you to call or email us whenever you need feedback on a particular case.

    We also appreciate having general discussions with Energy Suppliers regarding their Energy Contract Proposals and the market. We believe that both sides have a lot to learn from such non-client-specific discussions. During such talks, we can disclose which conditions offered by an Energy Supplier are substandard compared to the overall market.

    5.    Exceptionality

    We want you as an Energy Supplier to have an individual relationship with our clients, not a collective relationship through us. We believe that the size of clients that we service demands such an individual approach. The best individual Energy Contract Proposal that an Energy Supplier can make to our clients is not necessarily the standard Energy Contract Proposal. Exceptional conditions can often lead to an exceptionally good deal for our client. We understand that you might be lukewarm to apply them when E&C is involved as you know that we service a multitude of clients.

    Therefore, we take a firm commitment that we will do all that is possible to respect the exceptional character of what you offer by:

    1. never referring to other clients in front of an individual client.

    2. not demanding you apply such an exception again in front of a client.

    We do demand of course that you inform us of the exceptional character of conditions when you apply them. We also ask Energy Suppliers not to refer to other client’s cases in front of a client.