42 Our Strategy Key Beliefs A strong platform. For sustainable value creation. Six key beliefs of our strategy Presence along the entire value chain We're active along the entire value chain in power and gas: in production, import, wholesale, distribution, and end-customer sales. Our comprehensive market knowl- edge enables us to operate efficiently and to create value along the entire value chain Power-gas convergence Power and gas are strongly connected upstream (gas supply to gas-fired genera- tion), midstream (cross-commodity energy trading), and downstream (increasing popularity of dual-fuel products). Our solid position in all three areas provides us with valuable synergies and a superior competitive positioning Strong market positions International scale and strong market positions give us a key competitive edge in liberalized markets and create a solid foundation for ensuring supply and for making the necessary large-scale invest- ments in climate-friendly power generation. Growth Growth beyond our traditional core markets (Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden) creates additional opportunities to expand our business so that we sustain our success in a consolidating European energy market. Value from experience Our deep expertise in all facets of the energy business is a considerable competi- tive advantage, one that we leverage fully by sharing best practices across our entire organization. Market and competition Open, competitive markets are the best framework for ensuring a secure, efficient energy supply. An integrated European energy market offers E.ON superb opportu- nities to strengthen our market position and to capture value from cross-border synergies. We have one of our industry's most diverse generation mixes and broadest geographic footprints. We're Europe's biggest gas importer, one of the world's leading renewables players, a top energy trader, and a premier energy supplier serving nearly 30 million customers. We use our broad experience along the entire value chain and across regions to create and leverage synergies and to select the best markets for our investments. Our broad strategic presence, diversified asset portfolio, leading market positions, and comprehensive energy expertise give us a superb platform from which to execute our value-oriented strategy to achieve leading performance and sus- tained, profitable growth. Where we are. Platform We've successfully established one of the broadest footprints in Europe, entered new markets, and achieved global scale in renewables. Climate protection We added almost 1 GW of new renew- ables capacity in 2009, clear progress on the road to a cleaner energy supply. Market integration We're actively fostering the creation of an EU-wide internal market for energy by making it easier for new players to enter our home markets and by promot- ing cross-border power and gas trading. Performance Through a Group-wide performance- enhancement program called Perform- toWin, we've already begun taking the steps that will deliver 1.5 billion in annual earnings improvements begin- ning in 2011. Portfolio streamlining We're well over halfway towards gener- ating more than 10 billion in cash in 2009­2010 by optimizing our portfolio of businesses.