Integrated strategy overview

[GRI - 102-7], [GRI - 102-12], [GRI - 102-17], [GRI - 102-22], [GRI - 102-23], [GRI - 102-24], [GRI - 102-27], [GRI - 102-29], [GRI - 103-1], [GRI - 103-3], [GRI - 201-1], [GRI - 203-1], [GRI - 204-1], [GRI - 205-1], [GRI - 301-1], [GRI - 302-1], [GRI - 303-1], [GRI - 304-1], [GRI - 305-1], [GRI - 306-1], [GRI - 308-1], [GRI - 401-1], [GRI - 403-1], [GRI - 404-1], [GRI - 406-1], [GRI - 413-1], [GRI - 414-1], [GRI - 416-1], [GRI - 418-1],

Consolidated report

The core values and principles enshrined in the Code of Ethics of the Acea Group, updated at the end of 2022, highlight the link between business strategy and sustainability. In particular, the Code emphasises that: “Acea intends to conduct its business while respecting the principles of sustainable development and contributing to the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda) (...) Acea also operates in line with the principles issued by the United Nations Global Compact, to which Acea has formally and substantially subscribed. Acea is aware that the services it pro- vides underpin the fundamental rights of individuals and the influence, even indirect, that its activities have on people's living conditions, on the economic and social development of the areas in which it operates, and on the general well-being of the community. That is why it plans its in- vestments and conducts its business to pursue sustainable success in the medium to long term (...) and works to integrate care for the social and environmental aspects of its business with corporate growth strategies (...)49.
Therefore, Acea’s strategic planning seizes the opportunities offered by the evolution of the reference framework and the new economic, social and environmental challenges, reconciling the industrial dimension and the sustainability aspects with the business objectives.

The concept of a business management strategy oriented towards "sustainable success", which Acea also pursues through the use of tools and policies (see Chart no. 10), is also studied extensively through discussions with the institutional sphere, experts and other companies. Acea promotes this dialogue directly through initiatives such as the Innovation Day event (see box in the chapter on Institutions and the Company), which included in-depth studies on Smart Cities, Open Innovation and the ecological transition, or otherwise as an active participant in other events such as Ecomondo, Maker Faire, the Water Festival, etc.

Chart no. 10 – Sustainability tools

Chart no. 10

Acea’s commitment is appreciated by external observers, analysts specialised in ESG and the market. In this sense, Acea’s strong positioning in the Integrated Governance Index (see the chapter Corporate governance and management systems) is demonstrated by the improving trend in the Group’s rating by the Gender Equality Index of Bloomberg (see the chapter Personnel), the “innovation” awards received (see the chapter Institutions and the Company), the positioning in the ratings of the CDP - Carbon Disclosure Project, the improvement in the rating outlook given by Standard Ethics, the entry onto the ESG MIB Index and the assessments issued by ESG analysts (see the chapter Shareholders and Investors).

Acea leader della sostenibilità 2022

Acea was named on the list of the 200 most sustainable Italian companies published by Sole24Ore and Statista. The evaluation process was carried out on a sample of 1,500 publicly traded companies with the highest turnovers in Italy that publish a sustainability report, and analysed 40 environmental, social and governance indicators included in the reports. The analysis generated a score for each of the three areas on a scale from 0-100, and these were used to calculate the final score, also out of 100. The 200 companies with the highest final score were published in the Sole24Ore “Sustainability Leaders” dossier.

The 2020-2024 Business Plan, which guides the Group, was defined by taking into consideration 5 mega trends which mark the evolution of utilities: sustainability and circular economy; customer focus; energy transition; innovation and digitisation; increased competitiveness on the market.

In particular, the Business Plan has divided the Group’s growth guidelines into 5 strategic pillars summarised by the acronym GRIDS:

  • Growth: Growth driven by the regulated market;
  • Renewables: investment in renewables;
  • Innovation: investment in new innovative services;
  • Delivery: Results exceeded targets;
  • Sustainability: increasing focus on the environmental impact and circular economy.

The total business investments, envisaged in the Plan, amount to €4.3 billion.

MAIN ACTIONS AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE 2020-2024 BUSINESS PLAN BY BUSINESS AREA

area di business

strategia

  

WATER

Development of a Smart Water Company for sustainable use of water by improving the quality and effciency of the service Expansion through participation in new tenders in other territories.
  • installation of smart water meters and districting of the network
  • virtuous path of water resource protection with reduction of losses
  • rationalisation of small treatment plants
  • optimisation of network performance through the Water Management System
  • securitisation of supply with work on the strategic Peschiera and Marcio aqueducts
Idrico

NETWORKS

Major player in the energy transition with enabling projects for increased electrification and integration of distributed generation.
  • investments for network resilience with interventions on specific substations
  • network digitisation through remote control and IoT solutions
  • network maintenance to improve service continuity
  • 2G smart meter installation
  • new Network Service Management Centre
reti

ENVIRONMENT

Consolidation of the market towards the circular economy including in a "one-stop-shop" logic.
Accelerated closing of the waste cycle in Central Italy.

Accelerazione nella chiusura del ciclo dei rifiuti nel Centro Italia.
  • consolidation of core business in energy recovery (WtE) and disposal of unsorted waste and organic fraction
  • strengthening Waste to Material (WtM) supply chains in view of the circular economy (e.g. plastic, paper)
  • further development in the special waste sector, also in synergy with the Group's water (e.g. sludge) and WtE (e.g. ash) activities
  • development of industrial synergies
ambiente

ENGINEERING AND SERVICES

Development of a building oriented company for turnkey management of construction and engineering activities
  • focus on core engineering activities
  • construction of plants through the internalisation of construction activities in an EPC perspective
  • reducing construction time and strengthening laboratory activities
  • development of a research centre
ingegneria e servizi

ENERGY
(COMMERCIAL AND TRADING)

Commercial growth in central and southern Italy, also supported by the elimination of greater protection and "digital" offers. Development of a Services-Based Company to strengthen customer relations and enhance Acea Group brands
  • reinforcement in the reference territories and growth in Central and Southern Italy
  • cross-selling and up-selling opportunities from full market liberalisation and a push for dual fuel offerings
  • commercial strategy focused on digital channels, including through a new customer management platform
  • developments of the segment and mobility with installation of columns and value-added services
  • energy effciency services offer
  • Smart Comp installation with system managed remotely through an IoT platform developed by Acea
  • installation of residential photovoltaic and solar thermal systems
energia

GENERATION

Growth of the PV portfolio to seize opportunities from the energy transition and decarbonisation process
  • growth in generation from renewable sources to seize opportunities offered by the decarbonisation process, whether through the construction of new PV plants in industrial and agricultural areas and through M&A transactions
generazione

In line with the industrial development guidelines, the 2020-2024 Sustainability Plan, divided into a governance level, intended to consolidate the integration of sustainability into the Company’s governance, and into five operating macro-objectives, split into 127 targets by 2024 and their KPIs, shows the unique traits assumed by sustainability for the Group, in the practical management of production and organisational processes and in relations with stakeholders (see boxes and charts 11 and 12). The 2020-2024 Sustainability Plan was defined with the involvement of the organisational structures (internal departments of the Parent Company and Operating Companies50), taking into account the material topics for 2019 defined by engagement with stakeholders, and remaining in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals that are relevant to Acea’s businesses. Following the update of the 2022 materiality analysis, alignment with the most relevant topics identified during the multi-stakeholder engagement process was verified and confirmed.
The investments envisaged in the 2020-2024 Business Plan related to sustainability targets totalling €2.1 billion. In 2022, the progress of the targets, illustrated in detail in the following section, as well as the amount of investments made in the year was monitored, which, as at 31 December 2022, was around €437 million; in total, in the 2020-2022 three-year period, the Business Plan investments related to sustainability targets amounted to around €1.2 billion.

THE GOVERNANCE LEVEL OF THE SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 2020-2024: CROSS-CUTTING OBJECTIVES FOR INTEGRATION

governance areas

strategy

SUSTAINABILITY IN

THE RISK ASSESSMENT
  • consideration of material ESG topics in the risk management model;
  • assess risks and impacts on safety and the environment and mitigate them, including by adopting certified management systems

SUSTAINABILITY

IN THE STRATEGY
  • highlighting the total value generated by the Group with an integrated reading of economic and sustainable development

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE

REMUNERATION POLICY
  • enhancing the objectives aimed at promoting sustainability impacts by integrating them into the performance management models

SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE SPREAD

  • involving internal and external stakeholders in the matter by disseminating the “sustainability culture”

SUSTAINABILITY FOR

SHAREHOLDERS AND INVESTORS
  • integrating financial with ESG elements in communications and relations with shareholders and stakeholders

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE

REGULATION SECTOR
  • identifying sustainability topics in the evolving trends of national and European regulations

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE

MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE
  • developing an advanced, collaborative labour-management relations model that meets new social needs

SUSTAINABILITY

INPROCUREMENT
  • promoting sustainability along the supply chain, while being mindful of the relevant best practices

Il livello operativo del Piano di Sostenibilità 2020-2024: tratti peculiari dei 5 macro obiettivi

macro obiettivo

  

strategia

PROMOTING A FOCUS

ON THE CUSTOMER
promuovere la centralità del cliente
  • increasing the technical and commercial quality of the services,while consolidating digital services;
  • improving the customer experience and the contact channels so that they fully meet customers' needs;

ENHANCING STAFF FOR

THE GROUP’S GROWTH
valorizzare le persone
  • training, employee involvement and increasing organisational well-being, including the protection and promotion of diversity
  • enhancing sustainability in performance management systems;

QUALIFYING PRESENCE

IN THE REGIONS AND PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

qualificare la presenza nei territori
  • increasing resilience of water and electricity infrastructure to ensure security of supply, adaptation to climate change and support for energy transition;
  • limiting impacts on the natural environment, protecting the land and biodiversity and using resources more efficiently;
  • streamlining and contributing to the decarbonisation of the energy system, with the increase of production from renewable sources and the consequent reduction of CO2emissions;
  • reducing the city’s environmental impacts through smart green services for customers and the development of circular economy initiatives;
  • promoting sustainability along the supply chain, raising awareness of customers and students on sustainability issues, with a structured approach to stakeholder involvement;

PROMOTING HEALTH

AND SAFETY ALONG

THE VALUE CHAIN
promuovere la salute
  • disseminating the culture of safety and prevention along the internal and external value chain;
  • increasing verification and control activities and actions to ensure the health and safety of customers;

INVESTING IN INNOVATION

FOR SUSTAINABILITY
investire in innovazione
  • applying innovative technologies for network management (digitisation, remote control, IoT) in a smart city perspective and in other production and organisational processes;
  • developing synergies in research and innovation for knowledge sharing as well as project implementation, including in association with start-ups and scientific partnerships.

Chart no. 11 – The 2020-2024 Sustainability Plan in numbers

Chart no. 11

Grafico n. 12 – Gli orientamenti della strategia di sostenibilità

Chart no. 12

The Management and Sustainability Systems Policy51 adopted by Acea also sets out the principles, values and commitments made by the Group, and is an integral part of the Management Systems in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 (see also the section Management Systems). The Policy sees the following values as fundamental elements for sustainability:

  • promotion of a culture of quality;
  • respect for the environment and preservation of ecosystems;
  • fighting climate change:
  • the development of people and safety at workplace;
  • the efficient management of resources;
  • the assessment of the risk and the economic, social and environmental impacts;
  • participation in the well-being of the community and the development of an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders;
  • the promotion of creativity and technological and organisational innovation.

49 Acea Group Code of Ethics (2022 edition), Sustainability, Responsibility to Stakeholders and Environmental Protection, in the section Core Values and Principles

50 A target to increase the amount of energy produced from biogas(renewable source)was also defined for the Company Deco, which entered into the NFS reporting boundary in 2022.

51 The Policy, updated in November 2020, can be found on the institutional website, www.gruppo.acea.it.

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