Diversity, inclusion and Welfare

Inclusion, protection of diversity (gender, age, disability, religion, race, etc.), combating sexual harassment and bullying are issues monitored at the governance level. Indeed, Acea has a Code of Eth- ics and an active Ethics and Sustainability Committee, which, among other things, has the responsibility of assisting the Board of Direc- tors in matters of diversity, with the task of promoting the culture of valuing diversity and combating all forms of discrimination.

The company promotes the application of principles of inclusion and appreciation of diversity in all HR management processes (selection, training, development, corporate welfare, etc.), including via dedicated procedures.

At the Group level, the annual Equality & Care Plan was adopted, which includes D&I goals and projects aimed at Group employees. Also in eect is the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy, which formalises the Group’s D&I commitments, and the Equality, Diver- sity & Inclusion Manager was appointed, followed by the establishment of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Additionally, in 2023 Acea adopted the Charter of the Person and Participation, signed with the trade unions, which establishes work/ life balance measures to support parents, enhanced with respect to regulatory and contractual requirements, with an increase in the indemnity paid for parental leave and in the number of paternity and child illness days envisaged, as well as with reference to training, with an increase in the total per capital training hours over three years (see the paragraph Labour/Management Relations).

In November, Acea signed the Code for Responsible Companies to Support Natality, promoted by the Ministry of the Family, Natality and Equal Opportunity and presented in Rome during the “Maternity is (not) a business” event, which includes various actions, including: career continuity for mothers, preventive medicine and healthcare, work/life balance and support for expenses to care for and educate children.

Finally and also during the year, Acea approved the Human Rights Policy which also includes appreciation for diversity and inclusion (see the in-depth box and the section Corporate Identity).

In 2023, to disseminate the culture of inclusion and the value of diversity, Acea informed and raised awareness among employees with initiatives available to all sta (see the sub-paragraph Internal Communications), including:

• the webinar Antarctic Mindset, lessons for daily life, with Chiara Montanari, the first Italian engineer to head an Antarctic expedition, organised for 8 March, during which female lead- ership in the world was discussed;
• the webinar New Jobs, Evolution of Skills and Impacts on Generations, with Alberto Brugnoli, a lecturer on Planning and Strategic Organsation at Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice, or- ganised on the occasion of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, to deepen appreciation for the values of equality and inclusion in personal and profes- sional situations. The webinar was an opportunity for dialogue and reflecting on the changes in course in the world of work, on the impacts that new jobs have on organisations and how generational interactions can create value in response to these changes;
• the webinar Leadership: a private or work function?, with Francesco Luizzi, co-founder of Tebat and a Professor of Organisational Development Università degli Studi di Milano, during which experimenting with leadership was discussed, taking advantage of skills acquired in every aspect of life;
• continuation of the Corporate Family Responsibility pro- gramme, with the distribution to all company sta, through the My Intranet platform, of five short videos on the issues of work/life balance, sharing care and gender stereotypes, created with support from Welfare Come Te and WeWorld;
• the Equality Platform, designed as a physical and virtual space to disseminate an ED&I culture, shared through an internal communication campaign, on the occasion of which a call to action was launched to identify the Group's ED&I Champions who, supported by specific commitments and training, are responsible for promoting an ED&I culture, sharing needs, pro- ject ideas and carrying out initiatives. The project will continue in 2024 with specific events and training sessions.
  During the year, Acea obtained various recognitions that attest to its commitment to diversity, inclusivity and female empowerment. In particular, in 2023 the Company was included by the Financial

Times and Statista in the special ranking of Europe’s Diversity Leaders 2024 (using 2023 figures), which selects 850 European companies that demonstrate leadership in terms of diversity and inclusion.

Acea SpA also obtained, for the second consecutive year, gender parity certification (UNI/PdR 125:2022) with a score of 95/100, an improvement with respect to the 2022 score (89.25/100).

With reference to corporate welfare, Acea adopted measures to support parents, which were strengthened thanks to the already cited Charter of the Person and Participation, including extending parental leave for family reasons for working mothers and fathers, extending paternity leave recognising an additional two paid leave days, with respect to that established in the regulations; hourly leave for the initial days when children begin nursery, pre-school and on the first day of elementary school; an increase in the in- demnity paid for parental leave and the number of days allowed for child illness.

Additionally the number of remote work days envisaged for workers with children under the age of 14 or with fragile dependants has been increased, based the current provisions under the law. Finally, in the company car park certain spaces have been reserved for people with disabilities or expectant mothers, which can be re- served using the company app, in the section “priority”.

Acea actively promotes corporate well-being, starting with the needs of its sta, which are identified over time through surveys. The Group's Welfare Plan was enhanced in 2023, identifying six fundamental pillars relating to health, work-life balance, emotional and physical well-being, supplementary pensions, income support measures and family, with special attention paid to social solidarity. The income support measures include the option to convert the performance bonus into welfare services (flexible benefits) through the My Welfare platform, enriched with personal and family services (family services, travel, transport, health and health insurance, supplementary pensions, sport and leisure, etc.), as well as the implementation of the category of fringe benefits, according to the provisions of current legislation. Additionally, employees can use the exclusive Corporate Benefit platform, which contains a wide range of products offered at a discount and a mobility agreement to support better work/life balance.

Acea has reused part of the tax relief, enjoyed thanks to the Welfare Plan, for the benefit of all employees through the payment of an additional amount for those who allocate their performance bonus to supplementary pension schemes, complementary social security and by offering preventive health services and campaigns promoting primary and secondary prevention and healthy lifestyles as well as making an economic contribution the provision of services for the emotional and physical well-being of employees and their families.

To promote Welfare Plan initiatives, in 2023 communication campaigns, were carried out, including the newsletter and short informational videos, as well as four digital communities and a course for employees hired in the last two years to improve organisational well-being, with 80% of new hires participating.

During the year, the social solidarity initiative known as Taxi Solidale continued, carried out in collaboration with ACLI of Roma, oer- ing concrete support to the neediest families. The project involved the donations of 10,265 parcels containing food and medicine by employees, and former employees contributed by driving a van, loaned free of charge by Acea, to deliver the solidarity parcels in the municipality of Rome.

During the year, Acea:

• activated, in the context of the Prevent with Acea campaign, the Safe Children course, aimed at employees and dedicated to paediatric prevention in emergencies and organised, in collaboration with Susan G. Komen Italy, four days dedicated to cancer prevention for employees, during which 520 breast, dermatological and endocrinological screenings were carried out free of charge;
• on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, promoted the Sostegno Donna [Support for Women] channel of assistance to those who need to talk to selected professionals, also offering the possibility of undertaking specific counselling, psychological, psychotherapeutic, pedagogical and parenting support courses;
• developed Mi prendo cura di te [I take care of you], a caregiver service, totally free of charge, aimed at providing personalised advice from professionals able to support people in the management of educational and/or social care needs (support services for the elderly and people with disabilities, for children, specialised services with the availability of psychologists, nurses, physiotherapists, etc.);
• strengthened the wellness programme in collaboration with Fitprime, to promote physical, mental and nutritional health and encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles, getting exercise, participating in outdoor and indoor well-being events with the possibility of personalising one’s meal plan with the help of a nutritionist;
• participated in the XVI edition of the Energy Tournament, “Safe Cup”, an event which unites the main companies, associations and institutions in the energy/environment sector.

With reference to actions to support parents, to support better work/life balance, Acea:

• launched informational communication campaigns on the summer camp held for children between 6 and 14, to promote the value of sport among young people, and the company crèche (see the paragraph Community life at Acea);
• strengthened the permanent advice channel aimed at working mothers and fathers, through which the company interacts with them and collects information about their needs with a view to reducing the gender gap;
• activated, for employees and their family members, agreements with digital universities located in Italy (“Unitelma Sapienza”, Università degli studi “Guglielmo Marconi” and Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta - LUMSA) with discounts for three-year de- gree courses and 1st and 2nd level master's degrees.
• Introduced a digital platform dedicated to home-based parent support for the entire family, which oers a single hub for assistance services at competitive rates.

Finally, with the aim of promoting female empowerment, supporting mothers returning to work and achieving work/life balance, Acea, through its “Mamma with Acea in your first 1,000 days” project, was granted funding through the public call for tender “Riparto”, issued by the Department for Family Policy - Prime’ Minister's Office, ranked 6th out of 122 companies.

Acea has employees belonging to protected categories (disabled people, orphans, etc.) who, in compliance with the law¹⁴⁶, are guaranteed support services, assistance and technical support tools to facilitate the performance of the tasks entrusted to them. In 2023, 200 employees (118 men and 82 women) belonged to protected categories.

In the year under review, there were no cases of discrimination against Group employees.

146 Italian law no. 68/99.