Occupational health and safety

Acea is committed to a widespread safety culture both in Group Companies, through the direct involvement of employees, and along the supply chain (please see the Suppliers chapter).
Safety management is precisely structured at the organisational level. All Group companies for which the holding company con- siders certification important due to the size of the workforce and the type of activities carried out have implemented Certified Management Systems¹⁴³ (see also Corporate Identity, chapter Corporate Governance and Management Systems).

The Occupational Safety Unit of the parent company is in charge of the coordination and direction in this area, monitoring the Group companies on the application of legislation, guidelines and company policies.

Each company has direct responsibility for the operational management of safety and takes care of training sta, monitoring ac- cidents and assessing the risks to the workers, preparing the Risk Assessment Document (RAD). Following these activities, the Occupational Safety Unit prepares a centralised annual accident report for Group Companies.

The analysis method of the accidents follows the Guidelines for the classification of accidents, prepared by Utilitalia and in compliance with the standard UNI 7249:2007, with reference to the INAIL measurement criteria and the instructions of ESAW (European Statistics of Accidents at Work).

In accordance with the law, Acea identifies the dangers present in the company’s activities which may cause injury or illness through inspections carried out jointly in the workplace by the Head of the Prevention and Protection Service (RSPP), the Company Physician, the Workers’ Safety Representatives (RLS) and the Unit Heads, who are involved from time to time. Then the company assesses the risks to workers’ health and safety in relation to the hazards detected in the workplace, verifies the possibility of eliminating them, adopts preventative and/or protection measures to implement to keep the risks under control and draws up the Risk Evaluation Document (RAD). In the case of accidents, an investigation is launched to determine the causes of the event and identify appropriate corrective actions to prevent it recurring.

With an eye to continuously improving operational management of workplace safety, Acea established the RSPP Coordination Committee, which meets every quarter to share best practices and improvement projects, as well as the Injury Commission which analyses occupational injuries with initial prognoses of 20 days or more; it has also installed software to manage HSE issues (Health, Safety, Environmental) with the relative Dashboard to measure and monitor performance and a data tracking system with reference to safety performance at Group companies.

Despite the attention paid to this subject in 2023 the number of injuries increased with respect to the previous year: 65 accidents (59 in 2022) occurred in the course of work activity, none fatal, and 22 of which in transit¹⁴⁴, namely while commuting from homework (17 in 2022). The accident indices, calculated excluding ac- cidents during commutes, increased slightly: the frequency index is 5.61 and the severity index stands at 0.26 (see Chart 46 and Table 49). Accidents are subdivided into: 15 typically occupational of which none serious (with initial prognosis greater than 40 days), 26 for work-related travel and 24 of another type. The main causes of injury were: tripping, bumping, slipping and crushing.

Chart no. 46 – Accidents and indices by gender and business area (2023)

Note: Male frequency index 5.35 and female frequency index 0.26; male severity index 0.24 and female severity index 0.02. The graph shows only those business areas that reported accidents during the year.

Analysing the breakdown of accidents by gender (net of accidents occurring during commutes) shows that 62 accidents involved male personnel, of which 53 were blue collar workers, 8 white collar workers and 1 manager, and 3 accidents occurred to female sta with an administrative profile.

The companies with the highest number of accidents, not including those occurring during commutes, are: Gori (17 accidents), Acea Ato 2 (13 accidents) and Areti (12 accidents), which naturally have greater exposure to the risk of accidents in relation to the type of activity performed.

In 2023 the parent company's Work Safety Unit, to protect employees and contractor sta, promoted the inclusion of heat exposure risks, associated with heat waves caused by increased temperatures, in the Risk Assessment Documents (RAD) and Single Risk Assessment Documents (DUVRI), establishing actions to prevent and mitigate effects on human health. The Worklimate portal was also shared, a prototype platform to create heat alerts to use when scheduling operating activities performed outdoors during the summer. Additionally, with a view to providing sta with appropriate health prevention tools, the company implemented a flu vaccination campaign aimed at employees and family members who live with them.

In 2023, in addition to providing training on specific risks, the Acea SpA Safety Process Development Unit worked to promote the psycho-physical well-being of employees. It carried out many initiatives, included project aimed at mitigating the risk of work-related stress, actions to increase awareness of ways to assist employees with different abilities (whether permanent or temporary), the Everyday training course - Ergonomics and Self-Massage, which was initially launched in 2022, to prevent joint and muscle pain during daily activity, and the I-CARE PROFESSIONAL course to develop knowledge, tools and strategies useful for physical, psychological and relational well-being.

Additionally, training courses were provided for personnel respon- sible for emergency tasks. In particular, using dynamic and experience-based methods, Emergency Psychology courses were organ- ised which discussed, in an integrated manner, knowledge of safety regulations, cognitive and emotional responses to emergency situations and assessment of associated risks and the Emergency Worker Course - Scenarios and Procedures, which included simulations to apply procedures and operating instructions.

For training for positions aimed at operating employees of the parent company's Work Safety Unit, specific training courses were designed, including the Let’s Get Reoriented project, intended to strengthen the team with respect to the vision of safety, developing technical and communication content relative to risk perception and management.

Finally, the Unit managed the Listening Service, support and orienteering activities and support initiatives for disability management.

The Group companies train sta and supervisors regarding occu- pational health and safety in compliance with current legislation (please also see the sub-paragraph below Sta Training and Development).

Below are some initiatives carried out:

• Acea Ato 2 continued its project, Safety Camper, organising travelling initiatives at workplaces and work sites, to promote a safety culture and the protection of health throughout the local area. Additionally, to monitor and improve “operational well-being” for workers, again in 2023 the Company held “one on one” meetings with personnel, to obtain suggestions about procedures and the state of operating structures. Finally, the first year of the “Hydrologistics” system was completed, a pro- ject created to optimise the operating logistics for delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) and materials to Acea Ato 2 personnel;
• Acea Ato 5, launched the Feed Health project in 2023, targeted at personnel and intended to promote healthy eating habits, with support from a nutritionist/biologist and the involvement of the company doctor. It also launched the Near Miss project, in cooperation with the RLS, to increase personnel awareness of the importance of recognising and reporting near misses. Finally, the awareness campaign on the use of semi-automatic defibrillators (DAE) was completed. These have been installed in the offices, sales branches and operating centres, accompanied by training assigned workers;
• AdF provided training to operating personnel responsible for carrying out work in confined spaces to clean residue from drinking water. Furthermore, during 2023 the Zero Accident Project (ZAP) was carried out, intended to raise awareness among staff (administrative, technical and operating) of adequate perception of risk and the opportunity of reporting “near misses”;
• Acea Ambiente, in 2023, began the “Safety Ambassadors” programme, identifying 70 representatives in the various de- partments dedicated to promoting this theme in the company and, in cooperation with the LHS Foundation, carrying out an event for all company staff, followed by an awareness campaign that in particular involved operating personnel from the manufacturing plants of companies in the Environment sector;
• Areti completed the remodelling of the external areas of the Training Camp during the year. This space is dedicated to training sta to safely carry out operating activities (safe ascent/ descent on medium and low voltage power lines; safe access to confined underground areas; practice utilising work/safety tools; emergency training for hazardous environments, etc.). The HV pylon and bay were replaced, as were the MV supports, MV and LV substations and a confined space simulator. The Company also organised, in the context of the “Safety is Life” initiative, four days of training on near misses, using the innovative approach of Lego Serios Play. The event involved 180 Company employees and, for the first time, employees of con- tractors, to foster exchanging of experiences and cooperation between the various individuals that perform maintenance on the distribution network on a daily basis. Finally, the Company organised Safety Day again in 2023, a training day dedicated to work site safety;
• Acea Infrastructure organised continuing education courses in 2023 for emergency workers (ASA), on first aid (APS), assistance in confined spaces or in cases of suspected pollution, for work done at height, on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), safe driving and for road signage workers. Training also continued on chemical and biological risks, which was begun in 2022, with continuing education courses provided to safety coordinators for temporary and mobile work sites (CSP – CSE), for Safety Educators and Workplace health and safety directors. Finally, as part of the High Vigilance project, information- al meetings on work site health were held with the Heads of Contract Construction and Work Site Coordination Managers as well as managers from contracting companies;
• Aquaser continued the process of strengthening its culture of behaviour based safety in the company, begun in 2022, through the BBS project (Behavior Based Safety), providing training to transport workers and, more generally, all company sta, as well as beginning a training course on preventing and managing fire risk. With reference to waste, it offered webinars on the subjects of brokering and the new single form for waste transport.

91,352 total hours of training were provided to Group personnel in the field of occupational safety in 2023 (109,979 hours delivered in 2022).

Table no. 49 – Health and safety (2021-2023)

(*) the hours worked used to calculate the accident indices dier from the hours worked illustrated in the sub-section Hours worked in Acea; the two processes meet dierent operational requirements and specific calculation parameters are applied to each.
(**) accident means a work-related incident that prevents the employee from returning to service during the day on which the accident occurred and/or on the following day/ work shift scheduled.
Note: The Water Operations area includes 6 companies, the Energy Infrastructure area 1, the Generation area 3, the Energy area 3, the Environment area 8, the Engineering and Services area 1 and the Corporate area 1. The data in the table does not include accidents currently being assessed.

HEALTH MONITORING

Health monitoring, regulated by a company procedure that defines its planning and management, is carried out in cooperation with external professionals in compliance with current legislation (art. 41 of Legislative Decree no. 81/08).

Formally appointed doctors conduct medical examinations prior to employment, in the event of a position change, periodically ac- cording to health protocols, at the worker's request and prior to resumption of work following absence for health reasons lasting more than 60 continuous days.

Workers exposed to specific risks are included in a targeted check-up programme.
In collaboration with the employers and the relevant Protection and Prevention Service Managers (RSPPs), the Competent Doctors define health protocols according to the workers’ exposure to the various risks.

At the headquarters, a first aid oce, available between 08.00 and 20.00, provides sta and visitors with first aid in the event of illness.

In 2023 4,126 examinations were provided to the same number of employees of Group companies which have the occupational medicine service managed centrally by Acea SpA, for a total economic value of around € 410,000.

Health monitoring includes the prevention of occupational diseases that workers may contract due to prolonged exposure to the risk factors existing in the work environment. In the context of the work performed by the companies of the Group, for which Acea provides the health monitoring service, there are no risk profiles likely to cause occupational diseases. The competent doctor has the task of cooperating with the employer in order to define preventive measures and health protocols for the risk profiles associated with specific duties, and monitoring any damage to workers’ health, issuing suitability assessments, and applying limitations and prescriptions, where necessary, in order to prevent possible occupational diseases. In 2023, in Acea, there were no reports of suspected occupational diseases.

143 Companies with seconded or no sta are therefore excluded.

144 Accidents during commutes relate to travel from home to work and from work to home, using private or company vehicles, which take place outside of working hours, as estab- lished by the relevant Federutility note. They are not included in the calculation of accident indices used herein.