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 considers certification important due to the size of the workforce and the type of activities carried out have implemented Certified Management Systems¹³⁶ (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 staff, monitoring accidents 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 a view to constantly improving the operational management of occupational safety, Acea has developed Group Safety Guidelines and a HSE (Health, Safety, Environmental) Dashboard to measure and monitor performance data, also in relation to sector benchmarks, and to implement improvement measures.
In 2022, following changes introduced by Decree Law no. 146/202 which imposed the obligation to appoint a Safety Officer, Acea defined a specific criterion to identify this role within the organisation. It also implemented the Fire Prevention Management System and updated the risk assessment of work-related stress.
To manage the pandemic that continued partly in 2022, in accordance with regulatory provisions, Acea continued to share the prevention and protection initiatives against coronavirus with the Group Workers’ Safety Representatives (RLS) and the Group RSPP (Prevention and Protection Service Manager) Coordination Committee.
Acea SpA is certified according to the Biosafety Trust Certification management system (see also Corporate Identity in chapter Corporate Governance and Management Systems) and, as required by the certification, has set up the Committee for the prevention and management of Coronavirus and other infections. This Committee is composed of the Competent Doctor and the main Acea Functions and its purpose is to coordinate infection prevention and management activities, monitor the epidemiological context, and take the necessary actions to counter the emergency. Areti, Acea Elabori and Acea Energia also achieved the same certification.
In addition, during the year Acea SpA and the other Group companies constantly updated their relevant risk assessment documents (RAD) in accordance with the provisions of the measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

In 2022 the number of accidents increased slightly compared to compared to last year: 59 accidents (56 in 2021) occurred in the course of work activity, none fatal, and 17 of which in transit¹³⁷, namely while commuting from home-work (19 in 2021). The accident indices, calculated excluding accidents during commutes, are substantially stable: the frequency index is 5.22 and the severity index stands at 0.23 (see Chart no. 45 and Table no. 46). Accidents are subdivided into: 19 typically occupational of which 1 serious (with initial prognosis greater than 40 days), 17 for work-related travel and 23 of another type. The main causes of injury were: tripping, bumping, slipping and crushing.

Chart no. 45 – Accidents and indices by gender and business area (2022)

NOTE: Male frequency index 5.04 and female frequency index 0.17; male severity index 0.22 and female severity index 0.01. 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 57 accidents involved male personnel, of which 53 were blue collar workers and 4 white collar workers, and 2 accidents occurred to female staff with an administrative profile.
The companies with the highest number of accidents, not including those occurring during commutes, are: Gori (15 accidents), Acea Ato 2 (13 accidents) and Areti (10 accidents), which naturally have greater exposure to the risk of accidents in relation to the type of activity performed.

As mentioned, Acea also implemented and maintained multiple prevention and protection measures in view of limiting the spread of coronavirus in 2022. Specifically:

• it kept up-to-date the Circulars, internal Guidelines and Health Protocols drawn up by the Competent Doctors and the Protocol for the Management of Covid-19 cases in the company;
• revised the Risk Assessment Document, with the new assessment of the biological risk related to the Sars-Cov-2 virus, and the emergency plans;
• implemented prevention and protection measures;
• offered employees the possibility to get vaccinated against Covid-19 at the Acea Vaccine Hub;
• planned information and training courses for all employees and set up dedicated communication channels.

In order to make the working environment safe, Acea has reorganised the way people access company premises and consolidated the procedures for the management of common spaces, planning attendance through the ServiceNow platform, intensifying the cleaning, sanitation and sterilisation shifts in the workplace, installing thermoscanners for measuring body temperature at entrances and sanitizing films that reduce the bacterial load were placed on lift buttons and food and drink dispensers, bathroom handles and on staircase handrails, and multi-layered antibacterial mats for shoe soles were placed at the entrances.
Operational staff, who continued to provide services in the field and in contact with the public, were given specific personal protective equipment (PPE) and provided with information sessions on their correct use.
Lastly, with a view to providing staff with health prevention tools, the company implemented a flu vaccination campaign aimed at employees and the family members who live with them.

Lastly, in 2022 the Vaccine Hub activated by Acea at one of its company sites in 2021 remained operational, with 15 vaccine lines and medical and nursing staff. Between May 2021 and December 2022, the Hub administered a total of over 171,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Occupational Safety Unit is also tasked with promoting healthy working environments and mitigating work-related stress. In 2022, the project to promote individual and professional well-being of employees continued with the delivery of the I-Care Professional – Mirroring course: the initiative involved 295 employees of Acea SpA (162 women and 133 men) for a total of 4,040 hours of training.
In 2022, a course was launched aimed at the prevention of joint and muscle disorders, which involved two pilot sessions of the course Everyday – Ergonomics and Self-massage, during which 33 people (for a total of 825 hours of training) were taught theoretical concepts and physical exercises by experts.

The Group companies train staff and supervisors regarding occupational health and safety in compliance with current legislation (please also see the sub-paragraph below Staff Training and Development).
Below are some initiatives carried out:

• Acea SpA organised the course Gestione delle emergenze – Conoscenze e consapevolezza [Emergency Management – Knowledge and Awareness], according to a broad approach that, in addition to fire and earthquakes, also covered biological emergencies (in line with the provisions of the Biosafety certification), environmental emergencies and terrorist attacks, promoting conduct in line with the new vision of emergencies. The course involved 1,406 employees, delivering a total of 11,248 hours of training to them, and also addressed the topic of emergencies and disabilities, with the explanation, in case of evacuation, of the most effective assistance techniques for people with a disability (motor, sensory, cognitive), including temporary disabilities. In general, the training courses organised by Acea SpA during the year paid special attention to disabled people, for example, by providing sign language interpreters, using simplified methods and structuring inclusive work groups;
• In line with the initiative launched in 2021, Acea Ato 2 adopted a second means of reinforcing the Camper della Sicurezza [Safety Camper] project and of promoting the culture of safety and protection of health in the region, with mobile initiatives at offices, sites and other workplaces. It also carried out training courses on the use of defibrillators installed at the offices in Fregene, CoBis, Gianicolo, Tivoli, Ostia, and Frascati and completed two training courses on Accidents and Near Misses and Emergency Management, which involved 1,200 and 600 employees respectively. Lastly, with reference to the management of the health emergency, Acea Ato 2 continued to monitor the evolution of the pandemic and to implement the envisaged prevention and protection measures;
• Acea Ato 5 continued, through the activities of the internal Coronavirus Prevention Committee, the information campaign aimed at staff on the evolution of the pandemic and on the expected correct behaviour, through specific notices. In 2022, the Reset 2.0 project was completed, which involved all operating staff in individual meetings intended to verify the skills acquired and capacity achieved, to detect any gaps to be bridged with targeted training interventions as well as to share the main topics pertaining to occupational health and safety. The company launched the Near Miss project in collaboration with the RLS, to raise awareness among staff of the importance of recognising and reporting “near accidents”, and an awareness campaign on the use of semi-automatic defibrillators (SAEDs), training 82 employees for this purpose and installing 6 devices in the work places, sales branches and operating Lastly, to guarantee continuous training and coaching, a Training Centre equipped with a simulator for working in confined spaces was built at the Operating Centre in Frosinone Monti Lepini. In 2022, Acea Ato 5 provided a total of 4,144 hours of education and training in the field of health and safety at work, involving 305 workers;
• AdF provided safety education and training, in particular, for operational sta who were trained in the use of new recovery devices for interventions in confined environments, required for cleaning and restoration of drinking water accumulations (25 people and 100 hours of training provided). Furthermore, during the year the Zero Accident Project (ZAP) was launched, intended to raise awareness among all sta (administrative, technical and operating) of adequate perception of risk and the opportunity of reporting “near misses”;
• Acea Ambiente held training courses on first aid, defibrillators, fire fighting, confined spaces, heavy machinery, and physical risks, and training for executives and officers;
• Areti continued sta training at its Training Camp, a space dedicated to training on workplace health and safety (safe ascent/descent on medium and low voltage power line poles; safe access to confined underground areas; the use of work/safety tools, training for emergencies in a dangerous environment, etc.), involving, in 2022, 279 people, to whom a total of 3,776 hours of training were delivered;
• Areti continued sta training at its Training Camp, a space dedicated to training on workplace health and safety (safe ascent/descent on medium and low voltage power line poles; safe access to confined underground areas; the use of work/ safety tools, training for emergencies in a dangerous environment, etc.), involving, in 2022, 279 people, to whom a total of 3,776 hours of training were delivered. As part of the “Sicurezza è Vita” [Safety is Life] initiative, the company also organised two training days on work-related stress management aimed at Managers of Operating Units and Regional Team Leaders, and Safety Days, monthly training days on safety in the work sites, which involved inspections by Unit Managers and management during the operational training;
• Acea Energia implemented the Biosafety Trust Certification System, continuing with the necessary checks and with the implementation and updating of the envisaged procedures, and carried out a training session dedicated to the role of the Safety Officer in light of legislative updates. The company delivered a total of 1,030 hours of training in the year on workplace safety, involving 116 employees;
• Acea Elabori organised refresher courses on specific risks (chemical risk, biological risk, radiation protection, etc.), emergencies (ASA), first aid (APS), and training courses for Safety Officers;
• Gesesa conducted 15 training courses on occupational safety, and delivered a total of 1,240 hours of training, involving 165 employees. Furthermore, on World Day for Safety and Health at Work, it organised the Star bene lavorando [Well at Work] training course, aimed at the entire company population, divided into two modules, one dedicated to Workstation Posture and Ergonomics; Combating Joint and Muscle Pain, and the other to Combating Smoking and Risks Related to Misuse of Alcohol while Driving and in the Workplace.

109,979 total hours of training were provided to Group personnel in the field of occupational safety in 2022 (58,600 hours delivered in 2021).

Table no. 46 – Health and safety (2020-2022)

(*) the hours worked used to calculate the accident indices differ from the hours worked illustrated in the sub-section Hours worked in Acea; the two processes meet different 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 5 companies, the Energy Infrastructure area 1, the Generation area 3, the Energy area 3, the Environment area 6, 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 according 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 office, available between 08.00 and 20.00, provides staff and visitors with first aid in the event of illness.

In 2022, 4,126 examinations were carried out on an equal number of employees of the Group companies for which the occupational medicine service is managed centrally by Acea SpA, for a total economic value of approximately € 400,000.
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 2022, in Acea, there were no reports of suspected occupational diseases.

136 Companies with seconded or no staff are therefore excluded.
137 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 established by the relevant Federutility note. They are not included in the calculation of accident indices used herein.