That generated 3,1 billion euros of added value in 2020. This is the impact that the industrial policy of the Roman multi-utility, oriented towards circular economy criteria, had on GDP in 2020. This is what emerges from a study by The European House Ambrosetti presented during the Sustainability Day organized by the company. “Each euro of added value generated by Acea activates a further 1,22 euro in the entire economic cycle. Furthermore, with investments equal to 907 million, Acea is positioned among the top 15 companies in the Italian industrial sector, with a value in strong growth in the last five years, equal to an annual average of +14,4%," are the words of the CEO of Acea, Giuseppe Gola during the event.
Now in its third edition, the initiative stems from Acea's desire to offer a moment of reflection and discussion on sustainability issues. At the heart of the 2021 edition, the importance of having one just and sustainable ecological transition which can also include economic and social aspects and which puts the person at the centre, as a key player in the transition and the greatest beneficiary of its effects. In the background, the scenarios of a future in which institutions, markets, businesses and societies must rethink their production models from a sustainable perspective, in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal.
“The challenges posed by the ecological transition require a common response to implement initiatives inspired by the most modern paradigms of sustainable development, attentive not only to the environment but also to the social impact – added Gola -. We developed our Strategic Plan before the Pnrr. But now we are working to integrate it, rethinking very detailed short and medium-term planning but also longer planning, which looks up to 2031".
Acea, specified the CEO, will present the new plan around mid-2022. “The renewables business has such returns that there is no need for capital. We can do it with our own resources, without the Pnrr. But instead we need an acceleration of the authorization processes”, he specified during the morning. Different speech for electric mobility: "To switch to mass electric mobility", Gola underlined, "the path is very long and complex, we need an acceleration of the creation of recharging infrastructures: in that case private capital does not they are sufficient, capital is needed there and the Pnrr is not giving us an answer at the moment ”.
Results of the Ambrosetti report
In detail, the Ambrosetti report analyzed the activity of the Roman multi-utility during 2020 and among those that have had a greater environmental impact in the fight against climate change are the energy policies which, thanks to the use of renewable sources, made it possible to avoid the emission of around 2020 thousand tons of CO210 in 2, equal to the quantity absorbed in a year by 10,5 million trees, three times those currently present in all the capitals Italians. In fact, 68% of the electricity produced by Acea is generated from renewable sources. In the water sector, the company, the leading national player by number of inhabitants served (9 million located in 5 regions), by investments (1,7 billion euros in the last 5 years) and by kilometers of distribution network (over 53 km, four times the return distance between Rome and New York), is committed to sustainable water management through the protection of the water resource, the efficiency of the networks and the containment of the volumes of losses. On the waste treatment front, again in 2020, Acea processed around 1,45 million tonnes of waste, positioning itself as the reference operator for Central Italy.
In the social sphere, again according to the study, Acea's workforce is made up of over 7.500 employees, recording the third performance for employment growth among Italian industrial companies in the last 5 years. Overall, the employment contribution reaches 27 equivalent jobs: in fact, for each Acea employee directly, 2,5 additional jobs are created.
Furthermore, “thanks to the sustainability policies put in place, the company is positioned in third place in the MID CAP segment of Borsa Italiana in the Governance Excellence Index of The European House – Ambrosetti, which evaluates five areas: among these is the number one company in the sub-segment of sustainability governance”, reads a note from the Group.
The Company's ecological transition will be the basis of the next industrial plan which looks to the long-term future. With focus on achieving the objectives set by the 2030 Agenda, such as the 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, the Roman group is launching new common working groups "unsustainable working groups", in order to implement this ecological transition plan with interventions and initiatives based on decarbonisation, sustainable mobility, protection of water resources of the circular economy.
Air transport towards sustainable development
As for air transport, Francesca Isgro, president of Enav, underlined how this sector, especially the air sector, has been among the most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. “But it was a further stimulus to think about the future of the sector: a future that is tomorrow and not years away. We need to place the emphasis on a global infrastructural system of sustainable mobility”.
“Several initiatives were born even before Covid, even of a supranational nature, especially at a European level - added Isgrò -. For example, since 2004 there has been talk Single European Sky, a coordinated and efficient and modern management of the airspace and therefore of the service provider's activity by dictating common objectives and strategies which quite simply have the direct aim of reducing delays, waiting times and fuel consumption and therefore the impact environmental. Recently, a tool has been introduced at Community regulatory level which allows airlines entering national airspace to program themselves a direct line, from an entry point to an exit point and which allows them to avoid the use of pre-defined programmatic guidelines which lead to higher fuel consumption”.
An instrument that will enter into force from next January, while ENAV had already adopted it since 2018. Following are the impact numbers presented by the Enav president: "In recent years, through the use of this instrument in Italy, it has been possible to reduce of over 500 million kg of CO2 emissions for around 170 million fuel saved”.
“We like Enav we have already approved our new sustainability plan in which we expect to anticipate the European results and targets by 10 years and therefore to have a neutral impact as early as 2022. This through various instruments: from the purchase of solanto green energy, on the one hand of green production also through plants that we want to build on our own. And for the remaining part we plan to contribute with other projects in full respect of the environment”.
