Strengthened social clauses and stringent rules on collective bargaining agreements to combat wage dumping and precarious employment. Enhanced control tools, including digital checklists and a ban on cascading subcontracting, ensure the safety and accountability of supply chains. Systematic involvement of trade unions, from advance information provision to consultations before and after tenders are awarded, to improve and enhance work and workers. These are some of the key points set out in writing in the new Procurement Protocol signed by the Hera Group, by the company RSU and nine trade unions (Filctem-Cgil, Fp-Cgil, Femca-Cisl, Flaei-Cisl, Fit-Cisl, Uiltec-Uil, Uiltrasporti, Fiadel and Cisal-Federenergia) based on three pillars, which are the subtitle of the agreement: "more protection, more controls, more participation".
The agreement represents a further step by the multi-utility company in reinforcing its commitment to increasingly shorter, transparent, and responsible supply chains. It is part of the process initiated by the Group in June 2024 with the Good Work Pact, followed by the Supplier Code of Conduct signed last summer, a true ethical pact to build a sustainable and fair value chain together with suppliers. The new Procurement Protocol updates and expands on the framework of the previous agreement, which It had already established itself as a reference model in the sector in 2016, introducing pioneering tools for protection and transparency in supplier management, which then inspired regulatory reforms such as the Procurement Code (Legislative Decree 36/2023 and corrective measures 2024-2025) and the Infrastructure Decree (Law 195/2025).
The new Procurement Protocol covers over €800 million per year in services and works contracted by the multi-utility in the Energy, Integrated Water Cycle, and Environmental Services sectors. Extended across the entire 2025–2029 industrial plan, the Protocol regulates over 4 billion euros overall of economic value and involves more than 1.800 companies and an average of 4.400 contracts each year.
More protection with employment safeguard clauses
The agreement updates, expands and details the list of national employment contracts to be applied in outsourced activities, in line with the New Procurement Code, and introduces more effective rules for combat the phenomenon of contractual and wage dumping. Social clauses protecting employment are strengthened to ensure the stability of employed personnel, even in the event of a change of contract.
It is also ensured the exclusion of the discount for labor and safety costs, more rigorous checks on the Durc (Degree of Recognition of Employment and Recognition of Employment) and increased controls on the requirement to complete training prior to entering the construction site are being introduced to ensure fair wages and workplace safety. Among the new measures are the extension of the Environmental Services contract to include the sorting and recovery of municipal waste, and the strengthening of safety seminars organized by the Hera Group: approximately twenty have been held in the last year, involving 220 suppliers and 400 workers.
More controls thanks to digitalization
The company qualification system is strengthened with the introduction of specific obligations in the specifications regarding social responsibility and supervisory mechanisms are being reorganized and further digitized, thanks to the new features of the supplier portal, which allows the application of standardized checklists and the tracking of non-conformities, with real-time updates on supplier performance, quality and safety and a vendor rating tool to manage critical cases.
The Group plans to increase inspections by 10% per year With checklists for the entire supplier base: over 2.500 checklists have already been carried out in the last year using digital checklists, complemented by in-depth audits for the most at-risk profiles. This activity has contributed to a 30% reduction in the injury rate in the supply chain over the last three years. Subcontracting restrictions have also been further tightened, already limited to 10% of the value of services and work awarded by the Hera Group to external suppliers, expressly prohibiting cascading subcontracting and subcontracting for activities posing a high risk to health and service continuity.
More union participation
The Protocol consolidates the involvement of trade union organizations, making the tender phases more transparent and more traceable. Mechanisms are in place to provide timely information to the unions, both in advance, before the publication of each tender, and during the procurement phase, with dedicated discussions and specific information for contracts involving major infrastructure projects. It is also possible to report critical issues to the Safety Committee or initiate targeted discussions on specific operational aspects, such as compliance with contractual clauses or the correct application of national collective bargaining agreements. Finally, the Protocol provides that the suggestions for improvement gathered during implementation can be used in drafting future tenders, with a view to continuous improvement shared between the company and union representatives.
Statement by the Executive Chairman of the Hera Group, Cristian Fabbri
"This Protocol," states Cristian Fabbri, Executive Chairman of the Hera Group, "is the concrete application of our corporate purpose and the core principles of our development strategy: dignity and fairness in work, personal safety, and shared and integrated responsibility throughout the supply chain. Social protections, advanced control tools, ESG criteria in selection processes Investments in training and digitalization are levers for improving the quality of procurement, supplier reliability, and thus the overall efficiency of our operations. Working transparently with trade unions on shared goals strengthens our role as a responsible supply chain leader and consolidates an operational and cultural model of shared growth that generates benefits for the entire ecosystem.
