Hera, the second largest national operator in the water sector, adheres to the CEO Water Mandate, the United Nations Global Compact initiative promoted to relaunch companies' commitment to the sustainable management of water resources. The Bologna-based multiutility is the second Italian company to join after Enel, thus joining over 100 companies distributed on a global scale, including Veolia, Suez, Engie and E.On.
The CEO Water Mandate foresees an approach to the water service divided into six thematic areas, in which the Group fully identifies. They range from measures relating to the direct use of water by the company to those dedicated to the supply chain, passing through a thematic area centered on collective actions aimed at encouraging collaborations with third parties aimed at consolidating good practices. A further focus is reserved for public policies, for the promotion of sustainable water management in public debates, the development of knowledge on the subject and activities related to sector associations.
Furthermore, the CEO Water Mandate recognizes an important value in community involvement, inviting companies to operate in this sense through the development of water infrastructures and environmental education initiatives. Lastly, specific attention is paid to the issue of transparency, to guide companies towards timely reporting of their progress in achieving essential objectives such as those related to water.
“The challenges concerning water can only have a global scale – says Stefano Venier, managing director of the Hera group – and this is why Hera intends to continue to configure its commitment within the framework outlined by the United Nations. In this sense, the CEO Water Mandate represents a valid activation tool through which companies from all over the world can recognize each other and team up for the future of the planet. On the other hand, the thematic areas indicated by the mandate constitute areas of action that Hera has been overseeing for some time, demonstrating its ability to anticipate many of the directions towards which the international community has appropriately oriented itself”.
