Italians are increasingly sensitive to environmental issues, as well as companies. A trend demonstrated by the tools of the Hera Group: the Rifiutologo app was downloaded almost 80 times in the first half of 2021 alone, L'Acquologo over 12 times in 2020 and My Hera around 415 times since 2017.
The pandemic has accelerated the digital transition, an important challenge (it is no coincidence that one of the main cornerstones of the PNRR) and which concerns everyone: businesses, citizens and the PA. And the Bolognese multiutility has made digitization one of the main areas in which its own Sustainability Report it provides for investments and targeted interventions both in the management of its services and with regard to the simplification of the direct relationship with citizens.
This is where the Group's digital tools come into play: Il Rifiutologo, l'Acquologo and My Hera which allow a more direct, faster and more effective comparison with citizens and customers, so as to deepen the sharing of responsibilities with them and allowing the possibility of obtaining important results.
In the first half of 2021, the Hera app "The Refusalologist”, with which it is possible to find out about the correct disposal of differentiated waste, has been downloaded almost 80 thousand times. With the Rifiutologo skill for Amazon Alexa you can have extra help to correctly separate waste collection and obtain real-time information on the door-to-door calendar.
While for those who wish to find out about the quality of tap water and adopt greener behaviors regarding its consumption, Hera provides the app "The Waterologist”, which was downloaded around 2021 times in the first half of 5.300 alone. Finally, with the app My Hera, multi-utility customers can manage their services and supplies on the move, anywhere and everywhere, even from the comfort of their homes, quickly and easily; The app has been downloaded 415 since it was introduced about 4 years ago.
Digital tools aimed at customers are nothing new at Hera. Already since 2008 the Group had screwed i Online Services, to manage services and supplies at any time and in any place. Obviously over time this tool has evolved and enriched, to always keep up with the times and the different needs, to which other opportunities have also been offered, such as that of increasing awareness of one's energy consumption using the My Hera app with which to access the "consumption diary” and other tools to save energy.
The latter is free and, through the verification of one's consumption, allows one to act accordingly on one's behaviour. The project was the subject of a study conducted in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano, which involved over 145 domestic users and will eventually be extended to all customers who wish to join. Specific consumption monitoring tools have also been developed for demanding water companies and for those attentive to energy and gas consumption.
Finally, with the project Digi and Praise, Hera customers can contribute to equipping their city's schools with digital tools, precisely by activating one, or more, of the digital services that the multi-utility makes available to them free of charge. Since the start of the project, Hera has delivered prizes for a total value of 350 thousand euros to schools in Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo.
