Utilities are good for the health of businesses, both customers and suppliers. This is stated by two research projects commissioned from Nomisma by Hera, illustrated and discussed today at a conference hosted in the multi-utility's Bologna office which was attended by important representatives of entrepreneurship and institutions, both locally and nationally. During the conference, the Hera Group presented the results of its own Sustainability Report 2014.
BS 2014: 1,6 billion of local wealth, 54% differentiated, decrease in the use of landfills, emissions and accidents at work
In 2014, the Hera Group distributed 74% of the total wealth produced to the area in which it operates, for an amount of 1,6 billion euro, the result of the sum of the added value distributed to the main local stakeholders (workers, shareholders, public administration , local community) for 1.085,5 million, with the economic value of supplies from local entities amounting to 506,2 million.
The results achieved in terms of differentiated waste collection, which amounted to 54% (52,6% in 2013), and the effective recovery of materials delivered, which reached 93,8%, were significant. The use of landfills is increasingly residual, decreasing from 16,4% in 2013 to 12,9% in 2014. Emissions of CO3 equivalent decreased by 2013% compared to 2, with important actions in favor of energy efficiency.
Related employment is significant, reaching 15.291 between direct and indirect workers, with 97% of Group workers employed on permanent contracts and an accident rate still decreasing.
Great attention to customers, also confirmed by the continuous investments to increase the quality of the contact channels and by waiting times at branches and call centers which are among the lowest among those of Italian multi-utility companies. Lastly, transparency and responsibility in tenders characterized relations with suppliers. All the issues of the 2014 Sustainability Report are navigable online at http://bs.gruppohera.it/
The pluses for companies: continuity in the supply of energy, reliability in the management of their waste and broadband
The subject of today's conference was also the results of two researches commissioned to Nomisma on the role of utilities in the competitiveness of companies and in the development of suppliers.
In particular, the first research set itself the objective of detecting how much the growth of local communities and the entrepreneurial fabric is influenced by utilities supplying energy, environmental and telecommunications services. 104 companies were interviewed, of which 50 customers of the Hera Group in the areas of Bologna, Modena and Forlì-Cesena.
The results clearly show a contribution of the services provided by utilities on the competitiveness of enterprises, more evident for energy services.
For 61,5% of the companies interviewed, the element that most affects competitiveness is the guarantee of continuity of supply (percentage which rises to 76,2% among Hera Comm's client companies), in second place is the reduction and containment of the cost of energy indicated by 48,1% of the sample (61,9% for Hera Comm customers). The topic of energy efficiency in general is considered very important by 62,5% of the companies interviewed, especially by large ones. The Emilia-Romagna area, where most of Hera Comm's customers are located, is particularly active in this sense.
As far as waste management services are concerned, the results have shown that companies are aware that a single manager for all waste management services is a strategic and competitive element. 60% of companies also consider it strategic that the manager is located in the reference area. Furthermore, 3 out of 4 companies believe that the management of industrial waste has contributed to improving the competitiveness of the company in terms of service reliability and for more than half of the companies in terms of guaranteeing the certification of the destination and among Herambiente's client companies, 1 out of 3 declares that the environmental services supplier has contributed to the development of new opportunities related to the disposal and recovery of materials.
As far as telecommunications are concerned, data transmission services between multiple locations (81%), the Internet (76%) and data center services (75%) have the greatest impact on the company's competitiveness. For the corporate customers of Acantho, the Hera Group telecommunications company, the contribution of these factors is even more evident with particular reference to the data center service and that of data transmission between offices. Furthermore, 66,7% of Acantho's customers in Emilia-Romagna consider their territory to be more competitive in terms of IT infrastructure than non-customer companies.
Positive effects also for Hera's suppliers: stability, secure payments, respect for deadlines
A second Nomisma research focused on the development of suppliers and involved a sample of 593 companies, of which 354 suppliers of Hera. Nomisma was able to ascertain that in fact Hera played a stabilizing role in the activities of its suppliers in the period 2011-2013, in particular for 65% of small-medium sized suppliers (with turnover of less than 5 million euro). The main factors recognized were the stability of demand, the continuity of the relationship over time, the security of payments and compliance with deadlines.
Not to mention that thanks to the supply with Hera, 1 out of 3 companies said they had acquired new market space, 1 out of 4 introduced process/product innovations or certifications and 22% of companies increased employment. Even more important results in the light of the fact that over 60% of the total supplies commissioned by Hera are entrusted to companies based in the local area.
"Once again in 2014, the Hera Group was able to achieve positive results in terms of social and environmental sustainability, duly reported in the Sustainability Report that we presented to you today" - declares Stefano Venier, Chief Executive Officer of Hera. “Behind the many numbers contained in the report, there is not only what we have done, but also the future we have in mind, in a continuous search for the best economic, social and environmental balance for our stakeholders. Strengthened by our history and territorial roots, we will therefore continue to invest in our "corporate culture" and to seek excellence, efficiency, growth and innovation. Particularly interesting today was the discussion on how local public services, and therefore the activity of our company, represent the identity card of the territory, an essential tool for being in Europe. There was talk of this and of what still needs to be done to bring the country to reach a standard in this sector at the European level: between reforms to be completed and governance mechanisms to be defined; between an industrial structure to grow and planning to consolidate, all for a competitive system "for the market" and not "outside the market". This is a sector in continuous and profound change, and we think we have come to play a leading active role and have built the foundations for the whole system we are a part of to play European matches.”
Growth in sustainability and sustainability in growth: they are a good key to understanding the Hera Group's Sustainability Report. In fact, the results illustrated this morning demonstrate that our company manages to grow more and more precisely because it is sustainable and rooted in the local areas, implements important investment and wealth distribution policies every year, creates satisfaction for its customers, but is also and above all an element of development for the local communities to which it addresses its services, an aspect also confirmed by the Nomisma research that was discussed today." he claims Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive Chairman of Hera. “That half a billion euro distributed in 2014 to our suppliers, 66,1% of whom are local companies, with all the related employment activities that derive from it, confirm that the Hera Group does not grow at the expense of the territories in which it operates, but rather in their interests. In order to look to the future and continue to be competitive, a multi-utility like ours must create value for the local area, which we have always tried to do in the best possible way and the results we have achieved so far confirm that we are heading in the right direction.”
