Sustainability, at Hera, has many faces. They are the faces of the many people within the Group who work there every day with success, achieving performances for which the multi-utility is today being awarded in Milan in the third edition of Top Utility, the think tanks dedicated to the excellence of Italian utilities.
After obtaining the absolute first prize in the debut edition and having obtained, last year, the recognition linked to communication, Hera thus adds another record to its "palmarès", attributed to the Group "for the best results in the field of environmental sustainability and social responsibility”. There are 66, in particular, the survey parameters that the multi-utility has exceeded, always resulting in the highest step of the podium, both as a company as a whole and with respect to the specific areas involved in the exam.
The lowest common denominator of the entire corporate reality, sustainability is the subject - every year - of a specific form of reporting, the Sustainability Report, which ensures all stakeholders complete and timely information on the Group's social and environmental impacts. The Report illustrates the activities, results and objectives that characterize the multi-utility's commitment on this front.
They range from the most recent results, such as the ISO 50001 certification which recognizes Hera SpA's excellence in the efficient use of energy, to well-established aspects which are punctually confirmed every year: performance in urban waste management, avant-garde not only in Italy but also in Europe, and in the actual recovery of correctly delivered materials, subject to specific reporting with the Report On the trail of waste; the controls to guarantee the quality of the tap water, detailed in the Report In good waters; the promotion of the transition to online billing, combined with the planting of new trees in residential areas; the use of a corporate fleet of electric vehicles and the implementation of a network of recharging stations which favors electric mobility for everyone.
These examples, which by no means exhaust the set of activities examined in the survey, show how the Group's commitment to sustainability translates into a plurality of concrete activities, which have immediate repercussions on everyone's quality of life, last but not least the employees, to whom personnel policies are aimed at promoting their training and ensuring maximum safety in the workplace. This latter commitment is demonstrated by the trend in the accident frequency index, which has halved since the establishment of Hera to date, and also by the adoption of OHSAS 18001 certification, which with the extension to AcegasApsAmga has led to over 90% of workers who operate in Group companies with this certification.
"We are very proud of an award that certifies our commitment to sustainability - says Filippo Bocchi, Corporate Social Responsibility Director of the Hera Group - because the objectives relating to environmental and social aspects are integrated into our planning and control system and are timely reported in our sustainability report, which is prepared with the highest level of adherence to international standards, it is verified externally and since 2007 it has been published together with the economic report. Publishing a sustainability report - concludes Bocchi - is not for us a question of image, but rather represents a profound and constant commitment, capable of testifying with concrete results and objectives the values that underlie a development model built together with the territories of reference, in the interest of the company and of all the stakeholders.”
