Environmental Suppliers Customer and Citizens Institutions and Communities Susainability Report - 2012 1 Index
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Sustainability Report 2012 employees shareholders and investors environmental suppliers customer and citizens institutions and communities Susainability report - 2012 1 Index Index Letter to stakeholders 4 Introduction and note on methodology 6 The A2A Group’s Sustainability Report 6 Methodology 6 Scoping logic 7 Materiality 9 1 The A2A group 10 1.1 Size of the organisation and markets served 14 1.2 Companies outside the consolidation scope 15 2 Strategies and policies for sustainability 17 2.1 Mission and vision 18 2.2 Commitments and objectives for the future 18 2.3 The 2013-2015 Sustainability Plan and key indicators/results achieved in 2012 19 2.4 Partnerships and awards for sustainability 25 2.5 Corporate governance 27 Corporate governance bodies 27 Corporate governance tools 34 Regulatory framework 35 2.6 Stakeholder chart and engagement initiatives 37 3 Economic responsibility 41 3.1 The Group’s 2012 results 43 3.2 Formation of Value Added 43 3.3 Distribution of Net Global Value Added 45 3.4 Capital expenditure 46 3.5 Shareholders and Investors 47 Composition of share capital 47 A2A in the stock exchange indices 48 A2A in the sustainability ratings 49 2 Susainability report - 2012 Index Investing in A2A: sustainability as a valuation project 49 Relations with shareholders and investors 52 3.6 Tables: the numbers of the A2A Group 55 4 Environmental responsibility 57 4.1 Managing the environment 58 Environmental policy 59 Environmental management system 59 Environmental risk management 60 Environmental accounting 61 Research and innovation for the environment 62 Biodiversity and the countryside 63 Efects connected with transport 65 Removal of asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls 66 4.2 Energy production and distribution 67 Efciency in energy production 68 Managing the environmental aspects 72 4.3 Responsible waste management 81 Integrated waste cycle 82 Efciency of the integrated waste management service 85 Management of the environmental aspects 92 4.4 Responsible water management - the Integrated Water Service 95 The integrated water service 96 Managing the environmental aspects 97 4.5 Tables: the numbers of the environment 99 Data on activities 99 Resources 103 Air and climate 104 Biodiversity 115 Discharges and emissions into water 116 Waste produced by the Group 117 5 Social responsibility 119 5.1 A2A people 119 Equal opportunities policy 120 Hiring policies and staf turnover 122 Remuneration and incentives 124 Worker health and safety 124 Industrial relations 128 Development and training 128 Internal communications 132 Susainability report - 2012 3 Index Other initiatives benefting employees 134 Tables: A2A people numbers 136 5.2 The customers and citizens served 146 Selling electricity and gas 147 District heating and heat management 163 Integrated water service 166 Environmental services 170 Managing claims and disputes 174 Tables: customer numbers 177 5.3 Suppliers 189 Tender procedures 190 Qualifying for the A2A vendor register 192 Pre and post vendor rating 194 Sustainable management of the sector and certifcations requested 194 5.4 The institutions and communities of reference 196 Dialogue with the institutions 197 Actions in favour of local communities 200 Environmental education 205 Media relations 208 A2A on the web 209 6 Statement of compliance 210 7 Statement of the level of compliance with the GRI guidelines 212 Sustainability Report - 2012 4 Letter to stakeholders Letter to stakeholders Ladies and Gentlemen, The first five years of sustainability reporting for the A2A Group came to an end with 2012. The Sustainability Report and the annual process leading to its preparation are now well consolidated and have become part of the life of anyone who works in A2A or who is directly or indirectly involved with it. Our ability to measure and represent the phenomena in which the sustainability question arises and to use the report as a way of comparing ourselves to other operators, identifying areas of improvement, has grown over these years. It is no coincidence that after gradually approaching it, this year we have reached the top level (A+) as far as the Global Reporting Initiative international standard is concerned. Important in this growth path was an involvement campaign carried out with our interlocutors in November 2012; by using an online survey we asked them to assess not only our Sustainability Report but above all to provide an indication in their answers of the priority commitments that A2A should pursue in the near future in an environmental, social and economic sphere. All of this took place in what was a key year for the Group, which after renewing its corporate governance bodies then issued its 2013-2015 Business Plan, announcing to the market and more generally to all of its stakeholders its strategic lines and industrial development programmes for the upcoming years. The Plan was given a favourable welcome by the markets, as it shows A2A’s wish to tackle realistically, and in a committed manner, the difficult economic and social scenario which is a feature not only of this country but also of the whole of Europe. It is precisely in these circumstances that our responsibility towards our stakeholders (shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, institutions, communities) becomes even stronger: the expectation that the Group will continue to create value and distribute it throughout the local area, keeping its care for the environment, the quality of its services and social demands at high levels, can be tangibly felt. A2A responds to this expectation by setting itself the target of strengthening its employed capital structure, in order, in the short to medium period, to achieve industrial growth concentrating on the areas which are the most profitable and provide the highest level of environmental sustainability: cogeneration and urban district heating, the treatment and enhancement of the energy-producing capacity of waste and the repowering of generation plants. These are measures which are fully in line with the National Energy Strategy and the European package of measures known as “20-20-20”, whose priorities include economic competitiveness, energy efficiency, the development of renewable sources and a reduction in CO2 emissions. Following the approval of the Business Plan, the preparatory work for drawing up a Sustainability Plan for the Group for 2013-2015 was completed and a summary preview of this is given in this Sustainability Report. The Plan covers economic, social and environmental responsibility, expressing the Group’s future commitments and setting out the main measurable quantitative objectives. An extremely important step, also created thanks to increased analytical work and a comparison with the best practices adopted in the sector and the numerous activities carried out which enable us to listen to and involve our interlocutors. This will be followed by a careful, gradual process of operational planning and monitoring which will involve the whole Group in achieving the targets set. Sustainability Report - 2012 Letter to stakeholders 5 Besides these strategic steps, A2A’s 2012 will be remembered from a sustainability standpoint for a number of aspects, and we invite you to go into further detail in this respect when you read the document: the distribution of net global value added of 1,238 million euro; confirmation of the high proportion of energy produced from renewable sources (35.9%) compared to the national average; the positive response of communities to the measures taken to increase differentiated waste collection in Varese, Milan and Bergamo; the development of urban district heating networks, with an annual increase of 11% in the volumes served and significant savings in energy resources and reductions in emissions being achieved; a considerable improvement in the work accident indices thanks to prevention programmes: in 2012 the Group’s frequency index fell by 7.7% over the previous year; the constant improvement in the efficiency of producing electricity and thermal energy from waste: 819 kWh of electricity and 713 kWh of thermal energy were produced for each tonne of waste; confirmation of the excellent levels of customer satisfaction achieved by the Group’s sales and service companies: A2A Energia was ranked first in Databank’s 2012 Energy Observatory for the level of residential electricity and gas customer satisfaction; the success of the initiatives carried out in conjunction with consumers’ associations for spreading a fair commercial practice culture; the increasing access of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, shareholders, institutions) to the digital communication tools developed by the Group: more than 600,000 people visited the portal www.a2a.eu in 2012 (representing an increase of 36% over 2011) and over 17,000 used Puliamo, the app dedicated to the Group’s environmental services. In addition, the number of people joining A2A Energia’s bollett@mail scheme rose by 28%; confirmation of adherence to the Global Compact and its universal principles on human rights, labour, the environment and the fight against corruption. This is a substantial list but one which does not exhaust the list of activities performed and the results achieved by our Group in 2012 from the standpoint of social and environmental responsibility. Activities and results which you can find illustrated in the following pages, with a wealth of information and tables giving maximum substance to this report. We are confident that the daily commitment invested by each individual Group company and by everybody working there will emerge from this report, the commitment to achieve growth that is sustainable from every point of view in the interest of each and every one of our stakeholders. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board The Chairman of the Management Board Pippo Ranci Ortigosa Graziano Tarantini Sustainability Report - 2012 6 Introduction and note on methodology Introduction and note on methodology The A2A Group’s Sustainability Report In the A2A Group’s business model sustainability is as a strategic element for seeking to achieve growth that is balanced from an economic, social and environmental standpoint.