Our organization

The activity of the Generation and Trading Business Unit is related to the management of the generation plants portfolio⁽¹⁾ of the Group with the dual purpose of maximizing the availability and efficiency of the plants, minimizing operating and maintenance costs (O&M) and maximizing the profit deriving from the management of the energy portfolio through the purchase and sale of electricity and fuels (gaseous and non-gaseous) and environmental certificated on domestic and international wholesale markets.

This Business Unit also includes the activity of trading on domestic and foreign markets of all energy commodities (gas, electricity, environmental certificates).

The activities of the Market Business Unit are aimed at the retail sale of electricity and natural gas to customers in the free market and sale to customers served under protection scheme. Furthermore, it deals with providing energy efficiency and electric mobility services.

Our mission is clear: to reduce the environmental footprint of human activities and promote sustainable development. Our circular economy model is based on recycling, harnessing the value of waste, the sustainable management of water and district heating networks. Thanks to these solutions, we are enhancing the comfort and quality of life in our homes and our workplaces while safeguarding the environment.
Our activities cover the entire waste cycle, from collection and street cleaning to the management of waste sorting in order to maximise material recovery. Processing waste and turning it into an asset takes place in dedicated facilities, where we transform it into useful resources from which to recover materials and energy. Our Bonifiche environmental protection team is responsible for analysis to ensure the regulatory compliance of production facilities, and manages potential contamination scenarios, carrying out reclamation work if necessary. 

We manage the entire water cycle, including water catchment, the management of water pipelines, distribution, the sewage network and water purification. The water treated is returned to the service areas, contributing to the safeguarding of natural resources.
We offer solutions for the district heating and cooling of buildings, fully respecting the environment by using resources available in the area and with the aim of improving the comfort and quality of life in your home and in your workplace.

The Smart Infrastructures Business Unit develops and manages the infrastructures functional to the wide range of services provided by the Group, focusing on technology and innovation.

In particular, the Business Unit’s activity mainly concerns the development and technical-operational management of electricity distribution networks, natural gas transport and distribution networks and the related metering service, characterized by important technological evolutions thanks to the use of smart meters. It manages the entire integrated water cycle (water collection, aqueduct management, water distribution, sewerage management, purification). The activity is also aimed at the sale of heat and electricity produced by cogeneration plants (mostly owned by the Group), through district heating networks and ensures the operation and maintenance of cogeneration plants and district heating networks. Also included are the activities related to the management services for heating plants owned by third parties (heat management services).

The Smart Infrastructures Business Unit also develops infrastructures in the field of telecommunications, designs solutions and applications aimed at creating new models of cities and territories and improving the quality of life of citizens.
It should be noted that from January 2021, the Business Unit develops and manages public lighting and traffic regulation systems; finally, it builds and manages a network of recharging infrastructures functional to the electrification of transport.

Corporate services include the activities of guidance, strategic direction, coordination and control of industrial operations, as well as services to support the business and operating activities (e.g. administrative and accounting services, legal services, procurement, personnel management, information technology, communications, landline and mobile telephone service etc.) whose costs, net of amounts recovered from accrual to individual Business Units based on services rendered, remain the responsibility of the Corporate.

For us at A2A, the ecological transition and the digital one are choices of environmental, economic and social responsibility because their purpose is the decarbonization of activities, but not only that.

At the same time, they are designed to guarantee for everybody access to services that are essential for everyday life but which also have an impact on the quality of the future of new generations:

• By investing in renewables with competitive production costs, we support the development of clean energy for families and businesses at prices which are more accessible and stable
• The shift of consumption towards decarbonized and electrified alternatives also enables a decrease in the costs faced by users over the long term, for example in e-mobility
• Our waste, water and heat management models, inspired by the principles of the circular economy, reduce costs for users and avoid a waste of resources
• Our ongoing commitment to the digitalization of services and assistance allows us to facilitate and speed up access: our diversified and integrated portfolio of services and offers involves the use of various digital platforms, making it possible for customers to independently manage their utility supplies and allowing people to access information, guides and advice, making their own contribution to the ecological transition (from the value of correct recycling to the importance of safeguarding water resources, from the informed consumption of energy and heat to knowledge of renewable resources and collective self-consumption)
• Our struggle against climate change and our commitment to the safeguarding of natural resources, the environment and biodiversity looks to the future of new generations: with our “A2A for schools” programme, we offer a broad range of educational tools and training courses through which young people can create innovative solutions and plan their own sustainable future with creativity and hope. The local and nationwide schemes and the materials made available are designed to spread the culture of sustainability among different generations, giving concrete life to a future based on the circular and respectful use of resources.

The effects of demographic and social changes call for measures which can answer the new needs of our workforce: in this context, A2A is working closely with and integrating public welfare through services that impact positively on the creation of value for communities in the areas that we serve.

Attention to 360° well-being, the work-life balance and income support are the principles guiding a comprehensive array of measures for a total investment of 72 million euros a year: employee share ownership plan, parental support scheme, productivity bonuses and other welfare services.

With our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy, we develop and promote projects that encourage a culture of the full expression of people's individual characteristics at A2A in five distinct spheres: LGBTQI+ genders, generations, cultures and disabilities, togetherness

From their first day at A2A, we involve people through specific induction schemes, programmes which foster skills and identify potential.

We accompany them in interactive and experience-based training courses because we believe that, in these activities, we can generate interaction, stimulate ideas and trigger the desire to enhance existing skills and acquire new ones.

Featuring strongly in political debate, the European competitivity crisis is jeopardizing the ongoing EU-wide ecological transition. The uncertainties of the market and geo-political landscapes can result in either a speeding-up or a slowing-down of the ecological transition, depending on whether external factors are favourable or unfavourable.

In this context, our business model takes into account the decarbonization of activities and the competitiveness of our businesses and of Italy as a whole.

The strategies implemented in recent years are closely in line with the goals identified by the Draghi report, “The future of European competitiveness”, with more than 90% of the Plan’s investments concentrated in three areas (innovation, decarbonisation and autonomy) and a series of achievements:

Listening to and talking with the stakeholders in the areas where we operate are at the core of our growth: we are striving to speed up the ecological transition of the communities that we serve.

For this reason, we have created a digital platform to monitor relations with our stakeholders and the steps taken to involve them, as well as a nationwide outreach and co-planning programme to help work out together the future steps to be taken in the ecological transition.

Moreover, since 2015, we have been publishing Territorial Sustainability Reports providing the public with details of the Group’s commitments and achievements in the areas where it operates.