Brescia, 18 October 2018 – The fourth Brescia Sustainability Report by A2A, the document that reports the environmental, economic and social performance of the Group in this territory in 2017, was presented today by the Chairman of the A2A Group Giovanni Valotti and the Chief Executive Officer Valerio Camerano, in the presence of the Mayor of Brescia, Emilio Del Bono, and the Director for the Environment, Miriam Cominelli. For the first time, the report is centred on the contribution that the activities of A2A have made to the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s Agenda 2030. Indeed, Agenda 2030 was the benchmark for the Group when defining its own Sustainability Policy to 2030 and the Sustainability Plan 2018-2022, broken down into a series of actions and concrete and measurable targets.
A2A’s activity covers multiple services, from the production, distribution and sale of electricity and gas to district heating, from public lighting to the integrated water cycle and urban hygiene. Moreover, services for the smart city, electric mobility and energy efficiency are assuming increasing importance.
The wealth distributed by the Group in Brescian territory amounted to 266 million euros in 2017, including 42 million euros for dividends to Brescian shareholders, 108 million euros for labour costs and 109 million euros for orders to local suppliers, 80% of which are small and micro businesses. Local A2A branches employ 1840 people, 120 hired during the year, of whom more than half are young people under 30 years of age. On average, 22 hours of training per head were delivered, most dedicated to the issue of safety. The accident statistics have actually improved: the weighted index that measures the frequency and gravity of accidents has fallen by 6% compared to 2016.
In 2017, A2A invested 77 million euros in the development of systems and services in Brescia, in particular for the Environment Business Unit (18 million euros) and the Networks and Heat Business Unit (56 million euros). The most significant projects include the completion of the new gas boiler of the Lamarmora Power Station and the renewal of the control and remote management room, as well as maintenance and efficiency improvements at the waste incineration plant.
The focus has also been on the water cycle: 29 million euros have already been invested and investments are planned of another 236 million in the five years 2018-2022. These include the construction, already begun, of the Valtrompia purifier in Concesio. In 2017, 29 kilometres of the aqueduct network were replaced with the aim of reducing by 17% the linear water leaks by 2022, and a programme to install 46,000 smart meters was launched.
Smart city investments have doubled (1.5 million euros). In 2017, 8 smart poles were installed at bus stops and the project to connect 106 of the city’s schools with fibre optics was launched.
Interventions were also completed in 2017 to create new artistic LED lighting systems at 37 architectural sites, including the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera.
In 2017, A2A promoted the more informed use of energy by end customers through promotions and new services. The sale of green energy increased (+32% compared to 2016) to 267 gigawatt hours. The energy efficiency packages (LED Kits, Caldaia2a, Clima2a) have been equally successful with A2A Energia’s customers and, thanks to the LED kits installed, the emission of 802 tones of CO2 a year will be avoided. The sale of district air conditioning services and the use of the electric charging infrastructure also increased: the e-moving network distributed 7,000 car charges overall, corresponding to 440,000 km travelled with zero emissions.
In terms of the contribution to the fight against climate change and the improvement of air quality, the contribution of district heating is fundamental and, thanks also to the recovery of heat from the Ori Martin steelworks, the emission of 52,000 tons of CO2 and 35 tons of NOx was avoided.
The synergy with the local institutions and communities contributed to the constant growth of differentiated waste collection, which reached 67.7% at the end of the year in the city and 71.9% in the municipalities served in the province. 100% of the urban waste collected by the Group’s environmental companies was recovered as material or energy. From non-recyclable waste, A2A has produced energy equal to the electricity needs of 200,000 families and sufficient heating for 60,000 apartments. The energy-environment system, overall, avoided the emission of 488,000 tons of CO2 thanks to the reduced use of fossil fuels and the recovery of the energy contained in non-recyclable waste.
The Group's collaboration with the world of education is increasingly close, with more than 20,000 students involved in environmental education projects (workshops, educational tests, classroom work, school-work alternation). Thanks to A2A’s partnership with AmbienteParco, eight thousand students have been able to make use, at no charge, of the educational course on water and the new workshop on the waste cycle set up in the Parco dell’Acqua.
At the level of territorial partnerships, A2A has disbursed 2.9 million euros, returned to the territory by sponsoring events and contributing to local initiatives. Among the initiatives supported by Fondazione ASM, there was the reopening of the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, the enhancement of Brescia Castle, alongside Brescia Musei, and Mo.CA.
The Energy Bank, developed from a proposal that emerged at the Forum Ascolto in Brescia in 2015, has become a concrete reality in the fight against the new poverty. The first two million euros collected, thanks also to the support of Fondazione AEM and Fondazione ASM and the mechanism of doubling donations by Fondazione Cariplo, enabled 15 projects involving 6,000 people to be supported. Among these, selected through the "Let's Donate Energy" contest, two projects were proposed by associations operating in Brescian territory: the Associazione Casa Betel 2000 Onlus and the Cooperative Sociale Palazzolese.
As regards corporate responsibility, A2A Ciclo Idrico was the first in Italy to introduce the water bonus, a discount on the bills of economically-disadvantaged families, a year in advance of the obligation set by ARERA. There were 3,603 applications to join in 2017.
Contacts
Fabrizio Orlandi
A2A S.p.a.
Local Institutional Relations Manager
Brescia and Bergamo Area
Via Lamarmora, 230 – 25124 Brescia
T [+39] 030 3554990
335 6860345
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