Stakeholder engagement

Listening to stakeholders

We want to combine the interests of the Group with those of its stakeholders

Listening to stakeholders, which goes on through a number of different channels and initiatives, some more structured than others, entails the aim of generating shared and lasting value, and expresses the desire to combine the interests of the Group with those of its stakeholders.
In January 2022, we published a specific Group policy statement on Stakeholder Engagement, defining the guidelines by which A2A involves its stakeholders. The initiatives taken by the Group in the sphere of stakeholder engagement are contained in a database that maps out – on a six-monthly basis – the relevant stakeholders, the engagement activities organized, the issues discussed and also any needs that emerged.
The detailed mapping of the Group’s stakeholders is reviewed and updated every year. There are five macro-categories of A2A stakeholder:

A2A personnel
shareholders and investors
customers and groups
partner companies and suppliers
institutions

In 2020, over 600 engagement initiatives were organized. These were obviously affected by the Covid-19 emergency in terms of numbers and types of event. Most were meetings and online events, surveys, focus groups and multi-stakeholder forums.
The most involved stakeholder groups were national and local institutions, staff members (mainly concerned with needs related to the handling of the pandemic), schools and universities.

L’infografica rappresenta la mappa degli stakeholder del Gruppo. In particolare, le classi di stakeholder sono: Supply Chain e partner industriali; Istituzioni; Media; Dipendenti; Cultura, Scuole e Università; Collettività (Associazioni ambientaliste, associazioni dei consumatori, associazioni di categorie, ordini professionali e clienti). La strategia operata dal Gruppo è quella del dialogo multistakeholder.

Focal Point della Sostenibilità

Abbiamo definito un piano di engagement interno per la trasmissione delle pratiche di sostenibilità in azienda

Nel 2021 è stato formato il gruppo dei Focal Point della Sostenibilità, un network di persone di A2A formalmente incaricate di integrare valori e obiettivi di sostenibilità in tutti i processi aziendali.

Le iniziative di engagement sono concentrate principalmente su alcuni temi materiali: “Ascolto e coinvolgimento delle comunità”, “Economia Circolare”, “Infrastrutture per la transizione Ecologica” e “Responsabilità e qualità nella fornitura dei servizi”. Sebbene ogni stakeholder sia portatore di interessi specifici, a livello aggregato sono emersi 4 interessi rilevanti trasversali per tutte le categorie mappate:

Benessere della comunità e tutela dell’ambiente e del territorio
Sviluppo del business
Controllo, regolazione e rispetto delle normative
Conoscenza delle informazioni relative a impianti e servizi

Forms of engagement

Our Group uses different methods and means to engage its stakeholders, applying the most suitable ones for each type of engagement that is wanted: one-to-one meetings, workgroups or committees, conventions, press conferences, etc. Among the more structured initiatives, there are the forumAscolto multi-stakeholder working groups, whose aim is to develop projects to improve the quality of life of the communities in which we operate. Through focus groups, the Group’s commercial businesses identify ways to evolve services and thus respond, increasingly promptly, to the needs of our customers. Additionally, with virtual meetings and discussion groups on specific platforms, we get to know what our stakeholders think about us and our projects.

Forumascolto

We started up a structured programme of listening and dialogue with the stakeholders in the areas where we operate

In 2015, we started up a structured programme of listening and dialogue with the stakeholders in the areas where we operate (forumAscolto). It had three main aims: strengthening the Group’s relationship with these areas; sharing corporate strategy with the areas’ stakeholders and developing shared value projects for A2A and for communities.
In the first edition of the programme, there were six forumAscolto events – involving the Brescia, Milan, Bergamo, Valtellina and Valchiavenna areas – from which came 18 ideas and projects that the Group went on to implement. Some of these, for example, were the Banco dell’energia (Energy Bank), an awareness campaign on respect for the cityscape, a circular economy and sustainability education project, and a mountain cycle route and footpath. The last two editions of forumAscolto resulted in a call to action with the objective of promoting entrepreneurial projects in line with the needs of local communities.
The forumAscolto listening and involvement activity continued in 2020 with a new edition of the programme starting out from Brescia with the purpose of setting out a common policy for sustainable development of the Brescia area, also by identifying action to be taken as a result of locally-reached agreements and partnerships.
The organization of this forumAscolto was preceded by discussions between A2A senior management, Brescia city council and various local stakeholders so as to decide the most important issues to look at during the forum. Three key issues emerged and were scheduled for specific working groups: Energy Transition (energy efficiency and renewables; sustainable mobility), Circular Economy (organic and sorted waste management; partnerships with businesses), Water (protection of water resources).
The forum was planned for two separate dates:

a first meeting, held on 15 December 2020, with the aim of identifying the needs and priorities for sustainable development in the Brescia area, and attended by 38 stakeholders;
a second meeting, held on 4 February 2021, dedicated to identifying the action to be taken and projects to organize on the basis of both the needs identified in the first meeting and the strategic aims set out in the A2A Business Plan, and attended by 74 stakeholders.