Discover the Acea Group online 2019 Sustainability Report

Stakeholders and their involvement

Acea promotes the involvement of stakeholders23 in line with the commitments expressed in the Sustainability Policy and the Quality, Environment, Safety and Energy System and the principles set out in the Code of Ethics, with a constructive approach that tends to rely on the results of dialogue and discussion.
Identifying, analysing and managing interactions between the stakeholders and the Company are continuous and dynamic activities stemming from both company actions and objectives as well as inputs from outside.
The stakeholder identification phase makes it possible to identify the parties directly or indirectly involved in company activities in order to assess their level of qualitative and quantitative impact. The analysis phase is used to perform a  structured evaluation of the existing interactions both between the company and the stakeholders as well as among the stakeholders themselves so that dialogue and shared accountability paths may be developed.
Lastly, the management phase leads to the identification of answers to the questions raised by the stakeholders or the company in order to pursue the achievement of company goals consistent with expectations.

CHART NO. 15 – STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT

STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT

 

ACEA GROUP STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROJECT

In July 2019, the Acea Group Stakeholder Engagement Project was launched, managed by the Stakeholder Relations Unit (External Relations and Communications Department), to incorporate structured stakeholder engagement within business processes and activities, contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in the 2019-2022 Sustainability Plan and spread the culture of a strategic approach towards stakeholders in light of the evolution of the context of reference and the Group’s development prospects.
Expected to last 15 months, the Project is based on the following guidelines: developing existing practices in this area; promoting a bottom-up and top-down approach with the involvement of Group companies; creating an integrated system and developing internal skills. All activities are carried out with the direct involvement of the Acea Group Companies/Industrial Segments/ Functions/Departments in a specific phase through an inter-functional and inter-company Working Group.
During the year, the business plan provided for an assessment of the status quo through 24 one-to-one interviews with the top figures of all the Group’s Functions/Departments/Industrial Segments and Companies and 14 interviews with their operating references to gather more detailed information on projects and business initiatives that have been implemented.
16 categories of stakeholders were identified and mapped and in turn divided into 105 subcategories, and the first guidelines of the Group policy document on Stakeholder engagement were drawn up. A first active training session on stakeholder engagement was also carried out within the Working Group.
Two pilot projects of the initiative will be carried out in collaboration with Gori and the Environment industrial segment.

THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST PHASE OF STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST PHASE OF STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

 

CHART NO. 16 – STAKEHOLDER MAP

STAKEHOLDER MAP

For stakeholders, engagement initiatives are organized with the aim of establishing collaborations in a perspective of shared value, to pursue advantages that benefit both the company – consolidating its legitimacy to operate and the pursuit of strategic objectives – and stakeholders, promoting responses to their expectations. The boxes below illustrate the year’s most significant interactions with the main categories of stakeholders.                 

CUSTOMERS

INSTITUTIONS

COMPANY

SHAREHOLDERS AND INVESTORS

SUPPLIERS

EMPLOYEES

ENVIRONMENT

COMMUNITY



TOOLS AND ACTIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

The Group works towards spreading sustainability values, culture and practices, both within the organization and in the contexts it operates in, adopting tools and policies which today cover the most important phases of planning, management and accounting.

CHART NO. 17 – SUSTAINABILITY TOOLS

SUSTAINABILITY TOOLS

23 Stakeholders (concerned parties) are those entities – individuals, groups, organizations – having significant relations with the company and whose interests are involved in the corporate activity for various reasons for the exchange relations held with the latter or because they are significantly influenced by them.