Managing community relations and other stakeholders is an enabling factor for all sustainability activities, which rely on specific operational levers:
- Sustainability by design: in order to integrate a long-term sustainability approach into the business, it is necessary, as far as possible, to anticipate and address all sustainability issues at the design stage of Company activities;
- Ad hoc interventions: activities that occur after the start of the business project, in response to events or needs that arise during the construction of the assets, the performance of daily activities, the operation of plants or the interaction with stakeholders;
- Crisis management: sustainability interventions may need to be implemented in relation to sudden and unforeseen occurrences and serious damage such as critical events relating to Group assets, projects or products and resulting from natural disasters or social/community unrest. These situations will be handled with dedicated and targeted initiatives.
In 2022 our contribution to the social and economic development and growth of the territories resulted in more than 2,300 sustainability projects in the various countries where we are present, involving more than 6.3 million beneficiaries(2), in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
These projects range from infrastructure development to education and vocational training programs, projects to support cultural and economic activities, promotion of access to energy, rural and suburban electrification, and promotion of social inclusion for the most vulnerable groups of the population (physically, socially and economically). Among the initiatives to support socioeconomic development are:
- the promotion of inclusive business models, such as the development of e-commerce platforms to foster access to credit and the development of the local economy, to support the less privileged segments of the population;
- combating energy poverty through energy awareness initiatives;
- digitalization to support connectivity in rural areas and computer literacy;
- projects aimed at fostering the participation of women in STEM subjects, for the development of local economies.
In realizing our commitment to communities, we are not alone: we have more than 1,200 active partnerships internationally with non-profit organizations, social enterprises, start-ups and institutions rooted in the local areas with valuable local expertise, because we believe in the value of a multi-stakeholder approach.