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.

Sustainability Focal Point

We have set up an in-house engagement plan to transmit sustainability practices within the company.

The Sustainability Focal Points group was formed in 2021. It is a network of A2A people who are officially in charge of integrating sustainability values and objectives into all company processes.

Focal Points as ‘actors of change’
Focal Points play a key role in the dissemination of sustainable culture in the different areas of the Group, by collecting the needs and expectations of the stakeholders concerned.

Engagement initiatives are mainly focused on some material issues: 'Listening and Involving Communities', 'Circular Economy', 'Infrastructures for Environmental Transition' and 'Responsibility and Quality in Services Provided'. Although each stakeholder has specific interests, at an aggregate level there are 4 main interests across all the mapped categories:

Community well-being and protecting the environment and local area
Business development
Standards control, regulation and compliance
Knowledge of facilities and services

Policy Stakeholder Engagement

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

Since 2015, A2A has continued a structured programme of listening and dialogue with local stakeholders, by means of working groups and public meetings, with the aim of grasping the specific features of the territorial communities, creating discussions on the topics that are most important for A2A and its stakeholders, contributing to the development of ideas and projects in line with the Group's goals.

In 2021, in collaboration with The European House Ambrosetti, the “The territories of sustainability” roadshow was inaugurated with the same format as “Right Turns”. Participants were asked to prioritize one of two possible paths (e.g., Technological Innovation vs Individual Conduct, Incremental Change vs Radical Change, Institutions vs Stakeholders), to understand the orientations of each territory on transition topics in order to identify the best solutions for an inclusive and effective change.

In 2022, the cycle of multi-stakeholder meetings was expanded with the “Alliances for a successful transition” format, which engaged 9 territories, with the aim of strengthening the roots in A2A's 6 “historical locations” (Bergamo, Valtellina-Valchiavenna, Brescia, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Milan and Piedmont) and of promoting a responsible and transparent positioning in 3 “new” territories in the South (Calabria, Sicily and Apulia) following the “Right Turns” format.

For A2A's 6 “historic locations”, internal contacts from different Group structures presented concrete projects to local players, who expressed their interest in joining the initiatives, promoting new potential partnerships and synergies.Each stage of the roadshow also included a public event for the presentation of the territorial Sustainability Report, with the participation of A2A's executives and top management, institutions and the main local key opinion leaders.

The most engaged stakeholders were representatives of institutions, suppliers, trade associations, environmental and consumer associations, universities and, as of this year, members of the Generation Z. In fact, A2A has recognized its precise responsibility to include at least one representative of the new generations not only in the Multi-stakeholder Forums, but in all its programmes of dialogue, listening and restitution of the value generated.

In 2023, A2A further expanded the Roadshow with a new round of meetings. In the historic locations, it launched a new listening phase designed to analyse the current and desired orientation of each area with respect to the ecological transition, starting with 11 new Right Turns, which stakeholders were asked to discuss and reflect upon. In the 3 southern areas, it worked in synergy with local stakeholders to design and implement concrete projects.

Lastly, in order to meet the new challenges of the global and European context, again in 2024 A2A also updated its listening process, which is currently underway.