Priority issues for our stakeholders

Materiality analysis is the principle for identifying aspects, relevant to the company and its stakeholders, that significantly affect the ability to create value over time, i.e. material topics that “represent the organisation’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment and people, including impacts on their human rights”.

Materiality thus ensures, the connection of priority issues with the Group's strategy and ensures that they are considered the expectations of different stakeholders.

Strategic pillars

Green transition

Local presence

Service quality

Enabling resources

ESG dimensions

Governance
Environmental/climate change
Social

Double materiality

Once the impacts had been identified according to the criteria of impact materiality and financial materiality, the relative level of double materiality, understood as the union of the two perspectives of equal importance, was attributed to each topic. 

The double materiality assessment and identification of material topics was reviewed by the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee and the Board of Directors, which approved the results at its meeting on 24 January 2023.

Material topics

Material topics

Priority topics

materiality of impacts

materiality

Material topics

SDGs

Impacts

Level

Financial

Double

GOVERNANCE

Growth and value creations for the company and stakeholders

 

2
8
  • Realisation of investments that improve the quality of regional infrastructure and promote green transition
  • Increased value distributed to stakeholders and direct and indirect economic impactse
  • Reducing the investment needed to maintain the efficiency of existing infrastructure 
  • Reduction in the value distributed to stakeholders and positive economic impacts on local areas

GOVERNANCE

Solid, ethical and transparent governance for sustainable growth

16
17
  • Value creation fostered by ethical management, adherence to standards and principles of conduct and stable corporate governance
  • Mitigation of risks with potential external economic, environmental and social impacts
  • Loss of value resulting from unethical and non-standard conduct or governance instability
  • Negative external impacts produced by regulatory and/or Code of Ethics violations and failure to manage risks

GOVERNANCE

Efficient, reliable and safe management of processes and infrastructure

9
11
12
  • Ensuring constant and continuous access to managed services
  • Safety of services managed
  • Improving the environmental impact of services
  • Economic and social impacts resulting from the absence of essential services
  • Damage resulting from a decrease in the reliability of infrastructure
  • Uncontrolled circulation of confidential information concerning citizens/clients

GOVERNANCE

Innovation and smart cities

9
11
13
  • Socio-economic development of communities enabled by digitalisation, technological innovation of services and investment to support innovative local cleantech start-ups
  • Reducing environmental impacts on the local area 
  • Missed opportunities for socio-economic progress for the local area and communities
  • Unsustainable use of natural resources and environmental heritage

GOVERNANCE

Effective and transparent dialogue and communication with stakeholders

16
17
  • Ensuring clear and transparent information on strategies and activities managed
  • Cultural dissemination and community project development
  • Lack of clear, transparent and accessible information to citizens/customers, on services, and to shareholders and investors
  • Inadequacy of services to stakeholders’ needs

ENVIRONMENTAL/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy production and saving to reduce environmental and economic impacts

7
12
13
  • Contribution to green transition by reducing consumption of non-renewable natural resources
  • Dedicated energy efficiency and self-production services for communities and customers
  • Stress on non-renewable natural resources
  • Negative environmental impacts of non-renewable energy production (emissions)

ENVIRONMENTAL/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Circular waste management

12
13
  • Reduction of waste production and consequent improvement of environmental quality
  • Reducing the use of raw materials by extracting new resources from waste 
  • Increased waste production and non-recovery resulting in a deterioration of environmental quality
  • Increased use of raw materials and fossil fuels

ENVIRONMENTAL/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Sustainable use of water resources

6
14
  • Reduction of water withdrawals from the environment for drinking purposes
  • Safety and quality of water resources for drinking water use
  • Improving the quality of the water resource returned to the environment
  • Contribution to the reduction of water stress, through the reuse of water resources
  • Increased water withdrawals from the environment for drinking purposes
  • Worsening of the quality of the water distributed and returned to the environment
  • Stress of water resources

ENVIRONMENTAL/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Decarbonization and reduction of emissions

 

13
  • Reducing environmental impacts leading to climate change
  • Contribution to the achievement of national and international environmental/climate targets
  • Environmental impacts contributing to climate change
  • Failure to contribute to national and international environmental/climate targets

ENVIRONMENTAL/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Protection of biodiversity

14
15
  • Reducing pollution in air, water and soil to counter biodiversity loss
  • Failure to contribute to the conservation of natural habitats and ecosystems

SOCIAL

Employment, development of human resources and welfare 

4
8
10
  • Employment growth as an opportunity for social development
  • Stability, quality and work-life balance for employees with positive impacts on local communities
  • Dissemination of skills and knowledge in the local area and communities
  • Reduced employment opportunities
  • Reduction of current employment levels
  • Depletion of skills in the local area and in communities

SOCIAL

Sustainable development of the local areas and communities

4
11
17
  • Socio-economic development of communities through dialogue, active listening and collaboration with stakeholders
  • Creating and disseminating a culture of sustainability to raise awareness of the value of resources
  • Lack of attention to stakeholder demands that may develop socio-economic tensions in communities
  • Unsustainable use of resources due to lack of culture and knowledge

SOCIAL

Responsibility and quality in service delivery and customer orientation

1
6
7
11
  • Affordability and service quality measures  
  • Development of new products/services that improve the quality of life and sustainable use of resources
  • Inefficiency, inadequate quality and inaccessibility of services
  • Lack of transparency and listening in business practices

SOCIAL

Occupational health and safety

3
8
  • Reduction of injuries/occupational diseases and consequent reduction of pressure on health services
  • Health prevention for Iren people with positive social and economic impacts for the community
  • Increase in work-related injuries/occupational diseases resulting in increased pressure, including economic pressure, on health services

SOCIAL

Industrial relations

8
  • Ensuring decent work for Iren people with positive impacts on local communities
  • Slowdown/interruption of operations due to workers’ strikes

SOCIAL

Diversity and inclusion

5
10
  • Ensuring equal professional and salary opportunities for less represented categories
  • Contribution to reducing youth unemployment
  • Combating all forms of discrimination 
  • Non-inclusive environment affecting, also culturally, the entire value chain
  • Lack of youth employment opportunities
  • Lack of contribution to the reduction of socio-economic gaps for less represented groups

SOCIAL

Protection of human rights 

8
10
  • Contribution to socio-economic growth that promotes the inalienability of people’s rights throughout the value chain
  • Failure to respect fundamental rights in the value chain

SOCIAL

Sustainable management of the supply chain

8
10
13
  • Reduction of environmental and social impacts generated by the supply chain
  • Promoting a culture of sustainable growth in supply chain enterprises 
  • Increased environmental, economic and social impacts related to the supply chain’s failure to adopt sustainability principles and policies