Iren considers sustainability as a fundamental lever for the creation of value over time for the Group and its stakeholders and, for this reason, is committed to conducting its activities considering the interests of its stakeholders, in the awareness that dialogue and the sharing of objectives are tools through which to create mutual value.
A way of doing business that finds its foundation in the business model and in the Group’s Strategic Plan, which includes a concrete commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda (SDGs), and that guarantees long term resilience, also by reacting quickly and effectively to exogenous phenomena of exceptional magnitude, such as the socio-economic crisis resulting from the spread of the Coronavirus.
The sustainability policies – consistent with the mission, vision and Code of Ethics – define Iren Group’s approach towards ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors, i.e. relating to issues of environmental, social and governance impact, considered material, namely priorities according to as defined in the materiality matrix.
The policies set out commitments to improve the Group’s sustainability performance, manage and mitigate the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks to which it is exposed, in an integrated manner with the risk management system, and are oriented to:
- support the strategic choices – including the governance of risks, opportunities and impacts – which are operationally set out in the Strategic Plan and in specific management policies such as, for example, the Integrated Management System Policy (Quality, Safety, Environment and Information Security), the Risk Management Policies (see page 69), the Diversity and Inclusion Policy, the Policy for the management of the dialogue with Shareholders and Investors in general, the Policy for the protection and exploitation of personal data, the Biodiversity Policy and other relevant policies on the subject;
- improve the ESG risk management process;
- facilitate the non-financial reporting process;
- increase the level of knowledge and awareness of the expected outcomes regarding the material issues;
- spread the culture of sustainability.
Iren and the global goals
Iren Group contributes to sustainable development in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrating this commitment into its business model. For the preparation of the Group’s Strategic Plan (see page 47), an assessment was made of the SDGs to which Iren contributes and can contribute most in the future. All 17 SDGs were analysed, with their relative targets, and the areas of Group activity that contribute to their achievement were identified, enabling the selection of 9 Priority Objectives that were assumed in the Strategic Plan, and are highlighted below, to which Objective 17, considered a tool for achieving the other objectives, is added in a transversal manner.
Iren Group can also have an impact in the implementation of the Objectives not selected as priorities. For this reason, the materiality analysis highlighted how the priority topics impact all SDGs (see page 42) and the contents of this document provide an information framework also on them, as highlighted in the reconciliation table on page 284.
