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Biodiesel has been developed also from used food oil

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Biodiesel has been developed also from used food oil.

Fuel may also be extracted from vegetable oils. Used domestic vegetable oil (such as frying oil) which is recovered by multiutility services via roadside containers and drop-off points, is transformed into biodiesel, which in turn is used to fuel the vehicles used for urban waste collection.


This is possible today thanks to the strategic partnership we have set up with Eni, which is one of the many initiatives launched in our transition to a circular economy. How is biodiesel made? We recover exhausted vegetable oils for domestic use, such as frying oils, from around 800 roadside collection bins and around 130 ecological stations. We send these oils to the Eni bio-refinery in Porto Marghera, Venice. Here they are processed to make a biodiesel containing 15% renewable component. This biofuel feeds part of our company's vehicles for the collection of municipal waste in the area served.

How does the oil collection service work for citizens?

The oil can be delivered not only to drop-off points, but also to eco-self containers and roadside collection stations. The latter are of a new type. Compared to the previous ones, in fact, they hold 240 litres and can collect the oil to be recovered through a small hatch. Keep in mind that the oil should not be poured directly into the stations, but rather put inside plastic bottles or bottles closed with their caps. To find the collection point nearest you, you can use our app “Il Rifiutologo” that can be downloaded for free.


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18/08/2021

Hera to hunt down water leaks with cosmic rays

Hera to hunt down water leaks with cosmic rays brunetti_maurizia_thumbnail.png First satellite leak detection, and now cosmic rays. To detect water leaks in the systems, Hera again turns to “space” technology, already used in the probe that circles around the red planet to detect water on Mars. Cosmic rays are explained to us by Maurizia Brunetti, Manager of Mains Water Coordination at Hera Spa: “These are harmless particles, neutrons, that come from space and to which our planet is continually exposed. They also interact with hydrogen, which slows down their movement. Since the water molecule is composed of hydrogen in two atoms out of three, whenthe neutrons meet the water, they are blocked and in some way hindered in their free movement. Detection of these anomalies in neutron behaviour indicates a water leak”. Compared with other technologies used, what are the biggest benefits that this brings to leak detection? It surely allows us to check a much greater number of networks than traditional methods, precisely because it can travel on any mobile transport it is assembled on,” concludes Maurizia Brunetti. “Considering that in Emilia-Romagna, we have a water supply network of 27,000 kilometres, if the results should prove really positive, that would certainly be a significant step forward. We are currently trialling it on the 200 kilometres of the network in the Bologna region: we still need to implement a calibration stage but in the next few months, the survey area will be extended to over one thousand kilometres. Detection of leaks with this technology could allow us to intervene and repair them more quickly and, as a result, to salvage important quantities of water in a sector such as water services which is increasingly subject to climate change. no
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18/08/2021

Food for the soul

Food for the soul gobbi_claudia_thumbnail.png Claudia Gobbi is a service manager in the Facility Management department, dealing with the management of spaces/premises within the Group. Like many other staff members of the Hera Group, she continued working throughout the entire lockdown. Working in the company for over thirty years, Clauda has never witnessed such a critical moment as the pandemic period, but like many other Hera employees she continued to work throughout the entire lockdown. “We immediately realised how serious the situation was. It was necessary to take action quickly to protect colleagues, following all regulations laid down by the Safety Committee. “The whole year was incredible, the first three months in particular, but the results achieved gave us some serenity and the monitoring carried out by the authorities confirmed we were following correct procedures. We felt really useful to our company and colleagues. Just as an example, the fact of keeping the company canteens open throughout the lockdown was very important for our colleagues, at a time when nowhere was open outside our premises.” As a lover of travel, music and art, Claudia suffered under the Covid restrictions which stopped her enjoying her hobbies. “Using travel to open my mind to other cultures and realities different from my own is always a very moving experience for me.” She says that what she misses most is “Food for the soul”: museums, cinema, and theatre. “It’s not enough to eat food for the body; culture is an essential part of my life. As an architect, going to exhibitions and museums served as a stimulus to open my mind and inspire new ideas and thinking also in my work.” no
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18/08/2021

A qualitative leap

A qualitative leap donati_michele_thumbnail.png Michele Donati, a 45-year-old from Ferrara, always out on the road. Since July 2020, he has been the driver of a mobile container bin lorry for the Waste Management Department of Hera, after 20 years as a coach driver for a well-known transport company. “At the end of spring, two pieces of good news arrived,” explains Michele. “The virus, which was like a bolt out of the blue, started to loosen its grip, allowing a little more freedom for everyone, and there was a new job for me. Starting work at Hera was, for me, a huge qualitative leap: I am very serene now, both regarding my contractual status and my health.Also, employment in the Covid era is even more important: I truly feel useful, and happy to be able to go out every day, to be out on the road.” And this road is the very motorway that Michele sees every day from his window and that, over these months, has monitored the rhythm of life, a life that at first seemed to have stopped with all traffic gone, and then, slowly, revved up again towards normality. “I felt miserable seeing that deserted motorway, that silence… just like scenes from a film.” It was a ‘film’ in which Michele played a starring role, thanks to his voluntary work as a fireman. Michele is a sociable person and also now, working in Hera, he has easily integrated into his new team. “Even though we don’t have many meetings, we colleagues see each other in the changing room, we chat, we discuss things: we are a close team and fairly similar, also in age”. And now it’s simply time to look to the future as Michele, despite having already reached some important goals, is ready for new projects. “In my life now, I have everything: a partner, a daughter of 5 years old, a job I like and my hobbies. Now, my family and I can think about a new house… this one is small. And, then, it’s great to dive into new adventures, never staying still…” no
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18/08/2021

Hera focuses on digitalization and reinforces Cybersecurity

Hera focuses on digitalization and reinforces Cybersecurity picchioni_franco_thumbnail.png The lockdown, and consequent remote working, accelerated the process of digitalization in many companies. Unfortunately, it also increased the targets of many cyber criminals, as people were otherwise preoccupied with the Covid-19 crisis. In such a situation, it was therefore essential for Hera to have a department within our company network to defend us from such attacks. The arrival of Franco Picchioni, Chief of Information and Cyber Security Management within the Central Administration for Innovation, in January 2020, strengthened these processes. Franco, what is your role in Hera and how long have you worked here? I deal with all problems linked to cyber security for the entire Group, taking into consideration external threats (in continuous evolution), the internal drive for digitalization, and the balancing of security with user-friendly systems. I’ve been in this role since last January, when it was created. I arrived from another Italian company in the field, where I had a similar role for the past ten years. Why is it an important issue, especially at this moment in time? As well as the question of lockdown which forced many companies to use smart working extensively, over the last few years the issue of cyber security has been growing constantly, mainly due to the fact that companies are now pushing for a move to digitalization. This evolution means the computerisation of data and processes, as well as the introduction of cyber-space as the new field of action. In this context, the area of potential attack within our companies is huge, and the resulting defences must be appropriate and prompt. no
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18/08/2021

Job rotation for employee professional development and organizational motives

Job rotation for employee professional development and organizational motives addesa_lidia_thumbnail.png Developing flexible learning opportunities to make people protagonists in their own development is one of our HR strategic goals. One of the main initiatives in this regard is the promotion of circulation of staff in an increasingly common policy of job rotation. 2020 introduced a number of important innovations in the field of in-company mobility: with the introduction of a support channel, the whole company has been given the chance to indicate their own areas of interest and motivational aspects to consider in career evolution in other roles and departments/companies in the Group. Over 450 colleagues have already welcomed this opportunity, laying the ground for exchange activity which has already created some work mobility initiatives. One such example is Lidia Addesa who, after a number of years in the IT Systems Department, embarked on a new experience in the Commercial Innovation and Operations department of Herambiente. “The support channel was a chance for me to indicate my willingness to undertake an internal exchange initiative. I talked to Personnel and they supported me in my application when the right opportunity for me came up”. The company has for some time now offered the possibility of professional experiences in other departments/locations, as in the case of Tobia Desalvo, who enjoyed different experiences in the Central Market Administration and Waste Management department. “Thanks to the internal exchange scheme, my 15 years in Hera have been a journey of discovery within the company. I have been able to expand and develop my existing professional skills, in very different contexts.” no

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A source of clean energy from sewers and wet waste: Biomethane

An investment of Euro 37 million. A plant that disposes of 100 thousand tonnes of organic waste produced by separate waste collection and another 35 thousand tonnes coming from green waste and pruning material. 

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Biodiesel has been developed also from used food oil

Fuel may also be extracted from vegetable oils. Used domestic vegetable oil (such as frying oil) which is recovered by multiutility services via roadside containers and drop-off points, is transformed into biodiesel, which in turn is used to fuel the vehicles used for urban waste collection.

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Bus fuel from trash: Hera's pilot project with "START"

To obtain clean energy to power Ravenna's buses by decomposing waste in landfills. 

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Data, the key to a smart future

From city to "smart city" thanks to data: with our detection systems we can monitor traffic trends, air quality and consumption of public parks. 

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Dialogue with the urban context for new energy: the Borgo Panigale cogeneration plant

District heating is already in itself a "sustainable" and environment-friendly solution, because it can guarantee better performance than traditional domestic boilers. In addition, the plant located in Borgo Panigale ensures lower emissions into the environment, more reliability and greater availability of energy. The system can heat the equivalent of 8,000 residential units. Currently, the turbines can produce 35,000 MWh of energy per year, almost twice as much as in the past.

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Ferrara, the city of "green" heat

What's Ferrara's green secret? It's underground, where a geothermal basin feeds its district heating system. The result? 87% of the thermal energy distributed in the city is "clean" and we avoid about 22 thousand tonnes of CO 2 emissions.

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Hera and General Electric together for energy recovery

We have installed a turbo expander at the R&M stations of Ducati's factory in Bologna. The goal is to recover electricity from the decompression process of methane gas. 

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More than 130 thousand emergency response reports involving 1,500 employees in 2019. More than 50 thousand emergency response operations in the first six months of 2020, in a local area that includes Emilia-Romagna, Triveneto and Marche.

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Hergoambiente, waste bin speaking

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Interactive financial statements and sustainability reports
The consolidated economic results at 31 December 2023 and the 2023 sustainability report were approved by the Board of Directors of the Hera Group on 26 March 2024

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Hera SpA, Viale Carlo Berti Pichat 2/4, 40127 Bologna, Tel.051287111 www.gruppohera.it