Our continued inclusion in the index confirms the strength of its ESG profile, standing above the Utilities and Multiutilities sector average in key areas including Climate Change, Labour Standards, Governance and Anti-Corruption
Our stock has been confirmed, for the seventh consecutive year, as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, FTSE Russell's sustainability index that includes companies worldwide recognised for their commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices.
Among the areas in which we achieved particularly strong performance are climate change management, labour standards, the robustness of its corporate governance framework and its anti-corruption practices. These are key pillars of our strategy, as demonstrated by our Climate Transition Plan, which targets net-zero emissions by 2050, and by the signing of the Good Work Deal with trade unions.
Inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series therefore represents a further recognition of our sustainable growth journey, underpinned by a business model focused on creating shared value for local communities, customers, employees and shareholders.
For further information
Press release
Hera Group and Saipem's CO₂ capture project will receive nearly €24 million from the EU Innovation Fund
It will be the first industrial-scale example of CCS applied to a plant of this type in Italy. The project is one of the main decarbonization levers in the multi-utility's Climate Transition Plan to reduce internal emissions
Capturing carbon dioxide emitted from the waste-to-energy plant’s chimneys and storing it in depleted natural gas fields, thereby significantly reducing plant emissions while contributing to the decarbonization of local areas. This is the goal of the pioneering project for the Ferrara plant - proposed by Hera Group, as the lead partner, in collaboration with Saipem - that has been selected to receive funding under the fourth call for mid-scale projects from the EU Innovation Fund. Once the allocation is finalized, the funding for the CO₂ emission capture project will amount to nearly €24 million.
This industrial CO₂ capture project is the first of its kind in Italy designed for waste-to-energy plants and among the first in Europe. It involves the application of Bluenzyme™️, Saipem's proprietary and modular solution based on “CO₂ Solutions”, an innovative enzymatic technology for capturing carbon dioxide in industrial processes of small and medium emitters.
The initiative was selected by European authorities for its high level of innovation, and its potential replicability in other waste-to-energy plants and other hard-to-abate industrial sectors in Italy, and more generally across Europe. The European Funds will cover a significant portion of the €53 million planned for the construction of the CO₂ capture plant. Depending on opportunities arising from changes in the regulatory framework, the plant is expected to be operational by 2028.
The project will fully abate CO₂ emissions from the Ferrara waste-to-energy plant
CO₂ capture is a crucial decarbonization tool for waste-to-energy plants, and for now, the Herambiente plant in Ferrara has been identified as the most suitable. The project will enable, in fact, the capture of approximately 90% of the emissions from one of the plant's two lines, amounting to 64 thousand tons of CO₂ per year (equivalent to the annual emissions of around 37 thousand cars), which represent the entirety of the CO₂ emitted, making the entire energy production from the waste-to-energy process sustainable. The remaining share of the CO₂ emitted by the plant is biogenic in nature and therefore environmentally neutral. The captured CO₂ will be transported via pipeline and stored in the depleted gas fields of the Northern Adriatic. The new CO₂ capture plant will ensure high standards of safety and innovation, while maximizing energy efficiency. It will be entirely green, as it will exploit renewable energy, both generated from the waste-to-energy plant itself and from geothermal heat delivered through the multiutility’s district heating network. The enzymatic capture process, with a low environmental impact, can be powered by low-temperature heat, such as geothermal heat. Further CO₂ emissions will therefore be avoided.
For further information
Press release
.jpg/e0343881-9348-c7ba-2bc8-3aaf579491fe "sedeBO_110 (1).jpg")
.jpg/956c43c0-1a00-2a4b-b8e9-3e48b9d1105b "box110x150_BP2025_ENG (1).jpg")
