Hera remains a Top Employer: people, skills and innovation to drive the Group’s strategy
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Hera remains a Top Employer: people, skills and innovation to drive the Group’s strategy
For the seventeenth consecutive year, the company is confirmed among the leading organisations for human resources management, in particular thanks to its distinctive welfare, training and skill development programmes.
The Hera Group has once again been ranked among the best Italian companies for people management and development policies, obtaining the Top Employer certification for the seventeenth year running.
This is one of the most prestigious international awards for companies meeting high standards in human resources management. It is awarded by the Netherlands-based Top Employers Institute, a global authority on HR excellence, following a meticulous and increasingly demanding annual audit of specific criteria, including remuneration, working conditions, career opportunities, corporate culture, and the training and development of people.
The award recognises the Hera Group’s strategic commitment to continuous learning and organisational wellbeing, in a landscape where career longevity, talent attraction and generational inclusion are increasingly critical.
With over 10,500 employees, 96% of whom are employed on permanent contracts, Hera distinguishes itself through an HR model founded on flexible welfare, 360-degree wellbeing, professional growth, the enhancement of uniqueness and a strong cultural identity. Furthermore, the Group’s multi-business nature represents a significant benchmark on the national stage, offering diverse career paths and the opportunity to develop new skills within the same organisation.
Among the various national and international awards obtained, the following are worthy of notice: the Diversity & Inclusion Index, compiled by FTSE Russell (a London Stock Exchange Group company), which ranks Hera as the only Italian company in the global Top 10; the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the prestigious international stock market index that includes listed companies with the best performance across Environmental, Social, and Governance & Economics (ESG) dimensions. Hera has been a member for five years and is included in both the World and European indexes. In addition, the multi-utility has obtained the UNI/PdR 125:2022 gender equality certification, a major recognition involving eleven Group companies, which confirms the commitment to creating an inclusive corporate culture focused on its people.
For the Hera Group, continuous training is a cornerstone of its ‘people strategy’: thanks to an annual investment of approximately €15 million, over 97% of employees participate in at least one training initiative, averaging 30 hours per capita. A central role is played by HerAcademy, the Group’s corporate university, which aims to support the energy, environmental, digital and technological transitions through innovative programmes and ongoing dialogue with academia.
Longevity is another theme on which the multi-utility is working specifically. With an average employee age of 46.5 years, Hera has moved from having two to four generations coexisting in the workplace. This entails greater complexity but also greater opportunities. The challenge lies in creating an attractive work environment for all generations, stimulating intergenerational dialogue and allowing people of all ages to express their potential, thereby contributing optimally to the achievement of corporate goals.
On the welfare front, Hera allocates €23 million annually to its Hextra system, which involves 99% of the workforce. The scheme offers, among other opportunities, initiatives for parenting support, health and pension services, and programmes dedicated to psychological and financial wellbeing.
Among the main levers for organisational development, Hera has recently introduced a new leadership model oriented towards purpose and widespread accountability. Employee satisfaction, measured in a recent dedicated survey, and a turnover rate among the lowest in the sector, confirm the solidity of the path the company has taken.
In the last three years, the Hera Group has hired over 3,900 people, including insourcing, coupled with growing investments in training, process digitisation and the development of skills geared towards sustainability and circularity. Recruitment is expected to remain at these levels for the coming years.
«Our corporate purpose is rooted in a broader conviction: that the appreciation and satisfaction of the people who work in our Group are essential to ensuring the growth and solidity of the company and, at the same time, to providing increasingly better services, with positive environmental and economic impacts for the areas we serve», said Cristian Fabbri, Executive Chairman of the Hera Group. «The pillars of the Good Work Deal are fully aligned with our purpose: health and safety; integrated supply chains and tenders; equity and inclusion; wellbeing, professional development and productivity; sustainability and shared value. Within these areas, we make concrete commitments, keeping the people of the Hera Group firmly at the centre. Our model aims to be a bridge to the future, responding effectively to the ongoing evolutions in the labour market through a just transition, where all stakeholders participate in creating sustainable development and benefit from this growth».
In 2026, the Top Employers Institute certified nearly 2,500 organisations, including the Hera Group, across 131 countries/regions. These certified companies have a positive impact on the lives of over 14 million employees worldwide.
Adrian Seligman, CEO of the Top Employers Institute, commented: «The achievement of the Top Employer certification for 2026 reflects the Hera Group's commitment to creating an outstanding work environment that enables lasting business performance. Its strong alignment between personnel strategy and organisational goals, combined with a commitment to continuous improvement, demonstrates the impact of its transformative practices. We are proud to reward the Hera Group for its significant contribution to a better world of work in Italy».
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The integration further strengthens the multi-utility’s position in both municipal and industrial water treatment, while activating strong commercial synergies with its subsidiary Herambiente. The transaction, with a total value of €138 million, is expected to contribute more than €20 million to the growth of the Hera Group’s EBITDA.
A group rooted across Northern Italy
Today the Hera Group has finalised the acquisition of 100% of STA Società Trattamento Acque S.p.A., based in Mantua, together with its subsidiaries: NTW (Cornuda – Treviso), CID (Colloredo di Monte Albano – Udine), NPC (Marene – Cuneo), Trentino Acque (Lavis – Trento), COMS (Talmassons – Udine) and Acque della Concordia (Mantua).
Taken together, these companies form the Sostelia Group, which, thanks to the distinctive expertise of its entities, ranks among Italy’s leading private players in the water treatment sector, offering advanced technologies, research and development capabilities, and high-level technical know-how. The sale was carried out for 65% by Xenon Fidec, an impact private equity fund managed by Xenon AIFM, and for the remaining 35% by entrepreneurs, minority shareholders of STA who, starting in August 2023, had transferred the entire share capital of the individual companies to the fund.
Signing completed following the successful verification of the conditions precedent
Today’s closing follows the successful verification of all conditions precedent set out in the binding agreement signed on 19 January and announced on the same date. These included, among other things, the prior divestment of 100% of Smart SEA, a company excluded from the scope of the transaction.
The Sostelia Group’s key figures
The Sostelia Group manages more than 1,200 treatment plants, serves over 1,200 active clients, employs around 350 people and has a turnover of approximately €100 million. Around 70% of its activities are focused on industrial clients.
A leading player in water treatment is born
Through this acquisition, the Hera Group further strengthens its positioning both the Water and Waste sectors, in the treatment of municipal and industrial water – an area that is highly synergistic with its activities.
As outlined in greater detail in the press release issued when the binding agreement was signed, with this acquisition the Hera Group becomes the reference player in Italy in water treatment, with an integrated offer across the entire supply chain.: from design and construction to operation and maintenance, through to the treatment and disposal of liquid waste and sludge associated with purification processes.
Economic rationale: enterprise value of €138 million and more than €20 million contribution to EBITDA
The transaction has an enterprise value of €138 million and is expected to generate a contribution of more than €20 million to the growth of the Hera Group’s consolidated EBITDA, in addition to the value of the expected integration synergies.
Advisors involved in the transaction
In the transaction, Hera was advised by PwC as strategic advisor and by GA-Alliance for legal matters, while Xenon was advised by Rothschild & Co. as financial advisor, by LCA for legal matters, and by Deloitte Financial Advisory and Fortlane Partners.
The Hera Group is one of Italy’s largest multi-utilities and operates in the environmental, energy and water sectors, with more than 10,500 employees. Over 7.5 million citizens receive at least one service provided by the Group. Listed since 2003, Hera ranks among the top 40 Italian companies by market capitalisation (it is part of the FTSE MIB index) and since 2020 has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (recently renamed the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index). https://eng.gruppohera.it
Xenon FIDEC is one of the first Italian sustainable private equity funds, in compliance with Article 9 of the SFDR Regulation. It supports entrepreneurs and companies in building Italian leaders active in the energy and ecological transition, and is managed by Xenon AIFM S.A., an alternative investment fund manager authorised by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg. For thirty years, Xenon has worked alongside family-owned businesses to manage transformation projects aimed at driving growth, mainly through buy-and-build strategies.
The Sostelia Group was created through an aggregation strategy promoted by the Xenon FIDEC fund, launched in 2023, bringing together companies that provide design, construction and maintenance solutions for water treatment plants. The minority stake is held by the entrepreneurs representing the various companies acquired during the build-up process. Today, the Group represents an important Italian private player in the sector, capable of offering biological and physico-chemical treatment plants, zero-discharge systems, and technologies for the treatment of primary and process water as well as liquid waste.