Press releases

2016-09-21 Lucrezia_Reichlin_870x320_cs_s1.1479115494.jpg The well-known economist commented on the issue of recovery during the conference dedicated to the presentation of the HERA Group's Sustainability Report, devoted this year to resilience and innovation. The multiutility company has made a significant contribution to the development of smart cities, with seven cities served amongst the top 30 in Italy based on level of innovation. The well-known economist commented on the issue of recovery during the conference dedicated to the presentation of the HERA Group's Sustainability Report, devoted this year to resilience and innovation. The multiutility company has made a significant contribution to the development of smart cities, with seven cities served amongst the top 30 in Italy based on level of innovation. "It is useless to negotiate the flexibility of budget rules: we need to favour the liquidity of the capital held by Italian households and, at European level, an agreement for investments is needed". This was the claim made by Lucrezia Reichlin today at the conference "Resilience and innovation: a strategy for business and the community", organised by the HERA Group to present its Sustainability Report. The well-known Italian economist, a professor at the London Business School, took on the topic of the Eurozone's weak recovery, touching on Italy's traditional delays in innovation, efficiency and investments, which hinder the creation of conditions favourable to sustainable economic development. Sustainability was the real focus of the meeting, which throughout the morning featured the participation of important institutional, economic and academic experts. Presentations were given by, aside from the Group's top management, amongst others, Angelo Rughetti (Under-Secretary of State for Public Administration and Simplification), Valentina Orioli (Councillor for Urban Planning and Environment for the Municipality of Bologna), Francesco Ubertini (Rector of the University of Bologna), Gian Carlo Muzzarelli (Mayor of Modena) and Riccardo Illy (Chairman of the Illy Group). Two words at the very heart of these reflections - resilience and innovation - were used as a basis from which to comprehend the contribution that a multiutility company like Hera can make to the system of the communities it serves and to new development models, made even more urgent by the scenario outlined by Professor Reichlin. In this sense, positive signs emerge from the Sustainability Report of the Group, which in 2015 alone transferred over Euro 1.65 billion in wealth to the areas it serves, performing a fundamental countercyclical function in favour of the local economies, which is even more important considering the significant slowdown in GDP reported by ISTAT in its August monthly report. "If we look at the Group's entire history, from 2002 until today," said Stefano Venier, Hera's CEO, "investments exceed Euro 5 billion: this means that every resident served has received a significant structural contribution in his or her community". On the same wavelength, Chairman Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano also recalled the multiutility company's commitment to promoting and protecting considerable levels of employment: "The Group has more than 8,500 direct employees," he specified, "and in addition to them, there are more than 5,600 jobs created downstream". At the same time, Hera, defined by Reichlin as "an experience of success in a context of crisis", continues to improve its environmental and energy performance, anticipating important European objectives for 2025 (on the recycling of packaging, already at 66%) and 2030 (on the reduction of landfill use, which has declined to 8.6%), with separated collection rising to 55.4% and electricity production from renewable sources exceeding 70%. Confirming its dedication to local development, with more than Euro 127 million invested in the water sector alone in 2015, the Group is increasingly becoming a "healthy carrier of resilience", capable of transmitting its efficiencies to the system in which it is integrated. This is good news for everyone, but especially for the cities served by the multiutility company, seven of which are in the top 30 in Italy due to their level of innovation. This ranking was compiled by EY based on research conducted on 116 provincial capital municipalities and presented during the conference by Francois De Brabant, EY Senior Advisor. Analysing the strengths of the areas in which the HERA Group operates, the study highlighted the contribution its services have made to the development of smart cities. Based on a precise survey of innovation initiatives carried out, using the Smart City Index methodology, the study points to the excellent results achieved by Bologna (1st), Modena (8th), Ravenna (10th), Padua (14th), Forlì (18th), Ferrara (19th) and Rimini (21st), while Udine (31st), Trieste (46th) and Pesaro (50th) also performed well.Hera's contribution makes a difference primarily through waste collection and water cycle management, but it has also had important effects in terms of energy efficiency, smart building (with cogeneration and district heating systems) and renewable energies, without overlooking the 1,250 km of fibre optics available to Hera through the company Acantho. Reichlin, "a European agreement on investments is needed for growth" Reichlin, "a European agreement on investments is needed for growth" 2016-09-23 17:58:50 Bilancio di Sostenibilità

2016-09-20 In_buone_acque_870x_s1.1474534610.1479115082.jpg "In buone acque" ("In good waters"), the complete screening of the Group's water cycle, which provides a snapshot of all of its services, is back. Positive performance on network controls and investments (more than Euro 127 million in 2015). Excellent tap water quality guaranteed by more than 730,000 analyses (2,000 per day), of which over 120,000 in the Bologna area. "In buone acque" ("In good waters"), the complete screening of the Group's water cycle, which provides a snapshot of all of its services, is back. Positive performance on network controls and investments (more than Euro 127 million in 2015). Excellent tap water quality guaranteed by more than 730,000 analyses (2,000 per day), of which over 120,000 in the Bologna area. Tap water: passed with flying colours Thumbs up for the HERA Group's water. Indeed, all indicators came back positive, bearing witness to the Group's commitment to increasingly efficient and sustainable water service management. This can be seen in the facts and figures contained in the eighth edition of In buone acque, the multiutility company's report on tap water, which demonstrate that tap water is both good to drink and safe. In 2015, 736,442 water quality analyses (more than 2,000 per day) were conducted. The results of 99.9% of the controls carried out showed full compliance with legal requirements. The analyses also regarded pesticides and aspects not subject to regulations, such as emerging contaminants and asbestos fibres. Also in these areas, the results confirmed the quality and safety of tap water. Ranked second in Italy by volume of water supplied (300 million cubic metres per year), the Group serves more than 3.6 million residents and 239 municipalities in the Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Triveneto regions. Good, safe water in Bologna:guaranteed by 120,000 analyses in 2015 alone The results can also be seen in theBologna area. Indeed, here Hera serves nearly one million residents through 669 withdrawal points and 9,209 km of water pipelines into which 102 million cubic metres of water is injected every year. These are important figures, accompanied - especially - by the certainty of good, safe water compliant with the law in99.76% of cases. More than 120,000 analyses were carried out in 2015 alone by the HERA Group and local health authorities in the region of Bologna. In this sense, the plant resources deployed by the Group, which has more than 200 purification plants in the Bologna area, play a fundamental role. In the run-up to H2O, the international water exhibition that will be held in the shadow of the famous Towers of Bologna from 19 to 21 October, Bologna area residents can view the water coming out of their home taps with satisfaction and serenity. Act local, think global: water and best practices, in the interest of the environment Never before has a local action - carried out by the company and strengthened by the best practices of residents - been able to contribute towards creating such important global effects, beginning from the reduction in plastic bottles, a particularly significant topic in Italy, which ranks third worldwide after Mexico and Thailand for the per capita consumption of bottled water. In particular, in the area served by the Group, tap water was already chosen by 35% of customers in 2015, thereby avoiding the production, transport and disposal of 245 million plastic bottles (which would fill more than 3 million waste collection bins), as well as the related CO2 emissions. Another 450 million bottles could be avoided. And we should not overlook the possibleeconomic benefits: choosing tap water rather than mineral water provides up to Euro 270 in savings every year for a family of three. Local investments50% higher than the Italian average Not miracles, but lots of work: this is the secret to success. Because managing the water service means handling the most important and fundamental natural resource on which - ultimately - human life itself depends. At the centre of important international programmes on our planet's future, and recognised as a universal human right by the United Nations General Assembly, "blue gold" represents the sector in which the HERA Group has always concentrated the majority of its investments. Indeed, in 2015 alone Euro 127.2 million was invested in a longer term action in which the multiutility company has invested an average of Euro 100 million per year since its founding. In the area served by the Group, investments are around 50% higher than the Italian average (Euro 41 per resident compared to an average of Euro 28). The extent of this commitment, which leads Italy down the proper path to bring its interventions into line with the European average, made it possible to conduct 360° interventions on 35,000 km of water pipeline networks, 18,600 km of sewerage networks, 464 treatment plants and 434 production and purification plants. All of this with a cost of just Euro2 for every thousand litres of tap water, a value that is almost half of the amount paid in other European countries. The hard copy and online report featuring many details and interesting facts So much information available to those who love details. All of the values about water quality, relating to the average concentrations surveyed, can be consulted - area by area - in the report, which will be available again this year in hard copy at the HERA Group customer branches and can already be viewed online at www.gruppohera.it/report, where a series of other focus areas contributes to providing a comprehensive overview of the integrated water service managed by the multiutility company and the domestic and international context in which it operates. The data contained in the report are verified by the independent certification body DNV GL. Fogacci: "a transparent report on our commitment to good, safe and affordable water" "Water is one of the fundamental themes of sustainability", states Franco Fogacci, Hera's Director of Water. - "The attention the Group dedicates to it is based precisely on this awareness and translates into many concrete actions for the consolidation and development of an efficient, safe and sustainable water system, which offers long-term guarantees to the area served". Fogacci continues, "With this report, we aim to continue to promote the transparency that has always made us stand out, while ensuring good, affordable and safe water to the general public, also to support and incentivise best practices in the interest of local communities, the environment and future generations". "Blue" passion: Hera's report on tap water 20160920_in_buone_acque_BO_EN.1479114742.pdf 2016-09-23 17:50:05 In Buone Acque