Measure to innovate. Hera Luce's tool is ahead of its time Waste can spring back to a new life almost indefinitely. This principle is the foundation of the circular economy. It is based on the five Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, regenerate – and aims to minimize waste and the use of resources. And this is also the foundation of our front line fight to manage municipal waste, which today, more than ever before, has become a precious resource, thanks to a circular approach. MG_0694.jpg Our efforts have gone well beyond waste management. Since 2017, we have been trying to apply the same circularity to public lighting systems. But to innovate, you have to measure. That's why Hera Luce developed a measurement system to analyse materials used in public lighting throughout their entire life cycle – from origin to final destination – both in terms of material flows and in economic terms (costs/revenues). In 2017, this approach to measuring circularity had already been brought into line with the guidelines of the Italian Ministry of the Environment and it is now consistent with Circulytics, the new digital tool which accurately measures circularity, developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2019, and which we were involved in as testers. Our evaluation system also anticipated the requirements of the Italian Ministry of the Environment on the minimum environmental criteria (MEC) for public lighting services. In fact, since 2016, our calls for tenders require MEC compliance and, since 2018, also require the material balance. Our strong focus on circularity and environmental sustainability, the awareness raising process launched with our suppliers, and being forerunners of such a measuring tool have been rewarding choices. Hera Luce has thus been awarded the contracts for the municipalities of Ferrara, Lugo, Tavullia, and Cervia, and has qualified as a partner to the Municipal Administrations as able to promote the issues of sustainable, intelligent and solidarity-based development, favouring the achievement of the objectives of the UN's 2030 Agenda. In the coming years, we will extend the use of the Hera Luce circularity evaluation tool to water connection sites. Hera Luce's efforts to improve the efficiency of public lighting contribute to achieving target 7.3 of the UN's 2030 Agenda. Hera Luce no http://www.heraluce.it/

Waste-to-energy plants: a resource for the circular economy A waste-to-energy plant, in fact, is a plant in which the heat from the combustion of waste is recovered to generate steam, which is then used to produce electricity or for district heating. link to the district heating page termovalorizzatori.jpg Our nine waste-to-energy plants cover a catchment area of over 3 million inhabitants in the provinces of Ferrara, Modena, Bologna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini, Isernia, Padua, and Trieste and "enhance" the heat produced for the benefit of the local area. How? By generating both electricity, fed into the Italian distribution network, and heat, sent to homes or users in the surrounding area, through a special distribution network. HOW DOES A WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANT WORK? Watch the video for a quick and simple explanation of the basic operation of a waste-to-energy plant. ARE WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS DANGEROUS? No. These plants are safe, compliant with the regulations, and contribute less than 1% of total emission sources for dioxins, PM10, NOx, and other major air pollutants (ISPRA data). The only waste consists of ash (about 20% by weight of the treated waste) and particulate (about 3% by weight of the treated waste). Ash is generally used for recovery and production of secondary raw materials for the cement industry, while the particulate is stabilised to reduce any potential pollutants and make it suitable for disposal in an authorised plant. Do you want to know more about our waste-to-energy plant emissions? Visit the section on our website. The waste-to-energy plants are subject to constant monitoring and checks conducted by both Herambiente itself and competent agencies. Checks are carried out with the utmost transparency and anyone can verify the results: the main emission parameters are published and updated every half hour on the website www.herambiente.it. Transparency, in fact, has always been a value for Herambiente, since it manages waste and material and energy recovery activities without compromising the quality of the surrounding environment, with the utmost respect for the territory and adopting solutions with the lowest environmental impact. To dispose of the non-recoverable part of the waste and to make good use of the energy obtained to produce electricity and heat. This is the task of a waste-to-energy plant. no

SCART®: the beautiful and useful aspect of waste To transform waste into art and everyday objects to raise awareness and positively influence the mentality of recovery and reuse. scart.jpg This has been the goal of the SCART® project for over 20 years. It is an ecological initiative based on the desire to breathe life back into materials that become waste every day. The result is, sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, lamps, drawers, games, musical instruments, clothing, and installations, but also scenery for shows and costumes. There are many initiatives at the Italian and international levels under the SCART® brand. From the prestigious conventions with the Academies of Fine Arts of Florence, Bologna and Ravenna which, every year, involve numerous students in seminars and workshops at the Hera Group's facilities in Santa Croce sull'Arno and Pisa, to the creation of costumes and stage components (for example, for Andrea Bocelli's 2012 concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico). Also, on the occasion of the 2019 edition of the Barcolana, the historic international sailing regatta held every year in the Gulf of Trieste, the symbolic "Alice" was made from waste: a giant 10 metre long sardine was set up in Piazza dell'Unità, using about 5 thousand bottles and plastic bottles. SCART® is an invitation to reflect on new intelligent, creative, and above all sustainable lifestyles and contributes to achieving targets 12.2, 12.4, 12.5, and 12.8 of the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

PSBO: the gentle giant that protects the sea of Rimini Keeping the sea clean and ensuring that it is safe to swim in is a complex undertaking, but it's not impossible. Proof of this is the Rimini Optimised Seawater Protection Plan (Piano di Salvaguardia della Balneazione Ottimizzato - PSBO) Plan, the largest water reclamation project underway in Italy, which we worked on together with the Rimini Municipality and Romagna Acque. A construction site, indeed 14 of them, which are changing the face of a city that, for over 60 years, has been the backdrop for the holidays of millions of tourists, both Italian and foreign. With an investment of Euro 154 million, the project will ensure that swimming will be safe along the entire Rimini coastline, eliminating sewage from all 11 discharges into the sea. Restoring a clean, healthy, and transparent sea for Rimini and the whole local area is an essential step to promote and give a new outlook to the entire community. Indeed, the sea is not only a precious resource that drives the economy: it is the site of our identity. psbo.jpg Kennedy Square, where it all begins The massive work of the PSBO, the gentle giant that protects the sea, all begins under Piazzale Kennedy. In the event of a storm, in fact, the treatment plant cannot withstand the large volume of both sewage and rainwater it receives. In order not to damage the plant and to prevent flooding, the water is discharged into the sea without treatment. The operation causes ban on swimming, thus impacting the environment, public health, and the economy of the area. The PSBO avoids this situation thanks to two tanks as large as 20 Olympic-size pools, located 40 meters below ground. The first tank, with a capacity of 14 thousand cubic metres, collects the water from the first flush of rain, while the second one, with a capacity of 25 thousand cubic metres, is designed for "buffering", i.e. reducing the rainwater drainage sent into the sea. A forced ventilation mechanism, which sends the air sucked in from the tanks to a treatment system based on activated carbon technology, permanently solves the problem of bad odours. With their modern architecture integrated into the city context, the new waterfront terraces in Piazzale Kennedy will "hide" this complex structure. One already opened to the public in July 2019, and the other will be completed by summer 2020. The Santa Giustina wastewater treatment plant, the "heart" of the PSBO Once the water is collected in the tanks, its real journey begins under Piazzale Kennedy: perhaps the most important of the PSBO's activities. The buffering tank, in fact, is connected to a runoff pumping system that can pump 18,000 litres per second or convey it to the Santa Giustina treatment plant. This is the heart of the gentle giant of Rimini, who transforms the water to make it, as famous song says, "blue and clear". Enhanced with a series of measures that have doubled its capacity, the treatment plant is now able to treat all the wastewater, i.e. from domestic and industrial sewage, from the local area of Rimini and the state of San Marino, and serving 560 thousand inhabitants during the summer season. After separating the water from sand and oil, and eliminating the sewage using denitrifying bacteria (organisms that feed on the substances in the sewage), the treatment plant makes the wastewater transparent and clean thanks to microfiltration membranes, a cutting-edge technology that captures microscopic particles such as viruses and bacteria. The main construction sites of the PSBO Let's go through the history of this ambitious project together. The doubling of the Santa Giustina treatment plant started in 2013 and finished in 2015, was the real kick-off of the PSBO project. Its activity, which is the heart of the entire plant, is also closely linked to the conversion of the Marecchiese treatment plant, to buffer the flow rates to Santa Giustina. Another important milestone was achieved in 2014: the beginning of the remodelling of Rimini's sewerage system, which involved the rehabilitation of Rimini Isola, followed by the separation of the sewerage networks of Rimini Nord. The latter, completed in 2020, was a fundamental step for the entire project. It directly involved the residents of the area, who were called upon to connect their discharge to the new sewage water pipes correctly. At the same time, in 2015 we completed the work on the North Backbone, the link between the Santa Giustina and Bellaria treatment plants, and in 2018 the excavation (using microtunneling) of the South Backbone: thanks to the "mole" boring machine, we laid pipelines under natural slopes, or major roads in towns, without requiring extensive excavations. Further measures, such as the Ausa sewage collector, the Mavone floodway channel, and the sewer pumping station in Via Santa Chiara, have significantly reduced the risk of flooding in most areas of the town where this problem frequently occurs. In addition, with the Ausa Canal project, which artificially covers the canal, we have enhanced the water flow rate in the final stretch from the waterfront to the sea when the spillway channels are opened, creating a pleasant path between the waterfront and Piazzale Kennedy that makes even the nearby swimming facilities more attractive. The results we have achieved To date, more than 5 thousand square meters of coastline have been "freed" from swimming bans, and the construction work is now 90% completed. Thanks to sieving and storage treatments, we have also managed to recover over 20 thousand cubic metres of sand to replenish the beaches along the coast: this operation, which we could describe as a real "feeding" of the beaches by adding new sand, makes it possible to counteract the erosion of the coast, abiding by the principles of the circular economy. These achievements, along with all other planned interventions, have led the PSBO to be mentioned in the UN report "SDG Industry Matrix: Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals" (2017) as a best practice linked to the sustainable development objectives of the UN’s 2030 Global Agenda. Heratech no

Biodiesel has been developed also from used food oil. green diesel.jpg 20181124_Il_Gazzettino_VE_Mestre_Olio_esausto_da_tutta_Emilia_per_alimentare_la_bio_raffineria.1543335927.pdf 20181124_QE_Accordo_Eni_Hera_per_biocarburante_dagli_oli_esausti.1543335423.pdf 20190830_CorriereRomagnaForl_Cesena_Olio_alimentare_usato_Lotta_dura_contro_una_bomba_per_l_ambiente.1567419253.pdf 20191011_CorRomagna_IM_Olio_alimentare.1570790589.pdf 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. null null null null no null null null null

Ferrara, the city of "green" heat ferrara citta verde.jpg A treasure is hiding under the soil of Ferrara. Not a chest full of gold coins nor a vault containing hidden works of art. It is a gift that nature gave this city. About two thousand metres under the Casaglia hamlet, there is a geothermal deposit from which water is drawn at around 100 °C. It is one of the world' s largest geothermal sources and a completely clean and renewable source of energy. This natural treasure makes Ferrara's district heating one of the most advanced geothermal plants in Europe. This reservoir, in fact, supplies 43% of the thermal energy to a 160 km long network that serves about 25 thousand housing units. Thanks to geothermal energy, combined with the recovery of the heat generated by the Via Diana waste-to-energy plant, 87% of the heat we distribute in Ferrara is "green". This result is confirmed by the recent Carbon Footprint certification validated by SGS, according to which Hera district heating helps the city of Ferrara to save 22 thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The Hera Group, partnered with Enel Green Power in a specially created temporary grouping of companies, has been managing this treasure trove of clean energy since the end of 2019. We began this process in 2017, when we obtained the concession to exploit the geothermal reservoir in the Ferrara subsoil, and we recently completed it by acquiring the Casaglia geothermal power plant. Thanks to this operation, we expect to increase the Ferrara district heating system's use of geothermal energy by a further 23% by 2023, compared to the 2016-2019 average. In recent years, our strategy has had a single objective: to boost district heating in the city and create an advantage in both the residential and production markets. For example, under an agreement with the Municipality of Ferrara, customers who convert their systems, installing a district heating controller, already receive an 80% discount on the installation. District heatign no

Wastewater "gets beautiful" with ultrasound treatment Wastewater is all the water that, after having been used in domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities, must be treated before being returned to the environment. This water contains a solid part – sludge – which is removed during treatment. But, in addition to giving a new life to wastewater, can we also make the sludge life cycle circular, by reducing the amount to be disposed of? Back in 2017, we started research to answer these questions, and, once again, we decided to invest in new technologies to lighten the impact on the environment and be more virtuous. In November 2019, our efforts became a reality, thanks to the ultrasound sludge hydrolysis system, installed at the Forlì treatment plant. In this system, part of the sludge from the wastewater treatment process is subjected to sound waves. The waves, in contact with the liquid matrix to be treated, biodegrade more volatile solids, increasing biogas production, and reducing the final dry matter in the sludge. All this makes it possible to significantly reduce the volume of sludge to be disposed of and opens up new scenarios for the use of the biogas obtained thanks to the ultrasound system. During 2020 the initial results will be reported and we look forward to sharing the successes of this new adventure with you. 110_150_depurazione.1597408821.jpg no

Bus fuel from trash: Hera's pilot project with "START" _PG_9554.1555590488.jpg To obtain clean energy to power Ravenna's buses by decomposing waste in landfills. We are not talking about the future, but about what has already come true, thanks to an innovative waste treatment plant in Ravenna. It adds another important element in the effort to reduce environmental impact and optimise waste management. The project is funded by the Emilia-Romagna Regional Administration and the European Commission, and is designed to highlight the advantages of using green natural gas. Which ones? It can contribute to replacing fossil energy sources with renewable energy sources; it can be used in the transport sector by contributing to achieving the 10% share of biofuels; it can provide logistics savings thanks to the extensive Italian natural gas network; and can be integrated with other renewable energy sources. The biomethane is collected from networks inside the landfill, and from there it is channelled into a container where it is "purified" by removing the carbon dioxide and other gases in it. From there, it reaches a tank and is used for refuelling. For now, the biomethane produced by the plant will power the buses of "Start Romagna" (Romagna's public transport company), and the pilot project will last about two years. But this is just the beginning. For the Hera Group, this is the second biomethane production facility, after the one in Sant'Agata Bolognese, which produces green energy by treating mowing, pruning and organic waste from separate waste collection. Landfill in Ravenna no http://ha.gruppohera.it/plants/composting/biometano_project/082.html