News

Once again among Italy’s highest ranked employers, this year second place overall among companies nationwide for outstanding human resource management. Training, welfare and digitalisation among our strong points. The start of a new year is always an occasion to look back in time, but even more so to look forward, taking a look at results and focusing on new objectives. 2022 marks the twentieth anniversary of our establishment. This is why receiving Top Employer certification for the 13th consecutive year, a sign of excellence in human resource management, is even more significant. After gaining recognition as the best company in 2020 and 2021, we have found our place on the podium this year as well, ranking second overall in Italy among the 1,600 companies analysed by the Dutch Top Employer Institute. How? Over the years, we have provided ourselves with the best technologies, projects and initiatives to invest in the skills and well-being of workers and select the most interesting talent on the market. One aspect which is increasingly crucial on the workplace as well, especially considering the changes in external contexts, is the care given to relations, which must be seen as real capital. We have decided to invest in this area, through means including training and corporate culture. HerAcademy, our corporate university, plays a leading role in this field, and at the end of last year it organised a conference entitled “The evolution of social and relational dynamics for the ‘rebirth’ of work”, an event which called on leading figures from the world of business, academics and professionals. The goal was to compare experiences and practices, demonstrating that only by being part of a solid and motivated team is it possible to meet the challenges awaiting us outside and inside organisations. Moreover, we have always stood out for its organisational methods, promoting agility in work, safety and the value given to the uniqueness of people, all within a context highly exposed to change. Alongside the increasing importance of training and welfare, along with a corporate culture dedicated to the inclusion of diversity, we have proven able to meet the challenge of digitalising services and therefore professional activities. Within this process, which is now in full swing and covers all company activities, even the most operational, employees have been accompanied but above all listened to, trying to understand and share their needs. Top Employer Italy 2022 Top Employer Italy 2022 For further information /-/hera-top-employer-for-the-13th-time Press release /group_eng/working-at-hera-group Visit "Working at Hera Group" area /group_eng/working-at-hera-group/heracademy Visit "HerAcademy" area Top Employer Italy 2022 Top Employer Italy 2022 2019-05-27

Our smart gas meter 4.0, the first of its kind internationally in terms of safety functions, is already prepared for its first experimentation in the network with hydrogen, and its construction in recycled plastic further confirms the commitment to the energy transition and circularity With the Hera Group, also gas distribution is going green. NexMeter, our smart gas meter 4.0, the first of its kind worldwide in terms of cutting-edge technology and safety functions, including reducing gas dispersion into the atmosphere, will be made from recycled plastic and can already be used for distributing hydrogen in the network up to a maximum of 20% compatibility, with a trial planned in the coming months. This advanced meter is therefore a concrete example of our commitment to the energy transition and carbon neutrality, focusing on green gases, such as biomethane, hydrogen and green syngas, and contributing to the fight against climate change. Furthermore, it results from Hera’s experience and know-how in management of the gas distribution service, combined with continuous investments in innovation, research and development, and confirms the Group’s collaboration with outstanding partners: Panasonic, the Japanese multinational global leader in electronic products and components, and Pietro Fiorentini, an Italian company and market leader in creating products and services for the entire natural gas chain. The advanced version of NexMeter will be previewed today in Milan at Enlit, the most important event in the sector. An immediate debut: initial experiments with hydrogen in the domestic gas network soon to be underway NexMeter’s first field test involving hydrogen will be carried out during the next few months, as part of a wider set of activities aimed at certifying our entire supply chain as qualified to use green gases. More specifically, it involves introducing a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen into a portion of the distribution network managed by the Group, involving around thirty households in Castelfranco Emilia in Modena province. This is the first experiment of this kind in Italy as regards domestic gas distribution, and it aims at studying innovative solutions to contribute to the local area’s needs as regards decarbonisation, with benefits for the environment as well. The trial is also part of the broader strategy for developing hydrogen in a two-fold perspective: on the one hand, upgrading our assets, starting with the gas distribution networks, and on the other, creating new business opportunities, which we can make the most of by leveraging its multi-business expertise, including partnerships with other major industrial operators. Rendering NexMeter Rendering NexMeter For further information /-/hera-group-with-nexmeter-the-gas-meter-goes-green Press release /-/nexmeter-the-smart-gas-meter-for-innovation-and-security Find out the dedicated webpage Rendering NexMeter Rendering NexMeter 2019-05-27

The winning proposal for the Bologna area, submitted by a consortium led by the Hera Group, focuses on sustainability, innovation and creating shared value The Emilia-Romagna Territorial Agency for Water and Waste Services (Atersir), acting as regulatory agency and contracting station, has officially awarded the tender for urban and assimilated waste management in the Bologna area to the temporary consortium (RTI) formed by Hera S.p.A., Giacomo Brodolini Soc. Coop and Consorzio Stabile Ecobi. The figures of the tender won by the consortium led by the Hera Group The contract awarded concerns 50 municipalities in the Bologna area, including the capital city, and a total of approximately 1 million inhabitants. As requested during the tender, the temporary consortium led by the Hera Group – the current manager of the service in the same municipalities – will make significant investments to extend the ‘pay as you throw’ waste collection model to the entire area, with the aim of minimising the amount of non-sorted waste and increasing the quantity destined to be recycled. The contract, which will be signed in the coming weeks by Hera and Atersir, has a total value of over 1.7 billion euro and a timespan of 15 years. More sustainability and increasing shared value for communities Thanks to the excellent operational skills of Hera and the other companies in the contracted consortium, the area covered by the service contract will be provided with collection methods based on innovative services and equipment, strongly oriented towards sustainability, waste reduction and an increase in the amount of recycled materials. More dialogue and better environmental performance The key principles underpinning the offer presented by the consortium led by Hera are awareness-raising and the active involvement of citizens and businesses, in order to encourage a reduction in the amount of waste, especially non-sorted waste, and an increasing focus on sorted waste collection. In fact, experience in this field shows that – regardless of the collection method proposed – the environmental performance of waste is better where the community is more aware of its role. For this reason, right from the first months of the new service contract, Hera will launch progressive communication and information campaigns aimed at increasing citizen involvement, and in so doing, further improving the service quality, with a view to creating increasing shared value for local communities. Bologna Bologna For further information /-/hera-wins-waste-management-tender-in-the-bologna-area Press release Bologna Bologna 2019-05-27

A further recognition to our strategy, which combines attention towards sustainability with creating shared value We have once again been confirmed as the world’s best multi-utility in ESG dimensions by S&P Global that selects the companies to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). S&P Global has indeed announced the new ranking - effective as of November 22, 2021 - for its authoritative international stock exchange indices, which assesses the social responsibility of listed companies, based on sustainability performances for ESG factors. For the second consecutive year, we have been included in both the global (Dow Jones Sustainability World Index) and European (Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index) indices, ranked best in the sector. We further raised our sector benchmark, achieving an overall score of 90/100, against a sector average of 39/100. The ratings achieved: 92/100 in Environment, 90/100 in Economic & Governance and 88/100 in Social, reaching the highest sector score in all the three dimensions. This recognition is fully in line with the consensus found in ESG assessments thanks to a strategy focused on sustainable value creation in the last 20 years. DJSI 2021 DJSI 2021 For further information /-/dow-jones-sustainability-index-hera-once-again-world-sustainability-leader-in-multi-utility-water Press release /group_eng/investors Visit Investor Relations website area /group_eng/sustainability Visit Sustainability area DJSI 2021 DJSI 2021 2014-03-19