Press Releases and Notices

For the second year in a row, the Group leads the overall ranking in the index measuring the degree to which ESG factors are integrated within corporate governance. Logo IGI 2022 - vert.jpg Hera is the foremost company in Italy for the importance of sustainability policies, fully and consciously incorporated within its business strategies. This is demonstrated, for the second consecutive year, by the Integrated Governance Index, the main quantitative index to measure the integration of ESG factors in corporate governance, managed by ETicaNews and presented today in Milan at the ESG Business Conference. “We are very pleased with this recognition”, remarks the Hera Group’s Executive Chairman, Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, “since it rewards the attention we have always paid to governance, which has been the key to face successfully the challenges in all these years. This has not only led us to increase by six times the Group’s capitalisation, but also to undergo processes of profound changes and transformation, always guaranteeing strategic consistency and ever-growing results to the benefit of all our stakeholders.” Sustainability at the heart of Hera’s strategies Ever since its foundation, sustainability has been at the core of Hera’s strategy. This award is therefore fully in line with the cultural transformation that began 20 years ago and has concerned all aspects of the Group. ESG factors are indeed fully integrated within the company’s activities and represent a strategic asset in all respects. The Group’s attention to sustainability is also proven by the recent transformation of subsidiary Hera Luce into a Benefit Corporation. This decision represents a further step towards sustainable development, following last year’s introduction of the concept of corporate purpose into the Group’s Articles of Association. The central role played by creating shared value also becomes clear in the Group’s 2021 Sustainability Report, which for the first time reports on activities consistent with the European Union taxonomy, ahead of the regulatory obligation that will only come into force in 2023. Lastly, as far as sustainable finance is concerned and in line with the growing interest shown by investors in ESG factors, Hera – the first company in Italy to issue a “green” bond in 2014 – recently successfully launched its third green bond, offering the market the possibility to invest in the Group’s activities that comply with the criteria in the European Taxonomy. The Group has also published a new Green Financing Framework (GFF), certified by an independent company and already aligned with the Taxonomy. See the press release 20220615 PR IGI 2022 HERA Group.pdf 2022-06-15 14:12:00 Logo IGI 2022 - vert.jpg

The Hera Group subsidiary is among the first public lighting companies in Italy to include in its articles of association a commitment to produce benefits for its stakeholders, demonstrating Hera’s focus on sustainable development and creating value for the local areas and communities served Economia circolare 2.jpg At a time when the climate emergency and social demands are current issues, the Hera Group has further strengthened its twenty-year commitment to sustainable development and creating value for the local areas and communities it serves. It has done so by transforming Group subsidiary Hera Luce, one of the nation’s foremost operators in the public lighting sector and a leader in sustainable city lighting services with energy efficiency and circular economy solutions, into a Benefit Corporation. This is not, however, a true revolution for the Bologna-based company, but rather a further step along the path taken by the Hera Group last year, when it introduced the concept of “corporate purpose” into its Articles of Association. One of the first companies in Italy to do so, Hera thus made explicit the objectives it aims to achieve in carrying out its business activities and reaffirmed the focus on sustainability that has characterised it since its establishment. Hera Luce’s Shareholders Meeting approved the transformation of this company into a Benefit Corporation (pursuant to and in accordance with Law no. 208 of 28 December 2015) by amending article 3 of its Articles of Association, which now includes the aim of “operating responsibly, sustainably and transparently towards people, communities, local areas and the environment as well as cultural, social resources and activities, authorities, associations and other stakeholders”. Hera Luce made this choice on a voluntary basis, one of the first in Italy in the public lighting sector to take this initiative: thanks to this change in its articles of association, transparency and benefits for stakeholders have definitively become part of its corporate DNA. Three specific purposes are involved in the shared benefit that Hera Luce intends to pursue: contributing to the prosperity of the local communities in which the company operates, by designing and implementing sustainable, resilient and innovative models for urban development, to approach interventions on cities (Hera Luce for smart circular city/land); pursuing carbon neutrality, by acting through interventions aimed at energy efficiency and the energy transition towards renewable sources; leading the transition towards a circular economy model through means including measuring circularity from a lifecycle perspective. These are specific goals related to environmental issues, energy efficiency and transition as well as the circular economy. This Hera Group subsidiary aims to achieve them by ensuring the best working conditions for its own employees and those of its suppliers, and by promoting public-private collaboration in a multi-stakeholder approach. By becoming a Benefit Corporation, in compliance with current legislation, Hera Luce will be required to draw up an annual report on its pursuit of shared benefits, to be attached to the company’s financial statements, which will be published on Hera Luce’s website. “At Hera, we are aware that we have a great responsibility towards the local areas in which we operate”, states Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive Chairman of the Hera Group. “In our twenty years of activity, the Hera Group has placed the sustainable development of its businesses and the communities it serves at the centre of its strategy, always putting the generation of value at the heart of its relationship with all stakeholders served by the company, first and foremost its own employees, and extending it to institutions, local communities, shareholders, customers and suppliers. The transformation of our subsidiary Hera Luce into a Benefit Corporation reinforces our Group’s commitment to balanced and sustainable development through concrete and innovative projects for the energy transition, circular economy and technological evolution.” “This is a very important goal, that comes on top of the certification of the Material Circularity Report we obtained at the beginning of this year”, explains Alessandro Battistini, General Manager of Hera Luce. “Becoming a Benefit Corporation represents a commitment and a responsibility of which we are deeply aware. For Hera Luce, projects have always been characterised by their value in social and environmental terms, as well as their transparency. This choice represents a further step towards concretely achieving the model of corporate sustainability required by the market.” Legally introduced in Italy in 2016, Benefit Corporations represent an evolution of the concept of a company, with a view to sustainability and common benefit. They are, in fact, companies that decide to integrate within their corporate purpose, in addition to the objectives of profit and profit sharing, the aim of having a positive impact on society and the biosphere. See the press release 20220608_Hera Luce becomes benefit corporation FINAL.pdf 2022-06-08 11:26:00 Economia circolare 2.jpg

Nuova_Palazzina_110x150.1533218221.jpg Please note that the deed of execution dated 18 May 2022 relating to the issue by Hera S.p.A. of a 500 million euro Green Bond is available to the public at its registered office, on the website www.gruppohera.it, and on the authorised storage mechanism 1INFO (www.1Info.it). See the press release 20220606_comunicato_pubblicazione Green Bond Hera_ENG.pdf 2022-06-06 10:42:00 Nuova_Palazzina_110x150.1533218221.jpg

The new Green Financing Framework of the Hera Group, together with the “second party opinion” released by Sustainalytics, sets out the guidelines for issuance of green bonds and for new green facility agreements. Hera is the first multiutility in Europe to publish a framework certified as being in line with the EU Taxonomy, as confirmation of the commitment of the company to “green” issues, also on the basis of the new challenging European standards Nuova_Palazzina_110x150.1533218221.jpg The Hera Group – which pioneered sustainable finance since 2014 when it issued the first green bond in Italy – has published its new Green Financing Framework (GFF) that consolidates the transparency policy pursued by the multiutility towards the investors. Sustainability and ecological transition at the core of the new GFF The new GFF is a landmark for issuance of green bonds and for new green facility agreements related to the following areas: “Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management”, “Circular Economy and Pollution Prevention and Control” and “Energy Efficiency and Energy Infrastructure”, selected in compliance with the Green Bond Principles 2021 (GBP) published by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Green Loan Principles 2021 (GLP) published by the Loan Market Association (LMA). Furthermore, the GFF sets out the commitment shown by the Hera Group in the direction of the EU Taxonomy (Regulation 2020/852) and of the Climate Transition Finance Handbook. Consistently with the positioning characteristic of the Hera Group since its establishment and with the strategies outlined in the 2025 Business Plan, the new GFF intends to promote, also through the sustainable finance leverage, the achievement of the goals related to the ecological transition, to which the multiutility directs the development of its businesses. The “second party opinion” by Sustainalytics Sustainalytics, one of the leading independent agencies in research, sustainability analysis and ESG rating, has issued a “second party opinion” certifying the GFF consistency with the main international reference standards (the GBP of ICMA and the GLP of LMA), with the EU Taxonomy and with the Climate Transition Finance Handbook. The Hera Group is the first multiutility in Europe to publish a GFF in line with the EU Taxonomy and certified by an independent agency. See the press release 20220517 PR Green Financing Framework & SPO Hera Group.pdf 2022-05-17 12:11:00 Nuova_Palazzina_110x150.1533218221.jpg