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2009 – the community arises

Ten years ago, in 2009, “Hera INSIEME” was born. It represented the community dedicated to the citizens served by the Group, who could enjoy several offers reserved for them, collect significant discounts in local stores and participate to exclusive events. A concrete initiative, aimed at maintaining social cohesion in the local community in a period of deep crisis.

The project, in its original inspiration – that has however remained consistent over time – was driven by the willing to engage with stakeholders and build an active relationship with them, starting from listening to the inhabitants of the served territories, with the ambitious goal to improve their future.

Leveraging on the word “INSIEME”, which means TOGETHER, Hera has always wanted to express a precise idea: the efforts that it can make, as a Company, to meet the sustainability goals will not be effective, unless they are integrated with the direct commitment of the citizens in the sustainable development of the area.

Over the last 10 years, the idea has always been valid and aligned with the inspiratory principles of sustainable policies; it has found concrete execution in initiatives for the promotion of virtuous behaviors in terms of environmental sustainability and circular economy.

 “Hera Insieme” today

“Hera Insieme” is the name under which all the projects that support the spread of sustainable actions are gathered, offering clients, local associations and citizens the chance to become protagonist of the expected change. The Company and the local community act together, establishing a long-term relationship, with a social and environmental impact that has tangible and measurable effects.

It is proof of that the fact that in 2018 Hera dedicated 180 million euro to shared value investments, generating a shared value EBITDA of 375 million euro. The efforts in this direction are consistent with the objectives of the UN Agenda for 2030 and other 60 global, European, national and local sustainability policies. Objectives that Hera shares to offer a concrete contribution on three different issues: smart use of energy, efficient use of resources, as well as innovation and contribution to development. For Hera has particular relevance the Goal 17 “Partnership for Objectives”, which encourages and promotes effective partnerships between public, semipublic organizations and society.

“Costruire INSIEME il Futuro”, the new report representing the entire system of initiatives involved

In order to organically represent the network of initiatives showing Hera commitment in this direction, in February 2019 the first edition of the report Costruire INSIEME il Futuro, or “To build the future together” was published. It illustrates 15 projects, divided in 3 macro themes: “to team up for the others”, “to support positive behaviour” and “to be aware”.

Among those, of great importance is HeraLAB, multi-stakeholder local council, where, through 1,700 hours of listening and active dialogue with the representatives of the local community, innovative and concrete proposals have been made to promote and improve sustainability in the area. Besides, the Grande Macchina del Mondo, i.e. the big machine of the world, a program of environmental education that attracts the interest of more than 100 thousands students per year on environmental problems and everyday actions that they can execute to fight them.

Thanks to FarmacoAmico, local Onluses – third-sector organisations- collect and recycle, for charity purposes, not-expired medications with a value of 670,000 euro per year, with clear social and environmental benefits. Even the Raeebilitando lab has big relevance, as it allows disadvantaged people, affected with physical or mental disabilities and ex inmates, to participate actively in the dismantling of the non-hazardous WEEE deriving from the separate collection of solid urban waste. Lastly, Cambia il finale, a project that, thanks to the help of 20 local Onluses, allows for the recycling for charity purpose of almost 164 tons of bulky goods in good condition, that would otherwise contribute to the production of a huge amount of waste.

The concrete experience of those initiatives, some of which have been active for several years, shows how the cooperation between Hera, citizens, clients, organizations and local associations is the most effective solution to win today’s sustainability challenges and lead the way to advanced models of circular economy that represent the future.