Our stakeholders
Acea promotes the involvement of stakeholders in line with the commitments expressed in the Sustainability Policy and the Quality, Environment, Safety and Energy System and the principles set out in the Code of Ethics, with a constructive approach that tends to rely on the results of dialogue and discussion.
Identifying the different types of stakeholders and analysing and managing interactions between them and the company are continuous, dynamic and one-on-one activities stemming from both company actions and objectives as well as inputs from outside.
- IDENTIFY
The stakeholder identification phase makes it possible to identify the parties directly or indirectly involved in company activities in order to assess their level of impact, quality and quantity.
- ANALYSE
The analysis phase is used to perform a structured evaluation of the existing interactions both between the company and the stakeholders as well as among the stakeholders themselves so that dialogue and shared accountability paths may be developed.
- MANAGE
Lastly, the management phase leads to the identification of answers to the questions raised by the stakeholders or the company in order to pursue the achievement of company goals consistent with expectations.
Acea is an important customer for economic operators active in the procurement of works, goods and services in the water, energy and environmental sectors. In 2018, the value of contracts procured centrally by the Holding company for the rest of the Group was over € 970 million, with approximately 1,150 suppliers. The competitive method with a tender is the prevailing form for the selection of partners: 81% of the total was acquired in this way during the year.
Sustainability in the supply chain is promoted starting from the supplier qualification phases and is constantly monitored during audits or specific in-depth analyses. In order to register for the qualification systems related to the Single Regulations for Goods and SeAcea is an important customer for economic operators active in the procurement of works, goods and services in the water, energy and environmental sectors. In 2018, the value of contracts procured centrally by the Holding company for the rest of the Group was over € 970 million, with approximately 1,150 suppliers. The competitive method with a tender is the prevailing form for the selection of partners: 81% of the total was acquired in this way during the year.
Sustainability in the supply chain is promoted starting from the supplier qualification phases and is constantly monitored during audits or specific in-depth analyses. In order to register for the qualification systems related to the Single Regulations for Goods and Services and Works, operators are required to complete a questionnaire to assess their own quality, environment, safety, energy and sustainability (QASER) and these aspects may be subject to second-party audits (40 audits carried out in 2018). The survey carried out by Acea with a questionnaire specifically developed to assess commitment to environmental and social issues was submitted to a select panel of 114 suppliers this year (104 in 2017).
The development of green procurement has been pursued with the further expansion of the application of current CAMs in tenders for the pertinent product categories. Acea’s commitment to this issue was recognised at the Compraverde-Buy Green International Forum when it was awarded the Social Procurement Award for best practice in the European tender for the supply of workwear for the entire Group with low environmental impact.
Worker safety, which is a fundamental element for the services provided to the Group, was guaranteed by more than 11,200 on-site inspections (+27% compared to 2017).rvices and Works, operators are required to complete a questionnaire to assess their own quality, environment, safety, energy and sustainability (QASER) and these aspects may be subject to second-party audits (40 audits carried out in 2018). The survey carried out by Acea with a questionnaire specifically developed to assess commitment to environmental and social issues was submitted to a select panel of 114 suppliers this year (104 in 2017).
Relations with the capital markets are managed in order to pursue the best conditions for the sustainability of financial sup-plies, diversifying the sources and making the investment in the company safe and valuable for investors (equity and debt).
More than 70% of the debt derives from bond placement operations, while in the banking sector Acea mainly targets institutional operators (EIB, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) whose mission is to finance strategic infrastructure. Relations with analysts, credit rating agencies, banks and shareholders were attended to on numerous occasions: Acea participated in meetings and roadshows with over 140 investors and analysts in major European markets and, for the first time, also in the Australian market. In conjunction with the main corporate events, conference calls were held with the participation of more than 100 financial operators.
In light of the evolution of global financial market trends towards sustainable and responsible investments, Acea’s interactions with ESG analysts (environmental, social, governance) are constantly growing. During the year Acea confirmed its presence in the Ethibel excellence investment register, in the ECPI investment universe and maintained its presence in the Carbon Disclosure Project with a B rating. Acea’s ESG performance was also analysed by Sustainalytics, VigeoEiris, MSCI, Evalueserve (FTSE Green revenues model) and Standard Ethics.