Iren and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Iren Group’s Strategic Plan includes a concrete commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda (SDGs).

A commitment that the Iren Group ensures with 80% of the investments in the 2030 Business Plan dedicated to projects and initiatives that directly impact the SDGs.

Plan guidelines for sustainability

The industrial strategy is strongly integrated with the sustainability strategy, which defines precise medium- and long-term targets. The sustainability strategy is developed according to the guidelines of the ecological transition and the centrality of communities and people and structured in five focus areas: decarbonisation, circular economy, water resources, resilient cities and people.

Ecological transition

Turn toward reducing climate-changing emissions through:

 

  • renewable development and storage (electric and thermal)
  • progressive exit from more emissive businesses
  • innovation on district heating and waste-to-energy

 

Plant development for waste circularity:

 

  • further push of separate collection and timely pricing
  • plant expansion in recycling supply chains
  • new technologies for the valorisation of non-recoverable waste

 

Acceleration of investments on water network and facilities for:

 

  • reducing network leaks
  • improving purified water quality and its reuse

Centrality of communities and people

Solutions to improve the quality of life for cities and communities:

 

  • impulse to energy communities in target territories
  • networks to enable the electrification of consumption
  • public and private electric mobility
  • district heating for better air quality
  • services for energy efficiency, distributed generation, building stock upgrading
  • digitalisation and automation of services

 

People

 

  • care and safety of people
  • policies for diversity and inclusion

Iren Global Goals

Iren Group contributes to sustainable development in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrating this commitment into its business model. For the preparation of the Group’s Strategic Plan, an assessment was made of the SDGs to which Iren contributes and can contribute more in the future. All 17 SGDs were analysed, with their relative targets, and the areas of Group activity that contribute to their achievement were identified, enabling the selection of 9 Priority Objectives that were taken on in the Strategic Plan, and are highlighted below, to which Objective 17, considered a tool for achieving the other objectives, is added in a transversal manner.

Decarbonisation

Circular economy

Water resources

Resilient cities

People

Decarbonisation

Main initiatives:

 

  • Reducing carbon intensity of energy production
  • Energy efficiency of production processes
  • Reducing GHG emissions through: renewable development and storage, progressive exit from more emissive businesses, innovation on district heating and waste-to-energy

Indicators

Power generation carbon intensity (Scope 1) (gCO2/kWh)**

Certified renewable electricity purchased (Scope 2) (%)**

Reduction of Scope 3 emissions - Use of sold products (gas) (%)**

Reduction of Scope 3 emissions - Fuel and energy related activities (%)**

Energy saving of production processes (kTep)

Emissions avoided from waste recovery (ktCO2)

2020

332

0.1%

2,464,655

480,459

672

1,021

2023

337

0.6

-16%

-11%

769

1,423

2024

315

16%

-10%

-12%

767

1,530

Target
2027*

287

95%

-

-

1,025

1,863

Target
2030*

176

100%

-25%

-13%

1,409

2,053

Espandi tabella

* Targets shown as a percentage increase/decrease have 2020 as their base year.

** Progressive VS. 2020.

*** On eligible population: executives, middle managers and white collar workers in service for more than 6 months in the year.

**** Progressive percentage on cumulative hires from 2020 on permanent contracts and independent of contracting and internalisation.

Circular economy

 

Main initiatives:

 
  • Growth in separate waste collection (RD), push of timely pricing
  • Increased material recovery in Group plants
  • New technologies for the valorization of non-recoverable waste 
  • Production of fuels from biodegradable waste 
  • Reuse of wastewater for industrial and agricultural uses

Indicators

Sorted waste collection (%) - Legacy regions

Sorted waste collection (%) - Other territories

Waste recovered in Iren Group plants (kton)

Biomethane produced from biodegradable waste (Mmc)

Wastewater reused (Mmc)

2020

69.3%

63.1%

492

0

6

2023

71.1%

 60.6%

937

9

6

2024

72.1%

65.5%

1,062

9.9

6.2

Target
2027*

74.6%

71%

1,501

28.9

10

Target
2030*

76.5%

74.7%

1,539

28.9

20

Espandi tabella

* Targets shown as a percentage increase/decrease have 2020 as their base year.

** Progressive VS. 2020.

*** On eligible population: executives, middle managers and white collar workers in service for more than 6 months in the year.

**** Progressive percentage on cumulative hires from 2020 on permanent contracts and independent of contracting and internalisation.

Water resources

 

Main initiatives:

 
  • Increased purification capacity, improved quality of purified water and its reuse
  • Rational use of water by reducing withdrawals and network leaks

 

Indicators

Wastewater plants capacity (k P.E.)

Water withdrawals from the environment (liters/inhabitant/day)

Water network leaks (%) - Legacy regions

Water network leaks (%) - Other territories

Network division into small and equal areas (districts) (% on total) - Legacy regions

Network division into small and equal areas (districts) (% on total) - Other territories

2020

3,527

281

33.3%

33.3%

56%

56%

2023

3,675

260

30.4%

31.1%

69.2%

66.8%

2024

3,785

260

30.2%

31%

70.9%

68.1%

Target
2027*

3,970

261

25.7%

26.7%

77.7%

70.8%

Target
2030*

4,265

257

20%

22%

85.6%

79.5%

Espandi tabella

* Targets shown as a percentage increase/decrease have 2020 as their base year.

** Progressive VS. 2020.

*** On eligible population: executives, middle managers and white collar workers in service for more than 6 months in the year.

**** Progressive percentage on cumulative hires from 2020 on permanent contracts and independent of contracting and internalisation.

Resilient cities

 

Main initiatives:

 
  • Expanding district heating networks
  • Reducing the environmental impact of the company vehicle fleet
  • Energy-saving products and services for customers

Indicators

District heated volumes (Mmc)

Eco-vehicles on total fleet (%)

Green electricity sold to retail clients (GWh)

Energy saving from Iren Group products/services (kTep)

2020

96.7

19%

326

71

2023

101.4

20%

1,887

367

2024

102.3

22%

2,395

473

Target
2027*

118

29%

2,465

543

Target
2030*

125

44%

3,000

642

Espandi tabella

* Targets shown as a percentage increase/decrease have 2020 as their base year.

** Progressive  VS. 2020.

*** On eligible population: executives, middle managers and white collar workers in service for more than 6 months in the year.

**** Progressive percentage on cumulative hires from 2020 on permanent contracts and independent of contracting and internalisation.

 

People

 

Main initiatives:

 
  • Enhancement and re-skilling of internal skills
  • Care and safety of people
  • Policies for diversity and inclusion

Indicators

New hires (N)**

Training hours per capita (N)

Employees evaluated on performance (%)***

Women in managerial roles (%)

Hired under 30 out of total hires (%)****

Accident incidence index (N)

Employees with supplementary healthcare (%)

2020

612

24.5

54%

22.8%

50%

50.2

71%

2023

+3,322

25

86%

25.1%

56.8%

45

 72%

2024

+4,384

21.6

86%

25.9%

54%

51.4

70%

Target
2027*

+4,856

24

93%

26.5%

≥55%

44

94%

Target
2030*

+5,559

25

94%

30%

≥55%

44

100%

Espandi tabella

* Targets shown as a percentage increase/decrease have 2020 as their base year.

** Progressive VS. 2020.

*** On eligible population: executives, middle managers and white collar workers in service for more than 6 months in the year.

**** Progressive percentage on cumulative hires from 2020 on permanent contracts and independent of contracting and internalisation.