Comunicati: Press release

Milan, 28 March 2020 – The Italgas Group’s commitment to support organisations in the front line in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus continues and extends to the San Matteo Hospital in Pavia, the Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Piacenza, the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome and the Cotugno Hospital in Naples, for each of which the Company has made a donation.

These donations are in addition to those arranged in recent days for the Sacco di Milano, Amedeo di Savoia-Asl Città di Torino and Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova hospitals.

In support of the Civil Protection action, Italgas made a direct donation and also yesterday launched the solidarity campaign “Together for Italy, donate your day to the fight against the Coronavirus”, thanks to which Group employees can allocate the economic equivalent of the hours of their work. The proceeds will be supplemented by an equal amount donated by the Italgas Group and donated to the Civil Protection.

The intent of Italgas through these actions is to make available additional resources both for the Civil Protection and for the hospitals that will be able to allocate the contribution to the strengthening of the microbiology and virology laboratories, the activation of new beds or additional intensive care facilities, the purchase of medical devices and any other activity useful to improve support to the sick.

Milan, 13 March 2020 – A contribution to support the fight against the spread of the Coronavirus. This is what Italgas decided to offer with a donation to the hospitals Amedeo di Savoia-Asl Città di Torino, Sacco di Milano and the Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, three of the many hospitals involved in the front line of the spread of Covid-19.

A sign of solidarity towards excellent health facilities, a gesture of responsibility towards those territories where society is present and operates, allowing these facilities to have more resources to strengthen the microbiology and virology laboratories, activate additional beds or intensive care facilities, acquire medical devices or any other activity useful to cope with the state of emergency.

“In such a complex and critical moment for Italy – commented Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo – we are all called to do our part, as individuals and as a company, and to work to ensure that this challenge can be won together in the shortest possibletime. Since the emergence of the emergency Italgas has taken the necessary measures and measures to protect the health of its people and, at the same time, ensure the continuity of an essential service for the community. With this donation we want to be at the side of doctors and nurses and of all those who face difficulties with energy and a constructive spirit, we want to be part of a large and supportive community“.

In the morning, during a meeting with the European Commission’s DG Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, the six CEOs stressed the importance of technological innovation and digitisation of gas networks in the decarbonisation processes in Europe

Brussels, 30 January 2020 – The Annual General Assembly of GD4S, the body that brings together the six largest gas distribution operators in Europe, has appointed Paolo Gallo (Italgas) President of the Association for 2020.

Italgas is the most important operator in Italy and the third in Europe. With its 4,000 people, it operates a distribution network that covers a total of over 70,000 kilometres through which, over the past year, it has distributed around 9 billion cubic metres of gas to 7.6 million customers. It is listed on the Italian stock market in the FTSE MIB index of Borsa Italiana. Paolo Gallo has been CEO of the company since August 2016.

The GD4S Assembly was preceded in the morning by a meeting with Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General Energy of the European Commission. During the meeting representatives of GD4S – Paolo Gallo CEO of Italgas (Italy), Ion Manescu, Deputy CEO of Distrigaz Sud Retele (Romania), Denis O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Gas Networks Ireland (Ireland), Nuria Rodríguez Peinado, CEO of Nedgia (Spain), Edouard Sauvage, CEO of GRDF (France) and Gabriel Sousa, CEO of Galp Gás Natural Distribuição (Portugal) – presented the association’s views on the key role of gas networks in achieving the EU’s climate neutrality objective and at the same time deepened the Commission’s intentions and forthcoming legislative initiatives on climate-altering emissions, digital strategy, circular economy and sustainable mobility and their impact on the gas market, in implementation of the European “Green Deal” announced by President Von der Leyen.

During the meeting, DG Jørgensen recognised the importance of the role of gas in the process of transition to a de-carbonised economy and the potential of biomethane and hydrogen distributed through gas networks. She also underlined her management’s commitment to the development of initiatives in this direction and committed to working with GD4S as part of the ongoing energy transition processes.

Two other meetings are also on the CEOs’ agenda today: with Aleksandra Tomczak, member of the cabinet of Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission, and with Kitti Nyitrai, from the staff of Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy. On both occasions, members of the association reaffirmed their intention to support climate-changing emissions reduction targets, in line with the European Green Deal and the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) currently being approved.

At the end of the day, Paolo Gallo announced Italgas’ willingness to make its Digital Factory available to GD4S members and to share the results of ongoing experiments on the most advanced technologies adopted by the company.

GD4S – Gas Distributors for Sustainability, based in Brussels, was founded in January 2019. As an association, it is committed to decarbonising the European energy system by 2050 and unlocking the potential of renewable gas and gas networks. Together, the six members of GD4S serve 27.4 million customers, or 20% of the EU gas market.

Milan, December 19, 2019 – Italgas, leader in gas distribution in Italy and Europe, has obtained, for the second consecutive year, the UNI ISO 37001:2016 certification “Management systems for the prevention of corruption” for the holding company Italgas S.p.A., also obtaining its extension to the “anti-corruption governance” of all Group companies, as well as for the subsidiary Italgas Reti S.p.A.

The management system for preventing and combating corruption, adopted on a voluntary basis, has been verified by the independent certification body DNV GL – Business Assurance. After in-depth analyses that have confirmed the adequacy and compliance of the management system with the requirements of the above mentioned standard and its effective application.

The delivery of 37001 certificates took place today during a meeting in Milan, at Italgas headquarters, in the presence of Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo and DNV GL Business Assurance Italia S.r.l. CEO Stefano Crea.

“For a company like ours – commented Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo – the commitment to fight corruption is essential and permeates our daily operations as well as the activities more closely related to the core business. With the confirmation of the certification and its extension to the governance of all Group companies, we are emphasising our attention to the issues of legality, transparency and corporate responsibility and provide a further important signal of integrity to the market and to the more than 1,800 municipalities and 7.6 million users with whom we come into contact every day”.

 

Stefano Crea added: “Italgas represents a business model that perfectly matches the values promoted by DNV GL: trust and reliability, quality and integrity, innovation, ability to team up, care for its stakeholders, strong propensity for innovation and ability to achieve results.  We congratulate a group whose solidity and attention to improvement make it an absolute reference in its sector on a global level and which places management systems – whose principles are applied at all levels of the organization – as one of the cornerstones of its way of doing business“.

Rome, 13 December 2019 – State Police and Italgas today signed a cooperation agreement on the security of information systems and services of particular importance for the country.

The agreement, signed by the Chief of Police – Director General of Public Security Franco Gabrielli and the CEO of Italgas, Paolo Gallo, falls within the scope of the directives issued by the Minister of the Interior to strengthen the prevention of cybercrime through the signing of agreements with operators providing essential services in strategic sectors of the country.

The Postal and Communications Police is, in fact, daily committed to guaranteeing the integrity and functionality of the informatics network of the structures of strategic level for the Country through the National Anti-Crime Informatics Centre for the Protection of the Critical Infrastructures.

Italgas is the main operator in Italy and the third in Europe in the gas distribution sector, operating in over 1,800 municipalities and managing a network that covers a total of over 71,000 kilometres serving 7.6 million users. IT and physical and digital infrastructure security is therefore central to the activities that Italgas carries out every day in the service of the country.

Among the collaboration initiatives provided for by the agreement are the sharing and analysis of information useful for the prevention of possible attacks, the exchange of reports of incidents aimed at identifying possible threats to Italgas infrastructure, an adequate flow of communication aimed at dealing with possible crisis situations.

The agreement represents a significant step in the collaboration between the State Police and Italgas, an important tool for the creation of an effective system to combat cybercrime, based on information sharing and operational cooperation.

At the signing of the convention were also present for the Department of Public Security, the Central Director for the Traffic, Railway, Communications and Special Departments of the Armando Forgione State Police and the Director of the Postal and Communications Police Service Nunzia Ciardi.

Civitella del Tronto (Teramo), 23 September 2019 – Just a few days after returning to the desks, the program for schools in the areas affected by the 2016 earthquake, promoted by the Extraordinary Commissioner of the Government with the collaboration of Italgas, which donated 1,500 computers for the creation of new computer classrooms to implement the school training offer, is back on track.

Symbolic the choice of the Istituto Comprensivo Civitella-Torricella as the venue for the delivery ceremony of the 140 computers intended for schools in Abruzzo: Civitella del Tronto is in fact among the historic villages most affected by the earthquake of 2016.

The initiative, which is part of the protocol signed last December, was illustrated by the Government’s Extraordinary Commissioner, Piero Farabollini, and Italgas’ Head of Institutional Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Nunzio Ferrulli, in the presence of many local mayors and administrators, representatives of the Abruzzo Regional School Office and the school heads of the target schools.

For the Italgas group the project, now in its penultimate stage, is part of a wider program of activities dedicated to the communities and territories where the company is present and operates, with the intention of creating value by offering concrete support to the new generations and more generally to families.

“The objective of reconstruction is also to allow the re-establishment of communities and to do this we must necessarily focus on the young people who must bear witness to it – recalls Commissioner Farabollini – With the Italgas donation, thousands of young people and their families can see the synthesis between memory and future through the medium that connects them par excellence. These computers ideally represent the cultural and social relay needed to look forward with renewed hope. They are a symbol of that network made up of technicians, administrators, politicians and companies that embody the will to do well so that the children connected to the world with these tools remain deeply connected to their mother earth.

“A few days before the start of the new school year – commented Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo – we are pleased to be able to reaffirm our commitment to the territory and the communities served. Even today we want to offer concrete support to young people, school leaders and teachers for the development of curricula that can integrate and deepen issues such as digitization and technological innovation, which are now central to the world of work. Alongside our constant commitment to the continuous improvement of the quality and safety of our services, we want to support the reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquake by focusing on the new generations and the development of skills and knowledge”.

To date Italgas has distributed 1,160 of the 1,500 computers for the areas affected by the 2016 earthquake. After Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo, the last stage will be in October in Umbria.

Milan, 16 September 2019 – Italgas has been included for the first time in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World. This index globally assesses the capability of the largest listed companies to address the major issues of sustainability

Italgas is the only Italian utility in the gas distribution sector included in DJSI World, the third in the world with the Spanish Naturgy and the Japanese Osaka Gas.

This year, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World is made up of 318 companies, out of a total of more than 3,500 invited to participate. With Italgas in 2019, three other Italian companies were included, bringing the number of Italian companies to 12.

After the recent confirmation in the FTSE4Good, another important recognition for Italgas’ business model inspired by criteria of environmental, social and economic sustainability and focused on constant interaction with the territory of reference. A further sign for the stakeholders of the company’s ability to create value in the medium to long term.

Milan, 11 September 2019 – Italgas has been confirmed for the third year in a row in the FTSE4Good Index Series, an index that brings together at a global level the best companies able to stand out for their attention to sustainable economic development.

The review, focused on ESG (Environment, Society and Governance) criteria, determined an evaluation of Italgas’ sustainable performance of 3.7 out of a maximum of 5 points.

A score that recognises the value of the company’s best practices and rewards the company’s commitment by placing it above the average for the gas distribution sector (2.5), the utilities sector (2.8) and, more generally, the national average (3.6).

With respect to the three pillars of sustainability, stand out the maximum evaluations obtained with respect to the items “Anticorruption”, “Corporate Governance”, “Labour Standards” and “Human Rights & Community.

The inclusion proves Italgas’ continuous commitment to a sustainable development based on company leadership in interaction with the social context, aimed at creating opportunities based on the principle of shared value.

Created by the global index company FTSE Russel, FTSE4Good is an equity index series that is designed to facilitate investment in companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. Companies in the FTSE4Good Index Series have met stringent environmental, social and governance criteria, and are positioned to capitalise on the benefits of responsible business practice.

Milan, 5 September 2019 – Italgas Chief Executive Officer Paolo Gallo met today in Milan Allen Blue, co-founder of LinkedIn, in Italy for a two-day of events.

Focus of the meeting the themes of innovation, digital transformation of networks and business processes, as well as the role and potential of the main professional network for a company like Italgas, leader in Italy in the distribution industry, strongly oriented towards technological innovation and continuous strengthening of the digital mind-set of its people.

With over 4,000 employees, Italgas manages 7.6 million users in over 1,800 municipalities, used by more than one third of the gas distribution market in Italy.

Paris, 28 June 2019 – Paolo Gallo, Italgas CEO and Edouard Sauvage, GRDF CEO, have signed today a Memorandum of Undestanding (Mou) to strengthen their partnership for the development of joint activities and the exchange of knowledge and experience in network management.

The agreement was signed at the opening of the 2^nd France-Italy Energy Forum currently taking place at the Italian Embassy in France which brought together energy experts from both countries under the theme of carbon neutrality.

GRDF and Italgas, leaders respectively in France and Italy in the natural gas distribution sector and among the main players in Europe. Together provide the service to about 19 million consumers and manage over 270,000 kilometres of networks.

The cooperation between the two companies will be based on an intense activity of knowledge sharing of solutions and methods applied to the natural gas distribution sector with particular reference to the following areas:

• Network development, digitisation and smart metering
• Gas distribution network safety
• Grid connection process and regulation
• Development of biogas
• Research & Development & Innovations, such Power-to-Gas technologies and Hydrogen injection into the grid
• Development of natural/renewable gas sustainable mobility.

The sharing of experiences will be developed in many forms including the organization of bilateral consultations, technical workshops and learning experience missions, also using the Digital Factory Italgas, which will lead to the exchange of technical staff and middle managers in order to promote the direct learning of solutions and methods applied in the management of their distribution systems.

Paolo Gallo, Italgas CEO, said:

“This agreement paves the way for important growth prospects for our sector, which has a key role to play in the process of decarbonising the economy. Together we will encourage the development of technologies to transform the way we manage our networks, making our work more efficient and improving the quality and safety of the service we provide to our communities. Italgas and GRDF further strengthen their leadership in Europe, becoming more and more a point of reference for the sector and for the many countries that more recently began to develop gas infrastructures and that look to us to borrow cutting-edge technologies”.

 

Edouard Sauvage, GRDF CEO, underlined :

“The development of renewable gas is a real challenge for the energy transition. GRDF believes in the strength of partnerships. This agreement, signed between two gas distribution European leaders such as Italgas and GRDF will enable us to work towards innovative solutions, particularly in the field of renewable natural gas development, the circular economy and innovation.“

 

About Italgas

Italgas is the leading natural gas distribution operator in Italy and the third in Europe. With 4,000 employees, it manages a distribution network that covers approximately 70,000 km. Last year Italgas distributed round 9 billion cubic metres of gas to 7.6 million customers. Since November 2016, the Company is listed in the FTSE MIB index of the Italian stock exchange.

 

About GRDF

GRDF is the leading manager of natural gas distribution networks in France, GRDF distributes natural gas each day to more than 11 million customers to ensure that they have gas when they need it, regardless of their supplier. This convenient, affordable, comfortable, and modern source of energy enables people to heat their homes, cook, and get around. To provide this public service, GRDF builds, operates, and maintains the largest transmission network in Europe (200,715 km) and develops it in more than 9,500 municipalities while ensuring the safety of people and property, as well as high-quality distribution.