Twenty million euros the economic value distributed on the territory of Calabria; 6 million euros invested in infrastructures and plants; 247 thousand tons of CO2 avoided thanks to hydroelectric production; 598 GWh of renewable energy produced. The first edition of the Territorial Sustainability Report of Calabria was presented today, which reports the environmental, economic and social performance of the Group on the Calabrian territory in 2021, as well as its business plans for the ecological transition in the coming years.
“This moment of returning the 2021 results to local stakeholders represents a further step in A2A’s collaboration path with the Calabria Region, to provide together a concrete contribution to the energy transition and the circular economy of the territory – commented the president of A2A , Marco Patuano – In 2021, the Group invested 6 million euros in infrastructures and plants, distributing over 20 million of economic value locally. We want to continue in this direction by making our skills available to enhance the growth potential of Calabria, while contributing to the achievement of the country’s sustainability objectives “.
The hydroelectric plants of A2A in Calabria are made up of several plants located on the Ionian side of the region and configurable in auctions: Sila, Albi Magisano and Satriano. In 2021, a total of 580 GWh of renewable electricity was produced, thus making it possible to avoid 247,000 tons of CO2. For the energy transition of the Region, the contribution of the Scandale Thermoelectric Plant (Ergosud, 50% owned by A2A) is fundamental, which uses natural gas to produce energy: this year 2,164 GWh were produced, equal to 13, 7% of the total electricity production of Calabria. About 400 thousand euros have been invested to improve the plant, studying the possibility of installing an auto-tuning system on gas turbines, which will allow the automatic optimization of operating parameters with the aim of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency. .
The circular economy is at the heart of A2A’s policies: in Crotone a plant engineering center was recently acquired to treat industrial waste, authorized to treat around 300,000 tons per year. Among the assets present, a waste-to-energy plant for energy recovery from industrial waste, a chemical-physical treatment plant for liquid waste, an inertization plant and a thermal recovery plant for medical waste. A revamping of all the plants is planned for efficiency and adaptation to the best available technologies (Bat – Best Available Techniques).
The commitment that A2A assumes as a Life Company translates into activities of listening, involvement and protection of the entire company population, in all territories. The goal is to have a positive impact on people’s quality of life. In 2021, focus groups and training activities were promoted, such as awareness-raising initiatives for A2A employees with the aim of creating awareness on the issue of inclusion, gender harassment and the enhancement of diversity.
72 people are hired locally and almost 500 hours of overall training were provided during the year, most of which dedicated to safety. The intense training activity on the latter issue paid off because there were no injuries.
In 2021 A2A supported the socio-economic development of the area by distributing around 20 million euros in the form of dividends, local taxes, orders to suppliers, fees and concessions, sponsorships and donations and remuneration of employees. Over 6 million euros were then invested in infrastructure investments and plant maintenance activities. 41 local suppliers were activated for a total order amount of € 6.2 million: of these, € 4.6 million were invoiced to micro or small businesses with less than 50 employees. The data does not include the Crotone circular economy hub, which joined the A2A Group at the end of 2021 and the Scandale di Ergosud plant, a company not consolidated in the Integrated Report.
Confirming the Group’s commitment to sustainability, the A2A offer for the residential segment is made up of 100% certified renewable energy. Last year 28.8 GWh of green energy was distributed in Calabria. Always attentive to its community and to young people, the training course in sustainability education ‘Towards 2050’ that A2A carries out at national level with DeA Scuola involved 76 teachers from schools in Calabria, among the total 1,886 who participated in Italy . Furthermore, A2A proposed the ‘Energiascuola’ project dedicated to efficiency and energy saving to all Italian schools, in which about 300 students from Calabria participated.
Source-www.adnkronos.com