A wider scope
The Sustainability Report is published annually to communicate the company’s environmental, social and economic performance with regards to the activities involved in transmission of natural gas, dispatching of natural gas and regasification of liquefied natural gas carried out by Snam Rete Gas S.p.A. and GNL Italia S.p.A. and, from this year for effect of the acquisition dated 30 June 2009, with regards to the activities involved in distribution and storage of natural gas carried out by Italgas S.p.A. and Stogit S.p.A.. In particular, the activities of Italgas also include those of Napoletana Gas, its subsidiary company. The area of accounting, or “scope of the report”, therefore has been widened and the reader will find in this document details, news and comments that will enable him to gain a better insight into the activities conducted and of some sustainability aspects that distinguish these activities.
The methodology followed
The Report has been drawn up in accordance with “Sustainability Reporting Guidelines” version 3.0 issued by Global Reporting Initiative which, by setting out a specific system of accounting and a set of meaningful indicators for each area of sustainability, enables a precise presentation of the effects of the business activity.
How our Report is organised
In terms of content and inspiring principles, the Report generally aims to maintain continuity with previous reports. The Report, drawn up by the Sustainability Unit in association with the Sustainability Team (the latter made up of representatives from the various company departments), is organised into four main sections: “2009 according to us”, in which we highlight the projects/events with major communicative impact, “we are a new Group”, in which we report on the activities and economic results of the new asset, “our way”, in which we explain and account for our governance and the commitments we have assumed, and “our stakeholders and the territory”, in which we present the results and the most important activities relating to our people, our stakeholders and environmental protection. The results of the Group in terms of sustainable development are conveyed through the formulation and calculation of specific indicators.
Criteria adopted in drawing up the report
Physical, environmental, social and monetary data characteristic of the company have been gathered, so that the entire spectrum of significant social, environmental and economic impacts has been considered. The information and data contained in the Report are collected and processed by the company departments concerned, after verification and approval of those responsible. Information for the financial year ending on 31 December 2009 has been included, taken from internal management tools or from public documents released by accredited institutions. Information regarding meaningful events occurred after the financial year ending are also reported conveniently highlighted. Data and information refers to Snam Rete Gas Group as constituted from 30 June 2009. Data and information about the Group refers to the entire financial year with the exception of economic financial data that follows the consolidation scope of Financial Statement. Where data refers exclusively to one or more company between the Group the scope was specificated.
In particular, in the section “environmental protection”, the data and information for the newly-acquired companies (Stogit and Italgas) is also presented. To ensure comparability over time of the indicators considered most significant, the results obtained in the last three years, regarding the activities of transmission and regassification, are given in order that the reader will be able to compare the performance levels with those of previous years.
The economic indicators refer exclusively to 2009 and are extracted from Financial Statement, because comparison with previous years would not be uniform. The economic data presented follows the IAS/IFRS accounting principles.
Also, in consideration of how the Italian market is structured, it is not possible to compare the results presented in the Sustainability Report with other, similar enterprises.
The calculation methods used to determine the various values are explained in the specific reference paragraphs. The Report was published at the same time as the Financial Statements and was approved by the Board of Directors on 10 march 2010.
Topics and indicators
The topics and indicators included in the Report have been selected based on their relevance in terms of sustainability and on their capacity to influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. To do this, we developed processes to involve the company hierarchies and of “stakeholder engagement”.
Management method
For the first year, the management approach (i.e. the process whereby the company has tackled the principal environmental, social and economic issues and established the context of the performance-related information) is described explicitly in the text for each major topic. The “What we said - what we did” tables have been extended with the addition of the “What we will do” column, which briefly lists the actions planned to achieve the pre-established objectives over a longer time frame.
Assurance
The Report was subjected to an audit by an independent third party (PricewaterhouseCoopers) in accordance with the principles and indications of the International Standard on Assurance Engagement (ISAE 3000) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The results of the audit conducted are contained in the letter of conformance enclosed with this Report.
| THE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT IN BRIEF | PERSON OF REFERENCE | ACCESSIBILITY |
|---|
| Period of reference: |
2009 |
Domenico Negrini |
www.snamretegas.it |
| Coverage of Sustainability Report: |
annual |
Snam Rete Gas – Piazza Santa Barbara, 7 |
e-mail: |
| Previous Sustainability Report: |
2008 Sustainability Report |
San Donato Milanese (MI), Italy |
svilupposostenibile@snamretegas.it. |
