Our relationships with Government Authorities, Regions and local institutions have always been characterised by maximum collaboration and principally tied to the submission of applications for the necessary permits to lay down new pipelines and plants.
As explained in the Disclosure on the management approach, we present projects to the mayors of all the municipalities involved before starting the authorisation process. We also encourage the participation of managers and officers from the institutions in charge of issuing authorisation during inspections of open and restored work sites, in order to improve their knowledge of technical issues and of the results achieved, especially in the case of environmental restoration.
We meet with local farming associations to inform them of the indemnities for easement and crop damage that it intends to pay the owners of land affected by the passage of the pipelines to be laid. When the conditions are met, the meetings end with the parties signing an agreement. During 2009, we held 26 meetings and signed seven agreements.
We highlight the public meetings with the citizens of Cortemaggiore and Besenzone to present and discuss launching the Pilot Project to injected capture and storage of CO2.
Our consideration of communities and the territory is demonstrated by some collaborations with local bodies. For example, in 2009, as part of the environmental permit procedure started to upgrade the gas compressor station at Montesano sulla Marcellana (in Salerno province), we signed an agreement with the Municipality for carrying out environmental rebalancing works.
Concerning the project to modernise the natural gas regasification plant in Panigaglia, begun in 2007, we organised project presentations and a series of meetings and/or guided tours of the plant for institutional contacts, associations and interested public parties.
We made our expertise available to facilitate training and introduction courses. This heading includes supporting and participating in the “Environment, Landscape, Infrastructure” Conference sponsored by CATAP (Coordinamento delle Associazioni Tecnico Scientifiche per l’Ambiente e il paesaggio, Co-Ordination of Technical and Scientific Associations for Environment and Landscape]), participating in the Italian Gas Safety Forum organised by the CIG (Comitato Italiano Gas, Italian Gas Committee) to make the point about safety in the civilian uses of gas, and supporting the training course, “New principles and experiences on the subject of Environmental Impact Assessment”. In addition, the traditional meetings continued with the people, the local institutions and information organisations to illustrate the activity of our industrial plants with the help of specialised technicians. In particular, the compressor station in Messina and the storage facilities at Minerbio, Fiume Treste and Settala held Open Days.
Sponsorships throughout the country are chosen based on our Guidelines for managing philanthropic activity and social initiatives according to various criteria, such as consistency with the overall strategy of the company, the ties to the area, adherence to development objectives and, as a common denominator, consistency with sustainability principles.
Using this approach, in 2009 we continued to sustain initiatives for the land, the environment and culture.
We participated in the improvement of street illumination in Terranuova Bracciolini using solar powered streetlamps.
As GNL Italia, we helped realise a series of events and shows, organised by the Regional National Park of Porto Venere and the City of Porto Venere. This included the shows “Tourism and Environment, Porto Venere 2009”, “The Two-Day Closing of the Canal of Porto Venere”, and other initiatives aimed at spreading awareness of the Protected Area and the city land.
Through donations, we supported various social realities through the country. Among these is the San Vito Foundation Onlus and in particular, the solidarity initiatives planned by the San Vito Foundation Onlus in Mazara del Vallo, committed to charitable projects in the area, and which manages assets confiscated from the mafia, turning them to socially beneficial use. The donations of Italgas including supporting the Theodora Foundation, an organisation working in the field of playtime activities at children’s cancer centres.
Since 2002, we have been supporting Legambiente’s “Puliamo il Mondo” (Let’s clean up the world) project, the world’s biggest international voluntary environmental initiative, under the aegis of the UNEP (the United Nations Environmental Programme), and supported in Italy by the Ministry for the Environment and for the Protection of the Territory and Seas and also by the Ministry for Public Education. The 16th edition took place in 4,500 locations, involved 1,700 municipalities and saw participation from over 700,000 volunteers who helped clean up many deteriorated areas. To promote “Puliamo il Mondo” within the company, we made available participation kits prepared by the Legambiente. In addition, for each photograph taken by the employees who participated in the initiative, we planted one tree in the planting area of the fluvial Park of the Po and the Orba, in Piemonte, to contributing to CO2 reduction.
We strengthened our support of the FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano, Italian Environment Fund) through which we want to underscore its attention to the country and upgrading the Italian artistic and environmental heritage.
As a corporate member, we have continued to support the activities of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, one of the best-known and appreciated museums and cultural institutions in that city.
We completed the movement and reopening of the Italgas Museum, inaugurated on 15 may 2009. This structure has already received about 500 visitors (mainly schools, but also associations, researchers, and Recreational and Welfare Centres for Workers). We also started a project to organise and computerize the documentation held in the archive (more than 1,000 linear meters of documents, 6,000 volumes, brochures and magazines, 35,000 prints, photographs and posters).