The Public Affairs and Communication Manager responds to key questions
How is the relationship with external stakeholders changing as a result of the new acquisitions?
The first task that we addressed was to make the experiences and best practices within the new Group common to all, in so doing setting up a process of integration that has characterised the entire acquisition operation. From the “energie” project construction sites, analyses and solutions have emerged that have led to the setting up of a new Department, Public affairs and communication, which will enable us to create integration and economies of scope and scale in the three areas of responsibility, i.e. institutional relations, sustainability, for which we have set up a specific department, and communication. Three activities which we believe, by closely interacting with each other, can create added value to the pursuit of sustainable development.
What are the advantages of this organisational solution?
We have centralised three departments that we consider to be very closely interrelated with each other and which up to now were located in different sectors. We’ve centralised them according to a plan that will enable us to manage these issues more rationally and effectively, especially in the light of the widening of the Group’s perimeter. This is a rationalisation in the management of stakeholders, but it is also an approach towards a more qualitative dimension. We must not forget that the new Department will have a responsibility to serve the company internally, by proactively contributing to dialogue and consultation with the stakeholders in the regions together with the people who manage the operations. But it will also serve externally, and here we want to enrich the dialogue with institutions, communities and regions.
The Construction of Investment Projects Manager responds to key questions
On what principles is the relationship with the regions founded, with regard to building new infrastructures?
The essential prerequisite is to carry out every activity in line with our strategic growth plans and with the Sustainable Development Model. To this end we are basing our relations with the region affected by the construction of new works on the principles that have always distinguished our presence: dialogue, transparency, cooperation and concern for the environment. For example, before submitting the first authorisation requests, we present the work to all the town mayors concerned.
What is the aim?
We do it in order to put in place a relationship of information and dialogue with the communities.
These meetings, of which 132 were held in 2009, have the twofold objective of describing the main characteristics of the project in advance to the local government authorities, as well as the authorization procedure used, and the work phases and morphological and re-vegetation works that are performed; and verifying with the authorities whether the works interfere with any future variations to the government scheme being adopted for the area, or new infrastructures that the authorities have planned or scheduled.
The Network Manager responds to key questions
Managing the network also means dialoguing with the stakeholders. In what way?
In managing the transmission network it is always important to pay attention to maintaining good relations with the stakeholders. First and foremost there are the various bodies, be they public, inspection or controlling bodies, with which the heads of the regional units maintain periodic contact in order to maintain the authorisations to operate. We do this not just to observe the Group’s principles of ethical conduct, but also because cooperating means ensuring a sustainable presence on the country, in terms of natural resources. Other stakeholders are the members of the public through whose property the pipelines pass. In this case too it is essential to have a systematic capacity for dialogue that maximises the technical compatibility of the network with protecting the resources and respecting their needs. In this relationship, a fundamental role is played by our operational personnel who regularly travel the length of the pipeline sections to verify the protection of rights of way and the safety of operations, and who know and dialogue with the owners.
Then there are the end customers and the suppliers. Here what does sustainability mean?
For them, implementing a policy of sustainable development means ensuring quality of service, integrity, transparency and safety. For the suppliers, who provide network maintenance services, we develop relationships that encourage the respectful application of the contractual conditions and techniques in question. At the same time, and this is something that we believe is particularly important, we seek simultaneously to promote the business development of the skills and the management capacities necessary to the network maintenance objectives.
The Investor Relations Manager responds to key questions
Snam Rete Gas is a major industrial group with a growing number of external stakeholders. What initiatives have been implemented for the retail shareholders?
Drawing on the experience of last spring capital increase, characterised by a positive relationship with retail shareholders, we strengthened our commitment to make more continuous the contact with this important segment of our shareholding.
How?
The strategy involves greater attention towards our retail shareholders and, if possible, their deeper involvement, with the aid of new tools aimed at providing more complete information for their specific needs and with better accessibility of the Investor Relations pages on the Company’s website.
In addition to the new initiatives introduced to the website in 2009, described in the “Shareholders and Investors” section, the first half of 2010 will see the publication of an online Shareholder’s Guide, aimed at encouraging active participation in corporate affairs. In this publication, in addition to the profile of the Group’s structure, business performance and strategic objectives, we offer a complete and easy-to-understand picture of the characteristics of the Snam Rete Gas share and of the ways in which the shareholder can perform his role.
The Supply Chain Manager responds to key questions
How does the company contribute to the sustainable development of its suppliers?
The rules and procedures with which we manage the procurement process are based on ethical principles and on the principles of transparency and non-discrimination.
Both the qualification process and subsequent commercial relations include verification of observance of the aforementioned principles through, for example, observing our Code of Ethics and declaring that they do not employ personnel below the minimum legal age, and verifying the correct payment of social insurance and pension contributions.
Becoming a supplier, by means of the qualification process, allows the establishment of a continuous commercial relationship that promotes companies’ loyalty building and consequently the chance to develop for suppliers themselves.
What are the tools used?
The objective of transparency has led us towards an increasing use of electronic platforms to manage tenders (in 2009 over 90% of all tenders were managed in this way), while access to the principles and procedures that regulate the relationship between us and our suppliers is provided by the internet website.
We pay special attention to protecting health and safety on the construction sites, and to protecting the environment in all phases of the works, by monitoring the activities of our suppliers not just from a technical point of view, but also by highlighting any forms of conduct that are not in line with our ethical and HSE standards and suggesting improvement actions aimed at a sustainable growth path for each supplier.
The Business Development and Commercial Manager responds to key questions
What does giving service to the customer mean in a regulated market?
For us the customers are anyone with whom we stipulate commercial agreements in the activities of transmission, regasification, storage and/or distribution. We do this within a market that is regulated by the Authority, applying very strict quality criteria and ensuring a service that is efficient, continuous and impartial, and which meets the customers’ requirements. To improve our service, we maintain a relationship of reciprocal exchange with our customers, which enables us to meet their needs and to put in place efficient operational support. A real-life example of this is the Capacity Portal which has been set up for the customers of the gas transmission service.
What are the advantages for customers with the Capacity Portal?
A tool is available to the customers that has full legal and contractual value and which simplifies and speeds up the activities necessary for reserving transmission capacity. The most evident benefit is the elimination of the risk of material errors, which is due to the introduction of automatic checks on the data entered. We have met the requirements of our customers right from the beginning of the design process, by consulting them and identifying the various needs concerning the size of the market served, the type of business and the geographic location. In this way we have designed a system that ensures the necessary solidity and safety of operation and which, based on the reports and suggestions that we have received, offers usage methods that are modular and flexible. The experience acquired in implementing and using an integrated tool for managing contractual relationships will enable us to assess extending this way of relating with our customers to other services offered by the Group.
The Regulatory Affairs Manager responds to key questions
The Italian Authority for Electricity and Gas is a major stakeholder in Snam Rete Gas. How will the relationship be configured once the process of integration is complete?
Relations with the Authority for Electricity and Gas play a fundamental role for all who operate in the energy business. Our commitment will be to continue maintaining constructive relations with the Authority along with increasingly effective cooperation. The creation of a centralised department will enable us to bring the resources that currently manage regulatory aspects in the different companies of the group under a single function. The objective is to create a skills hub with a complete overview on all the regulated gas activities.
What are the benefits expected from a new centralised department?
The Regulator will be able to dialogue with one large company that can give responses that are complete, effective and in line with the problems that the energy markets, which are increasingly extended and integrated, will bring in the coming years.
