Prysmian Group accelerates commitment to sustainability by adopting social targets alongside climate change ambitions

Categories: Corporate  Sustainability 

15/07/2021 - 12:00 AM

New targets set, focusing on key areas including diversity, equality and inclusion; digital inclusion; supporting and measuring impacts on local communities; employee engagement and upskilling

Includes commitment to 30% of senior leadership roles to be held by women and more than 500 new female hires with STEM backgrounds by 2030

New Social Ambition complements group’s Climate Ambition which includes adoption of science-based targets to reduce group emissions to net zero between 2035 and 2040

 

Prysmian Group, the world’s leading energy and telecom cable systems provider, today confirmed its ambition to be a global sustainability leader with the announcement of new Social Ambition targets to sit alongside its existing Climate Ambition targets.

The main areas of focus of the Group’s new Social Ambition include commitments to improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I); digital inclusion; empowerment of communities; and employee engagement and upskilling. New 2030 targets support delivery of Prysmian’s Social Ambition objectives and further align the Group with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Valerio Battista, CEO of Prysmian Group, said: “At Prysmian we are committed to promoting the development of our employees, and making a positive impact on local communities across our global markets and to be courageous in addressing the economic, societal and environmental challenges which they face. The launch of our Social Ambition targets confirms and further strengthens Prysmian’s commitment to bold and necessary action.”

Chief Sustainability Officer Maria Cristina Bifulco said: “Just as we want to play an active role in the energy transition, we want to actively promote the transition towards a more equal, diverse, inclusive and enriched working environment and to positively impact on the development of the communities and societies in which we operate.

“Our investors are increasingly focused on the social aspect of ESG sustainability. Combined with the governance commitments we announced with formation of our new Board in March, the pledges we are announcing today are not only aligned with our own values but with international best practice and the requirements of ESG focused investors.”

Tarvo Leppik, CEO of Prysmian Group Baltics, said: “We are pleased to be part of a group where sustainability is so important. Alongside economic goals are environmental and social goals which are just as important. In line with the group's approach, we also pay attention to various social goals, I would point out, for example, gender balance and equality - in numbers we have achieved balance in management and office, while in production we still have work to do. We also pay attention to age diversity and employee involvement, our impact in the community. We have set sustainability goals for both plant and office employees and through this step we will achieve results.”

Prysmian's Social Ambition complements its Climate Change Ambition, which aims to make Prysmian one of the leading technological players in the transition to low carbon energy. Its climate strategy adopts science-based targets aligned with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, that sets a net zero target achieved between 2035 and 2040 for the emissions generated by its operations (Scope 1 and 2) and for value chain emissions by 2050 (Scope 3). Full details of the targets and sustainability plan are available on the Group website at www.prysmian.com/en/sustainability.

With the goal of supporting the expected acceleration of the development of new submarine and underground power interconnections (chiefly links to and interconnections of offshore wind farms), the Group has planned investments in the range of €450 million by 2022 (over 50% of total investments), which are also intended to further improve the sustainability of its organisation and supply chain. 48% of Prysmian’s sales are already attributable to business segments and products that contribute to the emergence of a low-carbon economy.

Fully utilizing the global expertise of its people is an integral part of Prysmian’s long-term sustainability strategy. Prysmian is proactively developing as an organisation which recognises the need for diversity, inclusion and gender equality at all levels, and is committed to empowering more women to pursue careers with Prysmian in technical and scientific roles. The Group is also promoting programmes to expand the digital inclusion of all its employees, while eliminating discrimination by role or position.

Prysmian Group has adopted the Women's Empowerment Principles and promotes gender equality across the business. The Group continues to improve work-life balance to open up new career opportunities, especially for women. Other measures include childcare and the return guarantee after parental leave as well as flexible working-time models and part-time work, including for managers.

 

Notes to Editors

To further align Prysmian with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Group has set out the following 2030 targets to support delivery of its Social Ambition objectives:

  • Diversity, Equality & Inclusion

    • A 50/50 split between women and men in new hires
    • Commitment to at least 30% senior leadership roles to be held by women
    • Zero Pay Gap - with equality in pay across all roles
    • Commitment to hire more than 500 women in a dedicated science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) recruitment programme
    • At least 30% of executives to be from under-represented nationalities/ethnicities
    • Local mentoring programs for 500 students coming from minorities

  • Digital Inclusion

    • Connect all employees through global digital platforms, ensuring significant progress in adoption levels

  • Empowering local communities

    • Develop educational-training programs dedicated to local schools and communities with a focus on the most vulnerable and developing regions
    • Encouraging young children of all ages to explore and embrace a technical and scientific career, through knowledge-sharing programs which build on Prysmian Group’s extensive global expertise

  • Employee Engagement and Up-Skilling

    • 40 hours per year of learning for all employees
    • More than 25% of employees involved in rotation/career growth experience every year
    • At least 50% of employees as stable shareholders through our share ownership plans
    • Higher than 80% response rate to the annual Engagement Survey
    • Leadership Impact Index improved to 70-80%