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Swab tests, antibody tests, flu vaccines for employees, smart working, and informative campaigns: these are the initiatives taken to protect people and communities

The Acea Group has obtained the “Biosafety Trust” certification (RINA), the management system created earlier in May to prevent and slow down the spread of the infection and protect people from biological agents that may constitute a health risk in the workplace. The certification is a recognition for the actions taken to manage the risk of infections, including in relation to Covid-19, and shows how seriously Acea has taken its responsibilities towards its people, the community, and the territory in which it operates. The certification promotes a number of good practices adopted by the Acea Group, which contributed to reduce the risk of spreading epidemics in the workplace to a minimum. The requirements to obtain the certification integrate perfectly with the requirements of the management system already implemented by the Group, especially in terms of health and safety.

The practices certified by “Biosafety Trust” are just a small part of the concrete actions taken in response to the health emergency, which in the last few days have been integrated with an additional preventive measure: a flu vaccination campaign for all Group employees. Over the last few months, Acea has also carried out more than 5,000 antibody tests, launched informative campaigns targeted to its employees, offered nose and throat SARS-Cov 2 swab tests, and quick saliva tests, in compliance with workplace health and safety prevention measures and internal protocols to prevent the spread of the infection adopted by the Group. All these activities have been constantly monitored via an App developed internally by the Group to address the situation.

The actions taken in response to the emergency include the new safety equipment that was quickly made available: Acea purchased 65 termoscanners, 234 thermometers, and more than one million face masks. From the start of the health emergency, Acea also provided over 15,000 people, among its employees and their families, with specific Covid insurance policies that provide significant financial support in the event of hospitalization as well as a wide range of assistance services. In March, the Company started enabling employees to work from home and eventually 85% of its staff was able to work remotely, excluding personnel working across the community, who has continued to work to ensure operativity across networks and plants. Additionally, the Acea Group has provided 12,000 training hours dedicated to Covid-19, plus almost 5,000 training hours dedicated to smart workers and smart managers. From the start of the lockdown to date, there have been over 86,000 calls and videos and approximately 15,300 virtual meetings.

The companies part of the Group have increased their safety measures also for employees working in the community, installing, for example, hand sanitizer dispensers on their premises, implementing new safety measures and procedures, actively engaging with internal bodies focused on health and safety in the workplace. All these measures and activities have allowed the Group to work at full capacity, providing its services while protecting its employees and the communities across the territories in which it operates.