Press Release

The goal is to achieve 75% by 2025. The sustainability assessment of suppliers is performed by EcoVadis

Acea, in accordance with its sustainability strategy, which aims to generate value for all stakeholders and integrate business and financial objectives with ESG factors, demonstrates its commitment to promoting social and environmental responsibility practices among companies that provide works, goods, and services.

More than 640 suppliers, representing over 58% of the annual order intake (over 1.5 billion euros) are ESG-rated by EcoVadis as of today. Globally, suppliers achieved an average score of 62 points (out of 100), five points above the Utilities sector average.

As a consequence of the accomplishment, Acea has set a goal to reach 75% of accredited suppliers by 2025, and then extend the assessment to those not yet assessed.

With this in mind, Acea has renewed its agreement with EcoVadis for the upcoming three years, with the objective of enhancing the environmental and social performance of its supply chain, promoting good governance practices, and enhancing the management of environmental, ethical-social, and economic-financial impacts associated with the supply chain.                              

Suppliers who participate in the EcoVadis rating program are assessed on 21 CSR criteria pertaining to ethics, environment, human rights, and sustainable procurement. These criteria are based on international corporate social responsibility standards, such as the Global Compact principles, International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), ISO 26000 standards, and Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economy (CERES) principles. EcoVadis enables Acea to evaluate risks in its supply chain transparently and identify areas for improvement, creating shared sustainability value in the supply chain. 

Acea is one of Italy's leading industrial groups, listed on the stock exchange in 1999. It is involved in the integrated water service, electricity distribution, public and artistic lighting, power and gas sales, power generation mainly from renewable sources, and waste treatment and valorisation. It is a leading national provider in the water sector, providing water to approximately 10 million individuals, is among the leading Italian players in energy distribution, and is among the largest operators in the environment sector in Italy, managing approximately 1.8 million tons of waste annually.

EcoVadis is a purpose-driven company whose mission is to integrate sustainability information into every business decision on a holistic level. Companies of all sizes rely on EcoVadis detailed analyses to comply with environmental, social, and governance regulations, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the sustainability performance of their operations and value chain across 220 industries and 180 countries. Leading companies such as Ferrero, Lavazza, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, BASF, Bridgestone, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oréal, LVMH, Unilever, and JPMorgan are among the more than 130,000 companies using EcoVadis' assessment, risk and carbon management tools and e-learning platform to accelerate their progress towards global resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact.