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The biomethane in the Sustainability Report 2019 Snam
Reduced emissions of natural gas (-12%) and direct CO2 equivalent (-10%), increased environmental monitoring carried out (+68%) and social commitments improved (6,000 volunteer hours), with a consistently low accident rate and further training and commitment to gender balance and inclusion. Snam has published its fourteenth annual sustainability report, which sets out the company’s objectives and reporting of its ESG (environment, social and governance) factors and performance. The report was prepared in accordance with the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards following the “Comprehensive” option.
Snam’s Chief Executive Officer, Marco Alverà, said: “This report is an indispensable tool that promotes transparency and dialogue with all of our stakeholders on Snam’s environmental, social and governance strategies and performance. 2019 was a very important year for all our ESG factors: with regards to the environment, we made significant progress towards our objectives of reducing natural gas and direct and indirect CO 2 equivalent emissions by 40% in our core business for 2025 and 2030 respectively. On the social side, we have further reduced the frequency of accidents at work and collaborated with 70 entities in the third sector through the Snam Foundation, creating synergies that in recent months have strengthened our contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 emergency and the restart of the economy. Finally, regarding governance, we have now launched the first board committee on ESG issues in Italy as well as new initiatives on gender balance and inclusion.
The key environmental results from the report are a reduction in natural gas emissions (-12% compared to 2018) and nitrogen oxides emissions (-20%) as well as a 10% reduction in direct CO2 equivalent emissions and the avoidance of 182,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. Furthermore, in 2019, 747 km of the gas network (+68% compared to 2018) underwent environmental monitoring and the Snam Plastic Less project was launched to eliminate the use of disposable plastic at the company and in procurement (packaging).
With regards to Snam’s social impact, there are significant results (e.i. the report finds that the frequency index of employee accidents has fallen to 0.41) and, as for governance, Snam became the first Italian listed company to establish a board committee focused on ESG issues and the company will develop an ESG Strategy to build on its existing sustainability goals and commitments.
Business green and biomethane
As far as the development of green gas is concerned, the report confers an important role to IES Biogas, which has been involved in the design and construction in Italy of several plants for the production of advanced biomethane, fed with livestock waste, agro-industrial waste and by-products of agricultural origin and second-harvest crops. This development also has a positive impact on the food farming sector, promoting a sustainable economic model and significantly reducing emissions from agriculture. The waste sector has also become more and more strategic: thanks to its executive skills and consolidated know-how, IES Biogas has strengthened the Waste division, involved in the construction of two new biomethane plants for motor vehicles in Mantua and Sicily and in the conversion to biomethane of others already existing. Marco Mazzero, CEO, commented: “We are proud to be part of Snam for the development of green business and the strengthening of biomethane plants in the agricultural and waste sector. Together, we can really achieve ambitious goals in terms of reducing emissions, supporting a sustainable economic recovery and achieving a carbon neutral future“.
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