Italgas advances sustainability plan

Planet, people and partnerships are the three pillars on which Italgas’s ‘Sustainable Value Creation Plan’ for 2022-2028 is structured.

The plan, which builds out the Italian gas operator’s recent strategic plan setting out about €8.6 billion (US$9.2 billion) in investments over the period, positions sustainability as not only an integral part of strategic development but also a foundational element and pivot of actions towards achieving the REPowerEu targets.

For each of the three pillars the plan sets out a set of up to eight actions along with corresponding targets and their expected impacts in the medium to long term.

For example, for the ‘Planet’ the plan envisages the repurposing of the gas distribution network for biomethane and hydrogen with a 100% target by 2028.

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Another is to extend the gas distribution network, connecting at least 100,000 new users by 2028.

A third is the introduction of eco-design principles in the production of smart meters and their replacement for 50% of the first generation GPRS smart meters by 2028.

Actions and 2028 targets for the ‘People’ pillar include the connection of 400 biomethane plants to the gas distribution network and the production of 200t of green hydrogen through the future power to gas plant in Sardinia to demonstrate the validity of the solution for transport and industrial and residential uses.

The involvement of 18,000 people in training activities associated to the energy transition also is targetted.

For the ‘Partnerships’ pillar, the commitments include the screening of at least 3,000 startups and SMEs in Europe, the USA and Asia for possible collaborations and the development or adoption of at least 45 solutions with these companies.

“For years sustainability has been considered an almost abstract concept, with respect to which to adapt corporate strategies and objectives but without a direct correlation to real development,” says Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo.

“That is a short-sighted vision and far from the idea of concrete actions and interventions that make sustainability the main driver to achieve the goal of the net zero economy. In Italgas we have been working on it for some time in the awareness that everything we can measure we can also manage.”

Italgas’s plan ‘Builders of the future’ is reported to have been developed in line with international frameworks and best practices.

The strategic plan envisages an acceleration of the company’s transition to net zero with key components being digitalisation, the reduction of emissions and improved efficiencies through expansion and other new business opportunities.