Profile of the multi-utility that was the first
in Italy to propose a new model of aggregation between municipal companies.
Today Gruppo Hera has 9,000 employees who meet the needs of around 5 million
citizens in more than 300 municipalities, mainly located in the Emilia-Romagna,
Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Tuscany and Abruzzo regions. Giampaolo
Colletti interviews Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive Chairman of the Gruppo
Hera for FARE INSIEME
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
Only together can we face
the most important challenges and draw new pages for the future. The World
Economic Forum in Davos also made it clear in 2020, in full pandemic emergency:
“no institution or individual alone can face the challenges of this time. Today
nobody saves him/herself alone.” After all, this is what can be seen in the
history of the Gruppo Hera, a leading multi-utility company in environmental,
water and energy services. A pioneering vision. Because it all started in 2002
from the aggregation of eleven municipal companies in Emilia-Romagna, the first
national experience of this type, and then embarked on a constant growth by
integrating other companies active in the same areas. Listed since 2003, Hera
has also entered the prestigious FTSE MIB since 2019, the main index of the
Italian Stock Exchange, which includes the 40 largest shares in the Milan Stock
Exchange by capitalisation, liquidity and trading volume. Today this
excellence, which was originated in Emilia-Romagna, counts 9 thousand employees
who meet the needs of about 5 million citizens in more than 300 municipalities,
mainly located in the Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche,
Tuscany and Abruzzo regions. «These are all important results, linked by the
same commitment: putting people at the centre of focus by providing the best
possible services and focusing on some peculiarities that have always
distinguished us. Among these, the roots in the territories and the investment
in workers who every day put their professionalism at the service of the
communities. We make sure that workers can count on cutting-edge tools,
technologies and structures», says Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive
Chairman of the Gruppo Hera.
Unity
is strength. In this way the sum of the parts is always greater than the mere
mathematical calculation. «Our business model is still current today, even
after some time, and the ability to respond to complex scenarios, such as those
we have been experiencing in recent months, is a proof of this. Already at the
origin this model looked far and we have always believed in it. The choice
turned out to be far-sighted. The strength lies in the integration of skills,
people, technologies, structures and systems. In short, sharing the history and
excellence of the territories in which we operate. They are knowledge that mix
and enrich each other. We have made sure that borders are transformed into
bridges that generate economic and social value and wealth», explains Tommasi
di Vignano. So in telling the twenty-year story one of the key words is
precisely together. «We always grow
while generating wealth and development on the local communities of reference.
And not only that: economic growth goes hand in hand with sustainability, it is
an essential combination», says Tommasi di Vignano.
Integrated
services. Commitment on several fronts: in the environmental sector with the
management and treatment of waste, in the water sector with the aqueduct,
sewers and purification. And in the energy sector with the distribution and
sale of electricity, gas and energy services. Added to these are public
lighting and telecommunications. A plurality of integrated services. «From the
beginning we focused on what we knew how to do well with concreteness,
commitment and lots of investments. Ours is a business model that is based on
the awareness that sharing and integrating knowledge, technologies, plant
equipment and resources in a single project can generate even more value for
the communities. It is about making the most of skills. Although with different
businesses, it is teamwork and above all the ability to sustain oneself in
periods of complexity that have made our way of operating specific», says
Tommasi di Vignano.
Between
past and future. But in this story of winning alliances, the element of environmental
impact, between circular economy and reuse of resources, can be seen. In
Sant’Agata Bolognese, a town of seven thousand inhabitants in the Metropolitan
City of Bologna, a hi-tech system allows the production of biomethane and
compost starting from organic waste produced by the citizens. And then there
are the structures of Aliplast, the subsidiary of the group that deals with the
recycling and regeneration of high quality plastic. An Italian multi-utility
strongly rooted in the territory and devoted to innovation. «The commitment to
respond and anticipate the needs of the communities we address has never
changed. However, the tools and skills to do it have changed with no doubt. But
innovation is not just a synonym of digitalisation and technology: it also
means operating on processes, places and ways of working, focusing on
professional development and the training and employability of people», says
Tommasi di Vignano. Teaming up with the territory: this is how the HerAcademy
Corporate University was born, which not only provides training to employees,
but also carries out initiatives with other important realities at the local
and national level. The brand new training centre in Ferrara is also part of
it, a multi-functional centre where workers and new hires can practice in the
field with state-of-the-art equipment and a protected environment in which to
learn how to safely manage water, gas and electricity networks.
New needs and new relationships. But how has the
relationship with the customer changed in a logic of disintermediation? Tommasi
di Vignano has no doubts. «Citizens look at their consumption behaviours
differently than in the past and are more careful of the impacts they can have
on their lives and on the planet. This also translates into a request for ever
greater transparency and closeness. Digitisation is a flexible and fast channel
of contact that supports this process», says Tommasi di Vignano. The My Hera
mobile application was born in this way, which allows customers to
independently manage their consumptions even remotely. Then there is the
Rifiutologo (Waste Expert) app, which associates each kind of waste with the
corresponding method of disposal and allows you to make reports with photos
relating to situations of abandonment. The Rifiutologo has also become a Skill
of Alexa, Amazon's artificial intelligence, supporting customers in the sorted
waste. And still there is the Consumption Diary or the Acquologo (Water Expert)
application. With their use, citizens can have a support to improve their daily
habits and behaviours. «I am convinced that one of the group's distinctive
traits is hidden in this team work that links companies, institutions and
communities.» Meanwhile, the subsidiary Hera Luce, one of the main national
operators in the public lighting sector, provides a tailor-made service with
energy efficiency and circular economy solutions for over 180 municipalities
with the management of 570 thousand light points and 10,500 traffic lights. “At
Hera we are aware that we have a great responsibility towards the territories
in which we operate. In twenty years of history, we have always placed the
generation of value for all our stakeholders at the centre of our strategy. And
the recent transformation of Hera Luce into a Benefit Corporation strengthens
our Group's commitment to a balanced and sustainable development through
concrete and innovative projects for the energy transition, the circular
economy and technological evolution. Our final goal is to contribute to
creating the cities of the future”, concludes Tommasi di Vignano. A future to
be written necessarily with the contribution of everyone, no one excluded.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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