Hope, faith, care and attention, vision, reconstruction and subsidiarity. These were the keywords that the Foundation Meeting for friendship amongst peoples chose this year to describe the spirit with which to tackle the nation’s economic and social recovery. These concepts were in line with the comments that Francesco Starace, our CEO and General Manager, expressed in an interview as part of the events held in the run-up to the Meeting. We need to recover our faith in being together again, when conditions allow. The economic recovery, too, needs to be based on a common strategy.
In short, coordination and a shared vision are needed in order to seize the great opportunities to invest in making the world more sustainable, both from an environmental perspective, to face the climate crisis, and from a societal point of view, to reduce the inequality that has been accentuated by the pandemic and the resulting lockdown restrictions. And that is exactly what we are doing in our sector through the Group’s commitment and concrete contribution to sustainability to make energy accessible, and to ensure our activities respect both the environment and local communities.
On this front the Group reiterated its formal commitment to achieving 4 of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG #7 (“Affordable and Clean Energy”), SDG #9 (“Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”), SDG #11 (“Sustainable Cities and Communities”) and, naturally, SDG #13 (“Climate Action”).
The themes introduced by our CEO were then taken up by Carlo Tamburi, Head of Enel Italia, and Massimo Bruno, Head of Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Italy, during the Meeting. This was held from 18 to 23 August mainly as a digital edition, with the title “Devoid of wonder we remain deaf to the sublime,” a phrase taken from the writing of philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel. Our active participation in the event underlined not only Enel’s long-standing support for the Rimini Meeting, but also the individual involvement of members of our people.
In the session “Dopo il Covid #Quellicheripartono. Come sta la Terra?” (After Covid #theonesstartingover. How is planet Earth?), Tamburi took a closer look at the theme of sustainability, considered as a central value to all of the Group’s activities. The concept covers the compatibility of value creation with sustainable growth and protecting the environment, and how sustainability is a necessary condition for development today. Tamburi reminded his audience of our Group’s global leadership in the field of renewable energies, underlining that in order to achieve the goals set for protecting the climate, everyone should adopt a more sustainable approach.
Enrico Giovannini, spokesperson for the ASviS Foundation, who spoke during the Meeting was on the same wavelength. Giovannini argued that on the one hand collaboration, in particular between different generations, is essential for protecting the environment; on the other, it is vital that the energy transition is fair and ensures that nobody is left behind.
During the panel “Green Economy, Green Welfare?” Massimo Bruno confirmed the Group’s constant commitment to achieving the goals of the 2030 agenda, a commitment that is taking shape through investments made exclusively on the basis of sustainability. He also reaffirmed the country’s need for a shared vision: Italy is at the cutting edge on many fronts but its development is being held back by the lack of a systemic strategy. What’s needed therefore is a common vision and language for business and the outside world. This will also be necessary in order to make the best possible use of the European funds allocated to aid the recovery from the health crisis.
Echoing the sentiments expressed by Bruno was Ermete Realacci, chairman of the Symbola Foundation, who noted some Italian firsts concerning the circular economy and the green economy. These are not just the harbingers of a brilliant future but a solid reality that is already present. We can take advantage of these achievements to take the system in a more sustainable direction.
The Rimini Meeting offered an invitation to all of Italy to come together on a shared journey of recovery towards an increasingly sustainable future.