Collaboration, transparency, digitalization, innovation, and sustainability are the key concepts underpinning all our partnerships with our suppliers. This commitment was recognized at The Procurement Awards, a ceremony organized by The Procurement, the supply chain analysis and peer networking company. This year saw the seventh edition of an event that recognizes and enhances the strategic role of procurement for business. It was held on September 30 at the SpazioParcoMilano on the outskirts of Milan.
Energie per Crescere (Energy for Growth): a special award
This year’s edition featured, for the first time, a special Crescita Italia (Growth Italy) prize and it was awarded to our Energie per Crescere training project. The program, which was developed in partnership with ELIS, aims to train 5,500 specialized technicians by the end of 2023 to manage the grids of the future. The award recognized the program’s positive impact along the supply chain and its contribution to cultural and technological growth nationwide.
“We are proud of this achievement which recognizes our commitment to innovating and establishing virtuous collaborations with our partner companies based on the principles of sustainability,” said Alda Paola Baldi, Head of Procurement Italy, “We are particularly pleased that the jury awarded a special prize for the Energie per Crescere program. This program is all about taking a chance on young people and local businesses, mobilizing the country’s best resources and actively engaging them in the energy transition, resulting in positive impacts along the entire length of the value chain.”
The program is only a few months old, but it has already received more than 7,000 applications, while almost 2,000 young people have been trained or are being trained and 160 Enel suppliers have also applied. This is a clear signal that the initiative has caught the attention of the young generations that are ready to commit to the energy transition and seize opportunities in the sector. At the same time, contractors are recognizing the validity of the operating model and project partnership.
This success is due to the quality of the teaching but also the immediate combination of theory and practice, as well as the focus on safety in the workplace. That was an added value which was particularly appreciated by the young candidates.
A multi-award winning commitment
Energie per Crescere, which won the special Crescita Italia award and second place in the “Acquisti in Team Interfunzionale” (Interfunctional Team Procurement) category, was not our only project to receive recognition at The Procurement Awards.
First place in the “Sviluppo competenze” (Skills Development) category went to our “Academic Path Procurement” project, an integrated pathway for the buyers of the future that has so far involved 200 people in our Group in more than 20 countries and is based on the values of sustainability and People Empowerment. This prize was presented by the Italian actor and comedian Germano Lanzoni.
Second place in the “Acquisti etici e sostenibili” (Ethical and Sustainable Procurement) category, on the other hand, went to the “Green and High Recycled Content Cables” project. This is a procedure for procuring innovative types of sustainable cables for the Group’s distribution companies with a view to reducing the environmental impact of the supply chain’s production process.
In the “Best Practice Negoziali” (Best Practice in Negotiations) category, picking up second place was the project “Strategia unbundled per progetti di Energy Storage” (Unbundled strategy for Energy Storage Projects).This is a new procurement strategy that involves dividing the tender processes for acquiring energy storage systems, identifying one or more battery manufacturers and one or more System Integrators that then cover all of the supply operations with the aim of reducing costs and ensuring direct contact with battery manufacturers.