Rome, May 13th, 2015 - The United Nations has announced that its Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Francesco Starace, Chief Executive of the Enel Group, Europe's largest utility by customer base, to the Board of Directors of the United Nations Global Compact. Mr. Starace is the first representative of an Italian business to be appointed to its Board.
The Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, and the Board is a cornerstone of its governance framework, helping to shape strategy and policy and providing advice on all Global Compact-related matters, particularly on those regarding sustainability. Among the main activities of the Global Compact is its LEAD initiative. Enel is one of the six global companies running the LEAD Board Programme, which aims to reinforce the role of Boards of Directors in integrating sustainability issues into their corporate strategies.
In his letter of appointment, the Secretary-General welcomed Mr. Starace to this joint effort to strengthen and guide the United Nations Global Compact, and said that he is looking forward to working with him through the Board towards our shared vision of a sustainable and inclusive global economy.
Commenting on his appointment, Francesco Starace said: "I am honoured to receive the Secretary-General's appointment and look forward to joining this group of leaders in driving the global sustainability agenda, as well as contributing to the important work of the United Nations in this field. I am also proud that Enel has been recognised in this way by an institution of the international standing of the United Nations. Sustainability is a key pillar of our industrial strategy, and it is the most important issue facing our industry today. Our challenge is to deal with it convincingly and comprehensively."
Mr. Starace's appointment is effective from June 1st, 2015 and has a term of three years.
The Enel Groups view is that sustainability is an intrinsic component of any business activity that it might pursue in the future. The company has made sustainability an integral part of its new corporate structure and strategy, developing its sustainability mission in order to promote future success, while also directly linking Innovation and Sustainability from an organisational standpoint.
Enel offers products and services that respond to the needs of customers and societies, sharing value and supporting the development of the communities in which the Group operates. Enels strategic plan features new objectives for the development of renewable energy, the digitalisation and modernisation of networks, increased efficiency in operations and the rationalisation of thermoelectric capacity.
In addition, Enel supports the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative through its ENabling Electricity programme: its objective is to fight energy poverty by providing isolated communities and disadvantaged people with sustainable access to electricity through the development of innovative business models, such as the Ollague Project in Chile and Curibamba in Peru.
Enels commitment to achieving the highest sustainability standards is reflected in the increasing interest of socially responsible investment funds on its shareholder register, and its inclusion in key global indices, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, the Dow Jones Europe Index, the STOXX Global ESG Leaders index and the FTSE4Good Index series.
All Enel press releases now have smartphone and tablet versions. Download Enel Mobile App from Google Play