· Mr. Starace was one of the four speakers in the How to Change a Mindset? session, during which he explained how Enels Open Power approach and the Creating Shared Value model are helping the Group embrace the changes that the energy sector is facing
· In September 2015 Enel CEO announced the Groups intention to contribute to four of the 17 SDGs namely on enabling access to energy, becoming a carbon neutral Group by 2050, support education and sustainable access to growth
New York, June 23rd, 2016 Enel CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace participated as speaker to the Opening Session of UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 that took place yesterday at UN General Assembly hall in New York in the presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
The UN Global Compact Leaders Summit gathers every year around 800 leaders from business, civil society and governments to discuss and identify opportunities for action and innovation around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Enel CEO was one of the four business leaders who took part in the How to Change a Mindset? session, during which they each spoke about the importance of shifting our way of thinking in order to understand what drives disruptive changes and help achieve the most ambitious goals.
The world is rapidly changing and facing a number of immense challenges: there are enormous disparities of opportunity and wealth among people, while the planet is threatened by environmental degradation and climate change, said Mr. Starace during his speech. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in September 2015, we set 17 sustainable goals and an ambitious long-term vision to boost sustainable development globally. The energy sector, which is at the heart of the Agenda, is also undergoing a significant shift to a new paradigm dominated by renewables, and this change will continue regardless of what individual companies choose to do. This is why we have decided to swim with the tide instead of against it: we have changed to embrace the future, because its only by being open to the change that this will turn into many exciting opportunities.
During his speech, Mr. Starace outlined the Open Power approach adopted by Enel and at the core of its strategy as a way to open the Group to innovation, new partnerships and to more people engagement in order to take on the challenges currently being faced in the energy sector, as well as to enable the social and economic development of communities where the Group operates. Mr. Starace also highlighted the Groups implementation of the Creating Shared Value model, which allows the combination of business and social value by promoting stakeholder involvement along the entire value chain, from Business Development through to Engineering & Construction and Operation & Maintenance.
The Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative and is based on CEOs committing to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support UN goals. In September 2015, world leaders united around a strong vision for a fairer, more prosperous and sustainable world, adopting 17 SDGs to be achieved in the next 15 years that comprised 169 targets ranging from eliminating hunger and poverty to combating climate change and creating peaceful societies. The Leaders Summit is a Global Compact initiative aimed at connecting, co-creating and communicating the opportunities that lie within these SDGs for business, contributing to the transformation of these goals into responsible business practices.
In September 2015 Mr. Starace announced the Groups intention to contribute to four of the 17 SDGs during the UN Private Sector Forum 2015: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. These are SDG 7 (ensure access to energy) with its commitment to promoting affordable, sustainable and modern energy via its ENabling ELectricity initiative which will benefit three million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America by 2020; SDG 13 (take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) through the Groups work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2050; SDG 4 (ensure inclusive and equitable quality education), by supporting education activities for 400,000 people by 2020 through projects similar to those already launched in Africa and Latin America; and SDG 8 (guarantee decent work and economic growth) by promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, entrepreneurial development and self- employment for 500,000 people.
In May 2015, Enel CEO Francesco Starace was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to the UN Global Compacts Board, which is a cornerstone of the initiatives governance framework, helping to shape strategy and policy and providing advice on all Global Compact-related matters, particularly on those regarding sustainability.
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