Prysmian Group’s 2020 Disclosure of Non-Financial Information and SASB Report

Prysmian Group published recently its 2020 Sustainability Report (Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information), approved by the Board of Directors, and the SASB Report, both audited by an independent auditor. In the year of the pandemic, the decision of focusing primarily on people’s health and safety (with a 29% increase in investments) resulted in the continuity of the supply chain, with operations that never dropped below 70-80% and an improvement of on-time delivery to 94%. The resilience shown by the Company made it possible to deliver economic and financial results also in 2020 (with Adjusted EBITDA at €840 million and Free Cash Flow at €487 million), and to remunerate shareholders with a Total Shareholder Return of +37.1% (+155.5% since the date of listing).

The percentage of sales from low carbon enabling products* represented 48% of the total group sales amounting to over €10,000 million. The total economic value generated by Prysmian in 2020 was €10,273 million (redistributed in the form of: contributions to the community, payments to the Public Administration, lenders and staff, spending with suppliers, for a total of €10,099 million). To further accelerate the journey towards improved sustainability of its organisation, operations and the entire supply chain, as well as the development of advanced cable technologies, assets and services to support the energy transition, Prysmian Group committed to investing €450 million by 2022.

With the aim of efficiently presenting the Group’s ability to create value for all of its stakeholders, the new Prysmian Group’s 2020 Sustainability Report accompanies the reader through 3 dimensions, which are the pillars of the Group’s ESG Identity and Governance: People, Culture & Organization; Sustainable Innovation and Lean Manufacturing; and the Extended Value chain of customers and suppliers.

“People first” was the Group’s absolute priority in the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the initiatives were the 29% increase in investments to ensure health and safety in work environments: ongoing tests, distribution of healthcare materials and PPEs, and the promotion of remote working to all employees. The injury frequency rate (IF) decreased to 1.25 (1.31 in 2019). D&I continued to be key focus points through the Side by Side project: in 2020, the percentage of executive women reached 13% (12% in 2019) and female white-collar represented 34% (33% in 2019). The Leadership Impact Index (57%) and Employee Engagement Index (65%) — which measure the employees’ participation to corporate life — remained at constant level.

In addition, Prysmian Group set a new ambitious climate strategy adopting science-based carbon reduction targets, in line with the requirements of the Paris Agreement COP 21 and endorsing the Business Ambition (1.5°C). The “net zero” target is expected to be achieved between 2035 and 2040 for emissions generated by the Group’s own operations (Scopes 1 and 2) and by 2050 for emissions generated by the value chain (Scope 3). In 2020, CO₂ emissions fell to approximately 816,000 tCO₂ (889,000 tCO₂ in 2019) and energy consumption declined by approximately 6% compared to 2019. Waste recycled totalled 69% vs 63% in 2019 and the re-used drums increased to 54% vs 46% in 2019. Moreover, 84% of product families were included in the carbon footprint analysis (vs 70% in 2019).

Within the corporate organisation, Prysmian Group appointed Investor Relations Director Maria Cristina Bifulco as Chief Sustainability Officer. In addition, in each country of operation, the Group reinforced the D&I structure and appointed Local Sustainability Ambassadors. Lorenzo Caruso was confirmed Vice President External Relations & Sustainability Reporting.

Sustainability is fully integrated in Prysmian Group’s DNA also thanks to a remuneration policy that ties the disbursement of bonuses to the achievement of short- and medium-term sustainability objectives in order to truly integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into business strategies. It includes a system to reward management in relation to Prysmian Group’s positioning in the three main sustainability indexes — DJSI, CDP Index, and EcoVadis Index — and partly on the basis of the progress made in increasing the level of gender diversity in management, the reduction of CO₂ emissions and occupational H&S.

_{*Based on the Climate Bond Initiative Taxonomy}