2021 proved to be a critical year for sustainability. The global pandemic continued to represent a great challenge for people’s health and prosperity. The instability linked to the European conflict that began in the early months of this year exacerbated the existing economic crisis, worsening the difficulties in procuring raw materials and energy, and increasing the costs of supply. Climate change continues to gain ground resulting in increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Against this backdrop, using resources more efficiently and reducing the impacts associated to production activities become an unavoidable necessity.

93% of the projects in our order backlog is eligible for the European Taxonomy. This means that they are potentially able to help mitigate and adapt to climate change, with 67% of the backlog dedicated to mobility projects intended to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 17% to projects that will improve access to water infrastructures. We produce energy from photovoltaic plants, thereby contributing to the transition to a low carbon society.

As the contracting company of these works, we are aware of the importance of committing to pro-actively fostering the ecological transition and increasingly consolidating our social responsibility. In 2021, we revised our corporate sustainability strategy by setting quantitative targets for 2030 in the main areas of environmental and social sustainability and strengthening the governance required to achieve them.

In 2021, the economic value generated directly by our activities, i.e. the overall wealth created for the stakeholders, amounted to 686.38 million euros, 92% of which was distributed to personnel, financers, suppliers and public administration.

We recorded a 30% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy consumption, in comparison to 2019, and we have re-used or recycled 98% of our waste.

The health and safety of our workers remain the indisputable priority, also in response to the ongoing pandemic. In 2021, we renewed our commitment to investing in a shared work site safety culture through awareness-raising initiatives, training and continuous monitoring of performance.

In 2021, we contributed to value creation in the areas where we operate, with 96% of personnel being hired locally and 97% of supply costs allocated to local suppliers.

Ghella proved yet again to be a trusted partner for financial institutions who in turn commit to sustainability programmes by operating a strict selection when granting access to credit. Thanks to this, by December 2021 Ghella had obtained two green loans for a total of 70 million euros.

This Sustainability Report is therefore the starting point from which to measure progress against our set targets, and so align our ambitions with the expectations of stakeholders, in an ongoing, virtuous process of improvement.

In the past Sustainability Report we talked about paving the road: now we need to travel it together.

Enrico Ghella, Chairman and CEO

The practices and policies, developed from a clear vision of how we intend to create value, are the foundations of the Integrated Management System, which allows us to coherently and uniformly manage our activities.

“Operating sustainably means making an active contribution to the development of an area’s economic wellbeing and a community’s growth.”

Luca Paioletti, Country Manager Norway

Our projects, mainly in the railway, subway and hydraulic works sectors, are designed to bestow a lasting legacy on the residents of the cities and areas in which we work, facilitating their transition to increasingly sustainable lifestyles.

We listen to the expectations of the local communities that will benefit from the public works we help create. We are committed to leaving a positive legacy with our projects and to protecting and promoting the well-being, human capital and environmental, historical and cultural heritage in the areas where we work.

In the last two years, Ghella has conducted various green loan operations. These require the reporting of sustainable investments, identified using the European Taxonomy, and achieving high performance for the sustainability indicators.

During the first months of 2022 Ghella obtained a 30-million euro Sustainability-Linked Loan from Unicredit in support of the investment plan for 2022 and linked to the attainment of a specific ESG improvement target established upon signing the loan. The operation is linked to a quantified reduction of CO2eq emissions that Ghella has committed to achieve by 2025, upon publishing the company’s Sustainability Report.

For us, protecting the environment is a priority and as such, it is the subject of both the Policy for the Environment and the Sustainability Policy. This year we made our commitment even more tangible by defining new ESG targets and focusing on the ambition of becoming Carbon neutral by 2050.

We recognise the very delicate role that we cover because of the context we operate in and the nature of the works that we execute. This is why we operate according to high sustainability standards, with the aim of reducing the environmental footprint connected to the works as much as possible, taking care to preserve the wealth of the local ecosystem and recognising our role as key players in reducing Climate Change.