We operate in complete safety and in respect of regulatory and compliance requirements, thanks to our internal policies and the application of a HS management system certified according to the new ISO 45001 standard and aligned to requirement of the Legislative Decree 81/2008 (Testo Unico sulla Sicurezza). Italgas subsidiaries Italgas Reti, Toscana Energia, Medea, Bludigit, Geoside, Italgas Acqua, Eda Thess, Eda Attikis and Deda are all ISO 45001 certified. To obtain the voluntary ISO 45001 certification, all the requirements established by standards must be met and exceeded.
In particular, we are committed to communicating and updating our undertakings and responsibilities to prevent accidents and safeguard health protection through our Health, Safety, Environment, Quality and Energy (HSEQE) Policy.
The document follows the principles of our Code of Ethics and governs the approach, management methods and commitments not only to health and safety protection, but also to the prevention of accidents, work-related injuries, illnesses, health and occupational diseases. The organizational tools (Service Orders and Organizational Communications) define the roles and responsibilities for the implementation of the Policy and to meet the requirements of the ISO 45001 standard and certification, including for example the prioritization and integration of internal emergency plans and the definition of procedure and actions to investigate work-related injuries, ill health, diseases, accidents and potential accidents. This process is an integrated and planned process involving constructive consultation and discussion with workers and their representatives.
In line with the requirements of ISO 45001, risks and hazards are assessed to identify potential harm in the workplace and actions plans are then defined to address such risks and hazards, including the identification of specific quantitative targets with the aim of defining actions plans to deal with emergency situations. Progress in HS management and in reducing/preventing health issues are constantly evaluated against challenging targets and objectives, with the aim of constantly improving. For example, Italgas is committed to maintain the work-related accident rate of employees and contract workers below 2. On a monthly basis, dashboards on Heath, Safety and Environmental performances are shared across the organization and discussed in the Operation Committee, grouping senior manager.
Internal organizational tools and training are integrated with the necessary actions to prevent such risks and hazards. Both health and saferty issues’ management and progress towards targets are evaluated and assessed through internal inspections and external verification audits.
For each accident type (like for examples injuries, potential severe events and near miss) we run an analysis implementing the return of experience (REX) methodology both in case of internal and suppliers related events. An investigation is carried out involving all relevant stakeholders leading to the identification of root causes of each event. As a result, an action plan is defined for improvements related to direct and root causes, setting deadlines for implementation. REX and lesson learned are shared in the monthly Operation Committee and with employees and suppliers in specific training sessions.
Our governance, together with important awareness initiatives, aims to actively promote accident prevention both inside and outside Italgas. 13 accidents occurred in 2022 in Italy vs 4 in 2021. The number of accidents among contractors remained unchanged in 2021 as well as in 2020 at 8 and increased to 9 in 2022. Particular attention is also devoted to potential accidents. In 2022, 15 specific digital conventions were carried over with the territorial poles devoted in particular towards raising awareness to injuries, the analysis of incidents, including near misses, and the definition of corrective actions to be implemented. Our suppliers are involved in HS training initiatives and to participate in the tender procedure, we require them to have ISO 45001 certifications on health and safety management systems. Italgas’ subsidiaries Italgas Reti, Toscana Energia, Medea, Italgas Acqua, Bludigit and Geoside are ISO 45001 certified by DNV (DET NORSCHE VERITAS). In addition to the above, the Greek companies EDA Thess, EDA Attikis and DEDA hold the ISO 45001:2018 certifications.
To explore HS data in more detail, browse the following in-depth sections, or explore our company data in the Italgas’ Reporting Hub.