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Change Report

Responsible business management

Responsible business management (Image)

Governance and risks management GRI – G4: 2, 14

The first and biggest responsibility for a company such as Snam, which has been operating in a regulated environment for many years and which aims to expand its business sustainably while also moving into international markets, is to pursue its corporate mission by managing its business economically and with solid ethical principles, balancing the expectations of its shareholders against those of parties with a legitimate interest in the Company’s activities and more generally in the proper operation of the “gas system”.

Snam has been tuned into this sensitive area since it was floated on the stock exchange in 2001. At that time it began to adapt its governance systems according to the principles set out in the “Corporate Governance Code for Listed Companies” issued by Borsa Italiana, and the recommendations made by Consob in this regard. More generally, it has sought to align itself with national and international best practice in this area, with a particular focus on the unbundling legislation, as it manages activities that are subject to the regulations of competent national authorities and European natural gas legislation.

Detailed information on Snam’s corporate governance system is provided in the Report on Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure for 2014, which is published on the website (PDF, HTML).

Our ethical principles and corporate values: Code of Ethics GRI – G4: 15

The Code of Ethics sets out Snam’s culture of corporate ethics and inspires its strategic thinking and the way it carries out its activities. Among other things, it specifically stipulates the following principles and values:

  • transparency, honesty, propriety and good faith with regard to full compliance with the rules put in place to protect competition;
  • involving stakeholders, fostering dialogue on sustainability and corporate responsibility;
  • creating competitive value for the Company, for its stakeholders and for the region in which it operates;
  • safeguarding and promoting human rights;
  • protecting individual freedom in every form, and rejecting all kinds of discrimination, violence, corruption (in any form and regarding any public or private party), and forced or child labour;
  • recognising and safeguarding dignity, liberty and equality among human beings;
  • protecting employment, freedom of trade union association, health, safety, the environment and biodiversity.

In this respect Snam operates within the reference framework of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fundamental Conventions of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The Code of Ethics, which is also an integral part of the Organisational Model pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001, was updated in July 2013 and is available on the Company website at http://www.snam.it/it/governance/codice-etico/index.html.

The Board of Directors has assigned the role of Code of Ethics Supervisor to the Watch Structure, established pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001.

Governance: Recognition of directors’ appointment

Snam has been recognised as the best Italian company in terms of transparency and compliance in the director appointment process. This was the result of a study conducted by the United Nations through the Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI), a network that gathers institutional investors that are most focused on the principles of sustainability and social responsibility in their investment decisions.

The study analysed Italy and six other international markets (the US, Australia, France, Great Britain, Sweden and Canada), and showed how Snam’s process of electing board directors is fully compliant with the fundamental principles espoused by PRI in its bylaws and in international best practices, especially with regard to the number of independent directors, gender equality and the transparency of information concerning the directors elected.

This recognition was the result of Snam’s continuing adherence to the most advanced international governance standards and is a reflection of the significant results achieved in recent years by the Company in its relations with institutional investors.

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