Environmental, health and safety aspects

Relevance and related risks

The material topics that Snam considers linked to the aspects related to health, safety and the environment are as follows:

• Health and safety: the safety of its people is essential to Snam’s day-to-day activities, as it actively monitors the current and potential risks so as to mitigate and prevent accidents in the workplace and the impacts on people’s health.
• Climate change: as a company operating in the energy sector, Snam is aware of its role in the fight against climate change. Indeed, Snam includes challenging targets in its strategy for the reduction of emissions and energy efficiency drives, which guarantee an ever smaller environmental impact. Snam promotes the sustainable conduct of business through the use and production of energy from renewable sources (e.g. installation of photovoltaic equipment plants, biomethane).
• Protection of the territory and biodiversity: Through efficient, responsible environmental management, in particular when developing infrastructures, Snam is committed to preserving biodiversity in the territory in which it operates. Snam safeguards the landscape and territories in which Group plants or sites are present through surveys and monitoring aimed at minimising impacts on biodiversity and the most important habitats and minimises its environmental impacts by integrating policies to protect the soil, subsoil and ground water in its operations.
• Green business: Snam integrates new green businesses into its operations, such as biogas, power-to-gas technologies and attention to sustainable mobility aimed at encouraging decarbonisation and a better use of energy, as described in the new 2019-2022 Strategic Plan. For more information, see the paragraph “Snam in short” and “The 2019-2022 Strategic Plan” of the Integrated Report on operations.

The protection of the air and management of waste and water as a resource are topics that were not found to be material following the materiality analysis but which are in any case monitored by Snam. As far as air protection is concerned, the only significant emissions are those of nitrogen oxides that derive mainly from the combustion of natural gas in the gas turbines installed in the compression plants (thrust and storage). To reduce emissions, a programme has been underway for years to modify some of the existing turbines and to install new units with low-emission combustion systems (DLE). As regards water management, this is not a material topic because water resources are used in limited quantities, mainly in the operations of the LNG Italia regasification plant and for sanitary and green care use. By the same token, waste management is also not a material topic considering the limited quantity of waste produced by the Company’s operations.

The main operational risk with an impact on health, safety and the environment is represented by breakages or injuries to pipelines and plants, also as a result of extraordinary events such as fires, landslides or extreme weather phenomena due to climate change. These events could cause significant damage in addition to a reduction in revenues.

The complete list of risks to the environment, health and safety is as follows:

• Climate change risk within strategic risks;
• Possible violation of rules and regulations risk in relation to the health and safety of workers and the environment within the legal and non-compliance risks;
• Breakage or damage to the pipeline risk with damage to the environment/people within operational risks;
• Environmental risks within operational risks.

These risks are described in detail in the chapter entitled Risk factors and uncertainty, in the Integrated Report on operations.

Policies, commitments and management model

In relation to these issues, through the HSEQ Policy and the Sustainable Development Policy, Snam undertakes to:

• Guarantee respect for the protection of worker health and safety through the prevention of accidents, injuries, occupational diseases; Promote actions that combat climate change, implementing operational and management interventions to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases;
• Promote energy efficiency and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources;
• Prevent pollution and ensure the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity;
• Set up procedures to identify and respond to emergency situations and monitor the consequences of accidents.

The management of the aspects mentioned in the policies and the consequent actions for their implementation are mainly implemented within the management systems developed in compliance with the international standards ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, regularly verified and certified systems by a third party, of which all the companies of the Group are equipped. These actions are detailed in the Report on Integrated Management:

• for the development and maintenance aspects of the management systems, in the paragraph “Mitigation of environmental impacts, health and safety - Management systems”, you can find the certifications of the Company and its subsidiaries and details on audits conducted and the team of auditors employed;
• for aspects of health protection and accident prevention, in the paragraph “Mitigation of environmental impacts, health and safety - Accident prevention and the protection of health”, you can find the company involvement initiatives for the prevention of accidents and the company's health and health surveillance of employees;
• for aspects of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, production and use of energy from renewable sources, the paragraphs “Summary data and information - Operating performance” and “Mitigation of environmental impacts, health and safety - Climate change and energy efficiency”, details are given on the direct emissions from the Company, its initiatives to limit emissions and energy consumption and the type and power and energy produced by renewable energy plants owned by Snam;
• for actions on the mitigation of environmental impacts and the protection of biodiversity, in the paragraph on “Mitigation of environmental impacts, health and safety - Monitoring and environmental reclamation in the development of the gas pipeline network”, details are given on environmental reclamation works connected with the installation of new infrastructures.

The preventive assessments of the effects on the environment and on the safety of new settlements are carried out in the context of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures, at the end of which the administrations responsible, both at central and local level, issue the authorisations required by current legislation. Progress made on permitting activities is described in the paragraph “Natural gas transmission - Progress of work to obtain permits” of the Integrated Report on operations.

Snam particularly oversees the maintenance of plant safety and quality levels and carries out a regular inspection of the lines on foot, with vehicles and helicopter overflights to detect any situations at risk, and the pipe conditions with smart devices which pass through them and allow for the detection of the presence of possible damages. These actions are detailed in the paragraph on “Summary data and information - Maintenance of plant safety and quality levels” of the Integrated Report on operations.

Environmental and safety requirements in the workplace are considered in the qualification and selection of suppliers. The highly critical suppliers operating in the procurement of works, the most significant category for core activities, in particular for health and safety and environmental aspects, are all in possession of certified quality, environmental and safety management systems according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.

The aspects of health and safety and environmental management are also part of the evaluation phase of the services rendered.

The fight against climate change not only takes the form of actions to reduce emissions and energy efficiency projects, but it is also expressed on a strategic level through increasing the use of natural gas as a key factor in the decarbonisation process. The Company is committed to integrating new green businesses into its operations, with particular reference to biomethane, sustainable mobility and the use of natural gas in the transport sector.

Performance Indicators

The following are representative indicators of the results of the environmental, health and safety management aspects, with indication of the GRI reference standard. 2018 results include, with respect to 2017, a reduction in the number of injuries involving employees and contract workers, none of which had a fatal outcome.

The increase in energy consumption is mainly due to greater natural gas consumptions brought about by the increase in the quantity of gas stored in deposits and the commissioning of new two compression plants (Minerbio and Sergnano), which have required an increase in fuel gas consumption to commission the plants. Emissions of scope 1 CO_2eq remain stable, also thanks to the reduction initiatives that impacted the part deriving from natural gas.