A2A, over €72 million per year for welfare and employee bonuses

A2a provides over €72 million in resources annually for its employees . These are the Group's figures for welfare services, productivity bonuses, and the new employee share ownership plan presented today in Milan : a broad and comprehensive system that takes into account the various aspects that contribute to an individual's well-being, including family, savings, health, and leisure time. Research conducted by Percorsi di secondo welfare (a laboratory that studies ongoing changes linked to the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Milan ) indicates that in 2023, Italian companies invested approximately €3.2 billion in corporate welfare. This figure represents an increase of over 6% compared to the previous year, confirming a positive trend that has seen organizations consolidate their culture on social issues over the past 10 years.

Indeed, among companies, awareness continues to grow of how these policies can improve the well-being of their workers, positively impacting the internal climate, productivity, and attractiveness of organizations. The event "WelLfare. Welfare is really good" —attended by the Mayor of Brescia Laura Castelletti , the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, and the top management of A2a , President Roberto Tasca, and CEO Renato Mazzoncini —was an opportunity to share reflections on these issues and on the entire ecosystem that involves so many players in the Italian landscape. The event featured contributions from Professor Marilisa D'Amico, Professor Maurizio Ferrera, and Professor Franca Maino, professors at the University of Milan, and was moderated by Barbara Stefanelli, Deputy Editor of Corriere della Sera . The effects of demographic and social changes require interventions to meet citizens' new needs. In this context, the services provided by companies, alongside and integrating with public welfare, can contribute to generating a positive impact in creating value for the local area and communities.

"Corporate welfare," comments Roberto Tasca, President of A2a , "has a long tradition in A2a's history: the first forms of employee support, implemented in the 1960s to address issues such as social exclusion, a typical feature of that period, were already tools for personal care and inclusion. This path has continued over the years with numerous initiatives, the latest of which is the Employee Share Ownership Plan."

He adds: "Today, the Group is among the first companies in the country and the first operating in the circular economy to have activated this program, with €5.3 million in funding, which will grow further in the next phase. In addition to engaging our colleagues in the company's growth journey by sharing our shared achievements, it also represents a lever for financial education, fostering awareness of how to use their financial resources wisely. With this Plan, we demonstrate our sense of responsibility toward them. The nearly 11,000 participants confirm the importance of the investment we've made and the high level of employee engagement."

A2a CEO Mazzoncini emphasizes: "The availability and accessibility of services increasingly impact quality of life. The Group's commitment to employee well-being has grown over the years and has become central to our strategy. We have allocated over €72 million per year to our people through a structured system that has evolved and strengthened over time, becoming a benchmark in our industry. One example of this is the €120 million plan through 2035 to support our colleagues with their parenting plans." He then emphasizes: "In the face of ongoing socio-demographic changes, welfare systems can become innovation laboratories capable of activating public-private partnerships and implementing systemic actions aimed at ensuring greater well-being for communities."

Mauro Ghilardi, Director of People and Transformation at A2a , emphasizes how, starting with the initial healthcare funds for families, vacation homes, and summer camps launched several years ago, the Group's commitment to employee well-being has expanded and strengthened. In the last 18 months alone, A2a Life Caring —a €10 million annual program (€120 million over the plan period) to support parenting with financial assistance and educational initiatives, including an annual grant of up to €3,250 for the first three years of a child's life and support for childcare and education expenses until they complete secondary school— and A2a Life Sharing —the Employee Share Ownership Plan raising over €5.3 million annually, through which Group employees can participate in the company's growth.

The distinctive elements of the two plans (Life Caring and Life Sharing) also lie in their shared commitment to the trade unions. Specifically, the Employee Share Ownership Plan has been signed and supported by most of the Group's unions, a first in the business landscape (recent similar initiatives by other companies have been implemented unilaterally). Over 86% of eligible participants participated in the first phase; the second phase will begin in the fall, during which all employees will be able to purchase A2a shares and receive additional shares free of charge, with bonuses inversely related to their contractual classification to favor lower-paid colleagues: one free share for every share purchased for blue-collar workers, one free share for every three for managers and white-collar workers, and one free share for every five purchased for executives.

Eighteen million euros are also earmarked for other services (including the "Workers' Housing" project, supplementary healthcare, psychological support, wellbeing and addiction prevention initiatives, and active agreements). An additional €39 million is earmarked for productivity bonuses, which employees can choose to allocate in full or in part to supplementary pension funds, benefiting from an additional contribution from A2a on the converted amount (approximately 15%). Beyond financial benefits, A2a's welfare policies can enable significant indirect benefits: they promote the dissemination of information among the company's workforce about the benefits available, thus increasing awareness of their rights, and they incentivize virtuous employment mechanisms such as attracting new talent and developing a network of quality services in the local area.