Leading road transport company has started ESG impact reporting process

Arriva Italia-a company that manages local public transport service in Valle d’Aosta and the provinces of Turin, Brescia, Bergamo, Lecco and Cremona, as well as providing airport connections and transportation service for disabled students and those with reduced mobility in the municipality of Roma Capitale-has embarked in 2023 with the consultancy of Amapola-a benefit company specializing in corporate social responsibility strategies and projects, institutional and environmental communication- the path of sustainability reporting, anticipating the regulatory obligation arising from the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), the European directive that will broaden the range of entities obliged to report on the environmental, social and governance aspects of their activities.

Today Arriva Italia at its locations in Aosta, Turin, Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, and Rome – the subject of the Sustainability Report – transports 34.1 million passengers, traveling 47 million kilometers/year. The company also has 1467 employees, a fleet of 1433 vehicles and 143 million euros in revenues in 2022.

The company has chosen a progressive approach that starts from a solid base thanks to the use of internationally recognized standards (the GRI Standards (Global Reporting Initiative) were, in fact, used to measure performance) and a thorough materiality analysis in which the main stakeholders were involved.

There is also no shortage of references to the UN 2030 Agenda and, in particular, the Sustainable Development Goals to which Arriva Italia contributes through its actions.

“The Sustainability Report is just the first stage of a gradual but steady path that we will follow together with our stakeholders: a road already defined that will lead us to measure ourselves in an increasingly transparent and tangible way. – declares Angelo Costa, CEO of Arriva Italia. – We are convinced that sustainability can no longer be postponed, and it is precisely to tell what we are already doing in all three ESG pillars that we have decided to take on this challenge. This Report is meant to be a testimony of the responsibility we feel and put into practice every day towards our people, first of all, and towards our passengers, as well as towards all the other stakeholders we interact with on a daily basis: territorial entities, communities, suppliers and partners.”

COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABILITY

Arriva Italia is at the forefront of promoting sustainable mobility, a priority challenge that can no longer be postponed. Sustainable public transport is, in fact, crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. In addition to having, therefore, an environmental impact, it certainly also has a social impact on communities.

In 2022, Arriva Group announced the establishment of the Zero Emission Institute, led by a team of fleet planning experts, to accelerate the path to zero emissions in collaboration with local governments and institutions.

At the same time, the company has a fleet modernization plan underway to replace all buses in environmental class below Euro 5 with more efficient and modern vehicles.

Increasing attention is also being paid to the use of alternative fuels: it is gradually switching from traditional diesel fuel to HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), a diesel-like fuel that can be produced without fossil resources and is estimated to allow a reduction in CO2 emissions of about 90 percent compared to traditional fuels. The other alternative fuel Arriva Italia is using is CNG (compressed natural gas), a fossil fuel that provides less polluting performance. It is also continuing to purchase vehicles powered by electricity.

Arriva Italia is also committed to managing water resources efficiently and wisely. For example, it joins LIFEH2OBUS, a European project to reduce water waste. The Europe-wide goal is to reduce water consumption by an average of 84 percent in the public transport sector.

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

Public transportation represents the very essence of diversity, as it is a service offered indiscriminately to everyone. This is why Arriva Italia puts people first of its strategy: both those within it and the passengers who use the service.

For its people, the company has, in recent years, consolidated a path aimed at improving employee well-being that involves several aspects: from increasingly dedicated corporate welfare (think of the listening desk and psychological support) to clear governance on the issue of Diversity & Inclusion (in 2022 an in-house D&I Manager was appointed).

Passengers-which exceeded 34 million in 2022-are dedicated to efforts to ensure a quality, modern and efficient service, capable, thanks to constant digital innovation, of providing continuous assistance.

And precisely with people and the relationship with its stakeholders in mind, Arriva Italia, in addition to the Comprehensive Report, has decided to enhance the facts and figures of sustainability and will therefore prepare individual reports for each geographic area. The complexity of the company is, in fact, given by the fact that it carries out its service in wide, jagged, and diverse territories. The challenge is to enhance in the individual territories the resources lavished on sustainability.

The Sustainability Report 2022 can be found on Arriva Italia’s website at: https://arriva.it/bilancio-di-sostenibilita/