Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

We are committed to promoting a greater awareness about issues concerning diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, as well as to preventing and combatting any form of discrimination.

A diverse group of professionals actively participating in a collaborative session, raising their hands to engage. The bright environment and enthusiasm of the participants reflect the values of inclusion, diversity, and collaboration promoted by Acea. A diverse group of professionals actively participating in a collaborative session, raising their hands to engage. The bright environment and enthusiasm of the participants reflect the values of inclusion, diversity, and collaboration promoted by Acea.

Our strategic view of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

 

We consider the valorisation of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging to be a strategic lever for our business and a fundamental instrument at the service of people’s wellbeing.

 

We are actively committed to integrating these values into business management, via practical actions aimed at creating an inclusive work environment based on dialogue, respect and the valorisation of each person. Moreover, we promote values inspired by principles of equal opportunity, ethics, competence and merit.

 

Our objectives and action lines

 

In 2025 we updated our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policy, introducing the concept of Belonging, and renewed our programme of initiatives addressed both internally, for our staff, and externally, with interventions for the local community. These issues are also included in our 2024-2028 Sustainability Plan, under the strategic objective “Centrality of people”

Action lines, results and targets for 2028
 

Action line

Action/Company

Target @2028

Actual 2025

Actual 2024

Diversity
and inclusion

Gender equality

32.6 % women managers
(executives and middle managers)

30%

30%

Improving D&I culture

2 initiatives per year

4 initiatives

4 initiatives

Accessibility
and inclusiveness
of premises

Design of new layouts

Completed

/

Improving D&I culture
(Aguas de San Pedro,
 Consorcio Agua Azul)

ASP staff involved: 90%

ASP: 98%

ASP: 90%

Diversity
and inclusion
(foreign countries)

Number of initiatives per year (CAA): 1

CAA: 0 initiatives

CAA: 1 initiative



Read more about our strategy

Our 6 areas of commitment

 

We field our commitment in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging with practical actions aimed at preventing, identifying and combatting discrimination, focusing above all on six areas of intervention, such as: family and interpersonal relationships; generational dialogue; gender equality and professional valorisation; differentiated abilities; multiculturality; gender identity and sexual orientation.

We support employees in their roles as parent, caregiver and in any relationships with persons bound by cohabitation or kinship. 

We enhance the growth and success of the Group via initiatives aimed at promoting and developing the generational difference.

We create an inclusive work environment, where men and women have the same opportunities for professional growth and development.

We are committed to ensuring, for all our people, greater work-related involvement and participation in a state of wellbeing.

We facilitate the overcoming of prejudice and stereotypes and encourage inclusion within the work environment.

We encourage the use of inclusive language and behaviours within a work environment free of stereotypes, discrimination and verbal and non-verbal harassment.

Governance for diversity and inclusion

 

Within the framework of corporate bodies, the Ethics, Sustainability and Inclusion Committee has, inter alia, the task of promoting a diversity valorisation culture, avoiding and combatting all forms of discrimination, with a view to supporting the adoption of a diversified approach to people management, as well as disseminating sensitivity and awareness about the value of differences at all levels of the organisation. 


In 2022 we set up a Committee with the task of ensuring application of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Policy, promoting a culture oriented towards the enhancement of diversity, equity and inclusion and fostering an open and pluralistic work environment. Furthermore, the Committee appointed a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Manager, who is responsible for coordinating activities for the preparation and monitoring of the initiatives operational plan.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Policy

Download the document

We are a company that works for the common good: we manage fundamental resources such as water, energy and environmental services. And precisely because we operate at the service of people and the community, we cannot prescind from a vision that focuses on people - all people. This applies inside and outside our organisation.

Tools used within the company 

 

Our commitment is focused on promoting an inclusive corporate culture, guaranteeing equal opportunities and valorising diversity. In support of these objectives, we have defined clear internal guidelines and responsibilities, ensuring the implementation of specific actions and ongoing monitoring of results.

In June 2025 the Board of Directors approved a DEIB Policy, defining the values, tools and the actions in these areas. The document explains how such principles are applied throughout the employee’s working life, via the adoption of measures aimed at guaranteeing the observance of Diversity principles. Moreover, an active Committee composed of corporate management serves as the company's technical advisory body. Its purpose is to guide the process of developing and disseminating the culture of inclusion by defining the actions necessary to create an environment where group and individual differences are not a source of discrimination. At the same time, a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Manager was appointed. The Policy is also in line with the People and Participation Charter, strengthening measures to support work-life balance and parenthood.

The Charter that we signed with the trade unions defines a model of Industrial Relations based on participatory and integrated dialogue. It valorises the engagement of social representatives and puts people at the centre, with the aim of contributing towards quality of service, the development of skills and the creation of value for the territory.

We have defined a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Plan that includes objectives and initiatives with regard to DE&I and corporate wellbeing, with a view to strengthening the connection between sustainability and human capital and supporting the related capacity to evolve and adapt to new challenges.

Community Inclusion enhances the DEIB culture thanks to the contribution of our 104 Champions, who have the task of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion values, sharing needs and planning ideas and implementing dedicated initiatives.

In 2025, we launched the “Mamma con Acea nei tuoi primi mille giorni” project, an initiative co-funded by the Department for Family Policies of the Prime Minister’s Office as part of the #Riparto call for proposals. This initiative allowed us to increase the services for female employees during maternity leave, facilitating their return to work and encouraging people to have children. The measures, which include financial incentives, psychological counselling, training programmes and flexible working arrangements, benefited around 169 female workers during the year.

Our principles

 

To ensure the consistency of Acea’s commitment at every organizational level, four principles on which the policy is based have been identified:

Diversity


It fosters dialogue and acceptance among people from different cultures, social backgrounds, and generations, with diverse skills and experiences.

Equity


It encourages people to express their full potential. Equity means having access to the same opportunities, while acknowledging that individuals start from different bases and may need different support to achieve the same goal.

 

Inclusion


It ensures that every employee feels included and free to express their uniqueness, with the necessary tools available to fully reach their potential.  

Belonging


It promotes the company’s strategic, industrial, and operational values and goals, so that they can be fully recognized and achieved with the specific contribution of each person.

Our projects

 

With a view to raising our people’s awareness about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging and encouraging them to become promoters of an inclusive environment, we have launched numerous projects. Our intervention was carried out at various levels: from recruitment processes to internal communication, alongside training activities, discussions and dedicated events.

In all internal and external hiring processes, we guarantee the observance of inclusion, equity and diversity valorisation principles during each phase of selection. We actively participate in career counselling and selection events, to facilitate a fair and inclusive participation in the labour market, enhancing the individuality of each person involved in the hiring process.  

 

→ We attend Career days, with particular interest in various topics such as, for example, Diversity and STEM.

Read more

We develop internal and external communications initiatives, training courses, events and webinars, with a view to informing and raising the awareness of the Group’s people and external stakeholders about diversity, equity and inclusion.


In 2025, we organised a series of thematic webinars, on topics such as inclusive language, the concept of family and neurodiversity, and informative webinars, the latter dedicated, in particular, to the functioning of the remote primary care medicine service.

On the company intranet, the section Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging offers our people easy access to documents and information on these matters. A direct communications channel is also available, dedicated to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, via which we give space to individual voices, disseminate initiatives and information and gather requests and proposals.


→ Study project on the initiatives that promote and enhance dialogue among all the generations present within the Group, conducted in collaboration with the Sapienza University and Kapinos. The project aims to create a work environment where generational diversity is not only recognized but also valued through a structured, measurable, and impact-oriented approach.  


→ Promotion of a path aimed at the adoption of a broad language on the entries of the DEIB Glossary, which provides for in-depth activities and involves all the people of Acea.

We put people at the centre via wellbeing initiatives, contributing towards the creation of a work environment that is more and more equitable, considerate and attentive to the quality of professional life.


→ On November 25th, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we organised for our staff an event on emotional education, introducing important topics such as managing emotional boundaries and relationship dynamics, as well as a culture of respect, with a view to fostering healthy relationships.


→We offer female empowerment programmes designed to consolidate an inclusive corporate culture and combat gender bias, facilitating the development of a fair and diversified leadership by way of initiatives such as self-defence courses, which in 2025 involved around 200 employees. The commitment also extends to the overseas companies: in 2025 Aguas de San Pedro launched the “AcquaFem” programme, a plumbing technical training course for women, with a view to supporting female employment and empowerment also in operational roles.


→ We promote activities dedicated to our people’s health and wellbeing, such as the “Previeni con Acea” campaign, developed in partnership with Susan G. Komen Italia, during which 625 free breast screenings were carried out at the company’s premises, and activation of a remote primary care medicine service.


→Furthermore, during the year we continued to organise awareness webinars on the DEIB action areas and mental wellbeing programmes, with the introduction of an online psychology service.

To understand the real needs of our people and internal requirements, we bring into play tools and moments of listening and collection of specific feedback. For this purpose, performance indicators have been developed on diversity variables, which enable us both to constantly monitor the effectiveness of the initiatives promoted and to analyse the trends associated with DEIB issues along the various stages of professional lives.


→With this in mind, we carried out a pilot project based on the theory of change and the calculation of SROI (Social Return On Investment), in order to measure the social impact of welfare services. The effectiveness of our initiatives (family services, preventive healthcare, wellbeing and sport etc.) and the value generated for people and the community were calculated considering the satisfaction of service users, the economic resources deployed and specific contextual data (proxies, duration of the change brought about, etc.). All the services provided generated a positive social impact, particularly family services and healthcare services.

Our certifications and recognitions

 

Gender equality certification    

(UNI/PdR 125:2022)    

In 2025, the UNI/PdR 125:2022 Certification on gender equality was renewed for Acea SpA, Acea Ambiente, areti, Acea Ato 2 and Acea Infrastructure, and first-time certification was obtained for Acea Acqua, Gori and ASM Terni. This is the only national standard on the matter of equal opportunities and sets out guidelines for reducing the gender gap insofar as concerns growth opportunities, equal pay, parental protection and work-life balance.

Top Employers Italy Certification    

In 2025, for the fifth consecutive year, we obtained Top Employers Italy Certification, also in view of our tangible adoption of HR practices with regard to DE&I.

Value D network   

In 2024 we became a member of Value D, the network of over 370 companies which since 2009 are committed to promoting a culture of inclusion and to addressing the subject of gender balance via the exchange of best practices and an ongoing dialogue between associates.