Sustainability is an integral component of the Company’s activities, processes and strategy and is a key driver in the Group’s strategic and financial decisions. With this in mind, over the years Poste Italiane has embarked on an important path to develop its business strategy, structurally integrating it with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and directing the Group’s efforts towards the creation of shared value for stakeholders and the consolidation of its reputation. For Poste Italiane, being sustainable therefore means defining a clear strategy on ESG issues and integrating the latter across the board into the strategic objectives defined within the business plans.
The Group has adopted a sustainability strategy that brings together ESG governance, a set of sustainability policies and guidelines, part of the Company’s body of regulations (which identify general principles, objectives for the future and management methods for the non-financial areas that are priorities for the Company and its stakeholders) and an ESG Strategic Plan, i.e. a set of sustainability objectives that contribute to the well-being of the country and ensure that Poste Italiane is aligned to the most ambitious common objectives defined worldwide in the field of sustainability. This strategy allows the Group to go far beyond its current regulatory obligations and play a central role in creating sustainable value for the community.
In this context, Poste Italiane adopted the Guideline “The ESG Process in the Poste Italiane Group”, which describes the operation of the process of managing and integrating ESG principles within the Group through the transversal, uniform and coherent integration of the principles underlying the concept of sustainability to the various business activities and the permanent, transparent and proactive involvement of stakeholders. The aforementioned Guideline was updated in July 2022 in order to align the document with the main leading practices on the subject and the new organisational structure of the Company.
The Group has adopted a sustainability strategy that brings together ESG governance, a set of sustainability policies and guidelines, part of the Company’s body of regulations (which identify general principles, objectives for the future and management methods for the non-financial areas that are priorities for the Company and its stakeholders) and an ESG Strategic Plan, i.e. a set of sustainability objectives that contribute to the well-being of the country and ensure that Poste Italiane is aligned to the most ambitious common objectives defined worldwide in the field of sustainability. This strategy allows the Group to go far beyond its current regulatory obligations and play a central role in creating sustainable value for the community.
In this context, Poste Italiane adopted the Guideline “The ESG Process in the Poste Italiane Group”, which describes the operation of the process of managing and integrating ESG principles within the Group through the transversal, uniform and coherent integration of the principles underlying the concept of sustainability to the various business activities and the permanent, transparent and proactive involvement of stakeholders. The aforementioned Guideline was updated in July 2022 in order to align the document with the main leading practices on the subject and the new organisational structure of the Company.
The Group’s Sustainability Policies
The incorporation of sustainability within the Company's regulatory system has led to the definition of the following policies.
| Poste Italiane Group policies | Policy objectives |
|---|---|
| Tax Strategy | The strategy is arranged as a set of principles and rules aimed at promoting dissemination of the values of honesty, fairness and compliance with tax regulations, thereby encouraging the development of collaborative and transparent conduct towards the tax authorities and third parties, in order to minimise any substantial impact in terms of either tax or reputational risk. |
| Occupational Health and Safety Policy | The Policy sets out the principles and methods implemented by the Group to protect and promote the physical and mental well-being of people through prevention, spreading a culture of safety and implementation of management systems. |
| Integrated Policy | The Policy contains a commitment to promptly comply with current regulations: ISO 37301:2021 for compliance management, UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 for quality control, ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety, ISO 37001:2016 to prevent practices that may result in alleged and/or confirmed crimes of bribery, ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 respectively regarding the data security management system and the information management system to support company processes. |
| Policy on Community initiatives | The Policy contains a commitment to respond to the social needs of local communities and the country as a whole with integrity and transparency, in accordance with procedures that aim to ensure the effectiveness of supported initiatives, while avoiding any potential conflict of interest. |
| Policy on Personal Data Protection | Poste Italiane Group Policy shows that personal data protection is a fundamental value that every Group Company must adhere to in its daily activities. The Group protects and promotes the protection of personal data and the rights of data subjects through information and awareness campaigns and policies for data protection. |
| Group policy on Environmental Sustainability | The Policy sets out the general principles, objectives and methods for managing the Group’s environmental impact and confirms Poste Italiane’s commitment to promoting efficient use of natural resources and focusing on seeking innovative solutions to protect the environment in its value chain. |
| Responsible Investment Policy of the Poste Vita Group | In its Responsible investment Policy, Poste Vita sets out principles that enable inclusion of ESG elements in the management of its investment activities, making a positive contribution to the impact issuers in its financial portfolios have on the community, and concrete adherence to principles and guidelines recognised at national and international level regarding the incorporation of sustainability criteria within traditional investment processes. |
| Responsible Insurance Policy of Poste Vita | In its responsible insurance Policy, Poste Vita defines principles that enable inclusion of ESG aspects in the management of its insurance activities, and concrete adherence to principles and guidelines recognised at national and international level regarding the incorporation of sustainability criteria within traditional insurance processes. |
| Responsible Investment Policy of BancoPosta Fondi S.p.A. SGR | In its responsible investment policy, BancoPosta Fondi SGR sets out principles that enable inclusion of ESG elements in the management of its investment activities, making a positive contribution to the impact counterparties in its financial portfolios have on the community, and concrete adherence to recognised principles and guidelines. The Policy has been updated in January 2021. |
| Guideline for investment in sensitive sectors of BancoPosta Fondi SGR | The Guideline for investment in sensitive sectors of BancoPosta Fondi SGR defines measures to identify, assess and monitor exposure to activities that present a relevant intrinsic risk from an ESG point of view, thus enabling environmental, social and governance aspects to be incorporated into the investment process. |
| Guideline on the exercise of voting rights and engagement activities of BancoPosta Fondi SGR | The SGR’s Guideline defines measures and procedures to exercise voting rights in accordance with established national and international reference principles and to promote the proper management of ESG issues through beneficial dialogue with issuers of securities in their financial portfolios. |
| Policy Guideline for Managing Dialogue with Poste Italiane SpA shareholders – Engagement Policy | The objective of the Policy is to regulate the management of dialogue with investors and other market participants adopted by Poste Italiane, with reference to the many forms of engagement that the Company puts in place, whether these concern activities normally managed by the relevant corporate functions (e.g. website maintenance), or involve direct dialogue with members of the Board of Directors ("Shareholder-Director Engagement"). |
| Guideline for investment in sensitive sectors of the Poste Vita Group | The Guideline for investment in sensitive sectors of Poste Vita SpA defines measures to identify, assess and monitor exposure to activities that present a relevant intrinsic risk from an ESG point of view, thus enabling environmental, social and governance aspects to be incorporated into the investment process. |
| Guideline on the exercise of voting rights and engagement activities of the Poste Vita Group | The Company’s Guideline defines measures and procedures to exercise voting rights in accordance with established national and international reference principles and to promote the proper management of ESG issues through beneficial dialogue with issuers of securities in their financial portfolios. |
| Diversity Policy for administrative and auditing bodies of Poste Italiane | The document sets out recommendations regarding aspects of diversity of the members of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Statutory Auditors, such as age, gender, ethnicity, geographical origin, training and professional experience. |
| Group Policy for the protection of Human Rights | The Policy sets out a clear approach to the issue of human rights, which is broader than legal requirements and enables monitoring and management of risks and opportunities relating to all forms of human rights, and also confirms the Group’s commitment to pursuing socially responsible investment and management activities. |
| Diversity and Inclusion Policy | The Policy indicates that Poste Italiane Group is committed to supporting the values of diversity and inclusion through the adoption of corporate, organisational and management mechanisms based on respect for people’s rights and freedom. |
| Guideline on Competition and Consumer Protection Compliance | The Guideline aims to ensure compliance with competition and consumer protection rules, to reinforce awareness of the importance of the relevant regulations, to consolidate an operational and control environment aimed at mitigating the risk of antitrust and anti-competitive offences, to provide a guide to prevent actions, behaviours and omissions that violate competition and consumer protection regulations, and to outline monitoring tools to identify possible violations. |
| Support for Active Parenting Policy | The purpose of the Policy is to provide a framework to support the female condition in the Company, to help women, before and after the maternity period, with adequate support and development paths through anticipatory plans to enable them to feel fully empowered and supported in expressing their personal and professional abilities. The document aims to outline a people development and management strategy, implement a modern maternity management model and introduce innovative tools for consistent and harmonious support for active parenthood, thereby integrating Poste Italiane's existing human resources development processes. |
