Edison

PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Edison views partnerships with entities, nonprofit associations and institutions an integral part of its corporate responsibility strategy because they represent effective tools to dialog with civil society and its stakeholders. The Company has chosen to focus its efforts on a few priority issues: first of all, culture and the environment, particularly in the areas where it operates, but also sports, both locally and at the national level. The methods it uses to pursue these objectives always include targeted investments to support specific projects and the community achieved through collaboration with public institutions. Edison is keenly aware of the needs of the younger generations, which it addresses with projects involving environmental and social education, energy conservation and children support services. Programs in these areas included:

- “Happy at School,” a collaborative project with Sodalitas promoted for the second year in the Milan school system on the issue of “bullying” that in 2008 trained 95 teachers at 38 schools on how to prevent youth violence;
- “Soft Rugby,” a project offered in partnership with AS Rugby through which 600 children with symptoms of physical disabilities were enrolled in a sports program that helped them achieve better integration;
- “L’Ovale al Beccaria,” also a project in partnership with AS Rugby, offered to young men held at Milan’s Beccaria juvenile detention center, giving them an opportunity to participate in sports activities and welcoming them at AS Rugby at the end of their detention;
- “Edipower per la scuola,” a project on energy and sustainability for elementary, intermediate and high school students in the areas where Edipower’s facilities are located.

Edison has been collaborating with Legambiente for over 10 years on programs about environmental education and energy conservation. In addition to promoting a culture of energy conservation, the 2008 edition of the “Kyoto anch’io – La scuola amica del clima” contest encourages the implementation of programs to reduce energy consumption at the schools enrolled in the contest. The school with the best environmental and energy building requalification project won a photovoltaic system as a prize. Activities carried out in connection with the contest included Italy’s first survey of the energy efficiency of school buildings, which covered 2,035 schools. The data collected covered such issues as the energy usage of buildings, from lighting to heating, and including waste management and security. In the area of culture, Edison supports directly or through sponsorships the implementation of culturally significant initiatives and activities. One such project is the ongoing design work to transform the decommissioned Emilia Power Plant in Piacenza into a museum center that will host art exhibits on an ongoing basis. Art shows that Edison supported in 2008 included Canova at the Tsar’s Court at Milan’s Palazzo Reale and From Titian to Pietro di Cortona: Myth, Poetry and the Sacred at Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens. Other initiatives included a project for the preservation of collective memory that involved digitizing over 4,200 images from Edison’s photography and film archives (www.lombardiabeniculturali.it). Lastly, Edison honored the filmmaker and former employee Ermanno Olmi with the publication of a DVD entitled Ermanno Olmi. The Edison Years on the occasion of his selection as the winner of the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 65th Venice Film Festival. Edison supports sports because it fully shares the values of integrity, team spirit and respect. In addition, support for amateur, youth or “minor league” programs, which always have a significant local following, have traditionally been one of the tools with which Edison interacts with local communities. In 2008, the Group supported sports initiatives both locally and at the national level. Edison is the official partner of the Italian Volleyball Federation and its Men’s and Women’s National Teams and of the Italian Rugby Team. In addition, under an agreement with the Italian National Olympic Committee, it is sponsoring all Italian Olympic athletes from 2008 to 2010. As the main sponsor of the Italian Olympic Team at the Beijing Olympics, Edison organized at Casa Italia a series of informational events on environmental sustainability and energy conservation. In addition, its Row for a Minute Like a Champion project and the It’s a Whole New Energy contest raised 65,000 euros for the Telethon. Lastly, Edison was the main sponsor of the 2008 Italian Track and Field Championships. Edison is also involved in the social services area with the Siticibo and Missione Sogni projects and the support it provides to AMREF. Siticibo is a project in which a large number of employees at the Foro Buonaparte headquarters volunteer during business hours to collect surplus food from the Edison cafeteria for donation to soup kitchens in Milan. Missione Sogni is a charitable organization supported by Edison that, working with the utmost confidentiality and the approval of a scientific board, helps children between 5 and 18 years old suffering from serious chronic diseases or disabilities realize their dreams. Lastly, Edison helps AMREF build water wells in Kenya (4 in 2008) and educate the local tribes about the importance of a sustainable and shared use of water resources. In 2008, Edison was again present at the fourth edition of Dal dire al fare, the corporate social responsibility show that provides it with an opportunity to interact with its stakeholders. In 2008, Edison distributed a total of 2,820,000 euros in sponsorships and 442,000 euros in charitable contributions.