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Prysmian Group CSO Bifulco starts mapping plan to cut C02 emissions 46% by 2030

As a public company, goal-setting and transparency are core values at Prysmian Group. This is a perfect fit with a science-based approach to climate change targets, which call for ambitious, long-term action plans. Overseeing this push will be Chief Sustainability Officer Maria Cristina Bifulco, who in addition to her role as Investor Relations chief will now add Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics to her responsibilities.

 

In order to further sharpen its focus on sustainability, Prysmian Group has appointed Maria Cristina Bifulco as Chief Sustainability Officer, who will play a key role in driving the Group’s ESG strategic planning and priorities.

“We can see our business is headed in this direction, and every function the company had already started working on sustainability – the machine was already on,” she said. “The goal is to indicate priorities, and introduce methods and methodology.”

40% of Prysmian’s investors are ESG, and they continue to ask for active engagement of management and board, she says.

Bifulco’s appointment coincides with Prysmian Group’s decision to intensify its climate change commitments by setting science-based targets, as called for by the Paris Agreement COP 21, to achieve a “net zero” emissions between 2035 and 2040 for its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) and by 2050 for emissions generated by the value chain (Scope 3).

Prysmian has signed the Business Ambition letter committing itself to work towards containing the world’s temperature increase to 1.5 C compared to preindustrial levels. The Group has pledged to invest approximately €10 million per year over the next ten years to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions at its 106 plants by 46% from the 2019 level.

“We are leaders in the sector of renewables and energy transition,” she said. “And as an enabler we have to be an example.”

Maria Cristina Bifulco

Chief Sustainability Officer

Bifulco is leading the Sustainability Steering Committee, which is responsible for developing, designing and implementing ESG policies and targets; effectively managing resources; and monitoring sustainability activities across regions, business units and corporate functions. This Committee has just been reappointed with members from Human Resources, R&D, Digital Innovation, Purchasing and all other functions within the company.

It will work closely with the board-level ESG Committee (where Bifulco is Secretary), which is in charge of setting guidelines and procedures to integrate sustainability into the business model to submit for board approval.

Bifulco says her goal is to further increase the sensibility of the board and management on sustainability topics, indicating strategic priorities and to facilitate their implementation into action plans in the business sphere.

Setting a science-based target entails working the non-profit organization the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) in a five-step process, receiving detailed feedback and support from the SBTi’s technical experts.

The first step is to submit a detailed plain of how to achieve the emissions reduction.  Bifulco is currently drawing up Prysmian Group’s action plan for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emission at its sites, namely the Milan HQ, its 104 plants and 25 R&D centers, to be approved during the second or third quarter of 2021.

“We did a benchmark to see what our sector looked like, and we are among the best practices,” she said “There are not a lot of cable makers or companies in this sector that have made such a rigorous choice.”

Prysmian is accustomed to setting long term targets for its management, be they for emissions reduction, waste recycling or diversity and inclusion, Bifulco pointed out.

“Just like we want to have an active role in the energy transition, we want to have and must have an active role in the social transition,” she said. “We must do our part. And do it with concrete actions.  Because I really hope that in 2030, Diversity & Inclusion is no longer a topic.”

Maria Cristina Bifulco

Chief Sustainability Officer

Prysmian aims to have up to 18% of its management comprised of women in 2022, up from 13% in 2020.

Prysmian Group has set concrete targets for 2022 monitored by a “Scorecard” based on the United Nations
Sustainability Goals, and progress towards reaching them has been recognized by a demonstrable improvement in ESG ratings. Its 2022 targets call for a reduction to recycle 64%-66% of waste, as well as targets for social and community involvement and for employees’ health and safety.

To achieve these targets, in 2020 the Group has already announced investment totalling €450 million by 2022 in order to improve further the sustainability of its organization and supply chain, and accelerate the development of advanced cable technologies, assets and services.

These targets will now be updated to reflect the Group’s new commitment.

“The decision to set stricter CO2 emission reduction targets, based on scientific evidence, is aimed at making Prysmian Group’s commitment to pursuing sustainable growth even more credible and transparent” she said.

Maria Cristina Bifulco

Chief Sustainability Officer

Last year, in an investor note, a Citi analyst quipped that Prysmian’s sustainability strategy might make climate activist Greta Thunberg and CEO Valerio Battista “into very good friends.” That might be a stretch, but the group is demonstrating through its actions that it takes sustainability seriously.