Enel joins “Valuable 500” global movement that puts disability on business agendas

Enel has joined the “Valuable 500”, a global movement calling for the participation of 500 private companies aimed at unlocking the business, social and economic value of people living with disabilities across the world. The Group, which has already integrated disability into the agenda of its Board of Directors, has taken a public commitment to disability action.

Maria Patrizia Grieco, Enel Chairman, commented: “The integration of disability in Board agendas, alongside business actions, is a fundamental prerequisite for companies that want to be truly inclusive. This is one of the key principles of ‘Valuable 500’ and it is perfectly in line with Enel’s global policy on diversity and inclusion. Based on non-discrimination, equal opportunities and equal dignity of diversity of all kinds, as well as work-life balance, Enel’s global diversity and inclusion policy was launched in 2015 and since then has been implemented through specific actions, including those on disability, aimed at valuing diversity throughout the organisation. Looking ahead, we commit to further strengthen the integration of disability and overall diversity issues in the work of our Board of Directors, with the aim to maximise the social and economic value that can be generated by this enhanced attention.”

Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, said: “Disability is one of the priority areas in Enel’s approach to diversity together with gender, age, nationality and the promotion of a culture of inclusion. We are participating in the ambitious ‘Valuable 500’ initiative with the aim to free up the enormous potential that can be generated through the inclusion of 1.3 billion people living with disabilities around the globe, in line with Enel’s view that sustainability equals value. In fact, as evidenced by the ‘Valuable 500’, by opening up to people with disabilities, a company can benefit from, among other things, a higher level of innovation, an increased customer base and greater productivity. Towards this aim, we are reinforcing our actions to address the obstacles facing those with disabilities, as well as integrating their perspectives in our overall business approach.”

Enel is deeply committed to promoting human rights, non-discrimination, equal opportunities and diversity, everywhere it operates. Namely, the promotion of diversity and inclusion is core to the company’s strategy focused on innovation and sustainability.

The Group is working to replace boundaries and obstacles with new opportunities leveraging on the unique mix of talents that everyone brings to work. One of Enel’s aims is to make energy available to everyone by developing the potential of the Group’s most precious assets, the people it works with. In every country where staff with disabilities are present a focal point attends to their specific needs, launching initiatives aimed at improving autonomy and promoting inclusion. The presence of a focal point for staff with disabilities represents a specific target of Enel’s Sustainability Plan. Furthermore, the Group is committed to enhancing and expanding actions regarding digital accessibility, autonomy, mobility, development and employability of people with disabilities.

When it comes to the specific initiatives, Enel is evaluating the extension by 2022 of the Pedius App for deaf people in all the countries where it operates. In 2018, Enel was the first energy utility to introduce Pedius for employees and customers in Italy and, in 2019, for customers in Peru and, through its Spanish subsidiary Endesa, also in Spain. The App aims to facilitate communication by using “speech to text” recognition and synthesis that converts a text message into an artificial voice and, likewise, the voice into a text message. The App also allows deaf Enel staff to contact their IT helpdesk and to participate in Skype meetings through the generation of subtitles.

In addition to Pedius, the Group has launched other initiatives aimed at the inclusion of its disabled customers, including bills in braille as well as accessible web sites and documents allowing for the creation of value for all stakeholders by improving user experience.

The Valuable 500 is a campaign working to ensure businesses globally recognise the value of people living with a disability. Companies and business leaders that have committed to putting disability inclusion on their agendas by joining the Valuable 500 include some of the foremost players in every sector (https://www.thevaluable500.com/the-valuable-500/).

Enel is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global power, gas and renewables markets. It is the largest European utility by market capitalisation and ordinary EBITDA, and is present in over 30 countries worldwide, producing energy with around 90 GW of managed capacity. Enel distributes electricity through a network of over 2.2 million kilometres, and with around 73 million business and household end users globally, the Group has the largest customer base among its European peers. Enel’s renewables arm Enel Green Power already manages over 43 GW of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower plants in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.