Eni Sustainability Report 2018

MESSAGE TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS

The global scenario continues to be characterised by strong imbalances. Today, more than 800 million people suffer from hunger and 11% of the world’s population has no access to clean water, there are poverty and inequality and one billion people still live without access to electricity where energy resources abound. These data – described in the first pages of Eni for 2018 – are a serious call to open our eyes to what is happening around us. We can’t neglect the neg-ative social and environmental effects of the current development model based on unlimited growth in consumption and on the “culture of waste”.

We cannot surrender to the idea that this model is immutable and we must start again from amazement to improve the garden of which we are the guardians. Whence the drive to seek new ideas and the courage to change, the desire to heed the profound existential needs of people and the path that in recent years – with effort and daily work, research and all the technology at our disposal – has led Eni to a new business model capable of long-term investment that goes beyond the profit maximization logic and look at the global value of individuals.

In 2040, the world population will exceed the 9 billion mark and energy demand will continue to grow. As a company operating in this industry, we feel a great responsibility towards the people who live in the countries that host us and towards a world increasingly conditioned by upheavals, starting with climate change.

Within the framework of the Paris Agreement and adopting the language of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, Eni recognizes the need to actively intervene in the fight against climate change through an accurate integrated strategy that is implemented in our path to decarbonization, as detailed in the dedicated report. We wish to contribute to the construction of an energy model in which everyone – especially in are-as such as Africa, characterised by a strong demographic boom – can have access to innovative and clean mixes. We want to bring energy where it is needed, distribute it better, offer opportunities for development, invest in education and vocational training, health and access to water with dedicated projects and services of social value.When the challenge is great and urgent, we must act together, seeking common objectives and values.

For this reason, we believe it is essential and more fruitful to carry out development initiatives increasingly engaging all actors: gov-ernments, society, international bodies and private sector realities, including investment funds. The partnership we signed with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for access to clean and safe water by building wells powered by photovoltaic systems, the partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed in 2018 to pool expertise on energy access and sustainable development in the Countries in which we operate and the patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Musée polyvalent du Cercle Africain in Pointe-Noire, Congo, all head in this direction. Another significant example is the Oil and Gas Climate Initi-ative (OGCI) that we contributed to found: in September 2018, the OGCI set the first collective target for reducing the intensity of methane emissions from upstream aggregate Oil & Gas activities.

In these pages we will talk about how we do business: first of all, this means constantly aiming for operational excel-lence, starting from the safety of all the people who work for us and with us and respect for the rights of everyone; it means also contributing to local development and aspiring to be a model and reference for our operational practices, recognising diversity as a source of wealth and opportunity for self-discovery. In this awareness, in 2018, Eni drew up the Eni Statement on Respect for Human Rights in line with the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.

Even in the roughest seas one can go on without sinking, one must join forces to act together and in agreement pur-suing the common good and the innate dignity of every human being, letting us be guided by our values: respect for cultures, generosity, altruism and ownership, that is the sense of belonging and responsibility that must direct every action, promoting listening, cohesion and inclusion. These are the values that allow the Company to transform itself while remaining true to its identity.

(Messaggio agli Stakeholders dal Chied Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi)