‘It is increasingly evident that our responsibility today as businessmen and citizens of the world is to have a future oriented vision when dealing with the phenomena that surround and guide us, even when making the smallest of decisions, engaging all stakeholders, starting with the local communities.’ Enel’s CEO Francesco Starace participated in the United Nations Private Sector Forum 2015: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, an event that was held at the UN headquarters in New York and attended by over 350 business, labour and civil society representatives to discuss how the private sector can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals.
The UN’s Private Sector Forum was designed to provide businesses and investors a platform to present their business strategies and sign partnerships that are aligned with the United Nations Development Agenda. For some time now, the most advanced companies in the world are called upon to form an alliance to promote sustainability and social progress in the territories in which they operate. Enel was the only Italian company and the only utility in the world to be included in the United Nations Global Compact Board, the organisation that coordinates and directs the alliance.
In his interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Starace explained the need for a global company such as Enel to address the great challenges and emergencies that we face through daily activities. For this reason, Enel puts sustainability at the heart of its corporate culture, today more than ever. 'We firmly believe that being sustainable today means being competitive, both today and tomorrow. Respecting the environment, social development and economic sustainably are three key factors for the growth of a global energy leader, 'declared the CEO. ‘This is why the integration of sustainability into operational strategies and business choices is the guiding concept of our new strategic plan.’
As part of the Private Sector Forum, Starace presented Enel’s commitments in these days in New York. In particular, the multinational power company will contribute to the fight against climate change with a growth plan that focuses on renewables, efficiency and smart grids (in light of the 2050 carbon neutrality goal), while continuing its efforts to ensure access to sustainable energy to a vast portion of the world's population living in disadvantaged communities. Starace concluded that this issue goes far beyond philanthropy and social responsibility: ‘It is the right thing and the only thing to do in order for a company to meet the global challenges, as well as the level of awareness, intelligence and heart of all those who are in some way part of it.’