Sustainability is good for those who interpret it correctly, in order to avoid the mistakes of the past and protect our future. Enel’s experience says so, as pointed out on 22 September by CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace during his talk at the 2020 edition of the ASviS Sustainable Development Festival. With regard to the sustainability objectives, the CEO made clear that this is an area in which the Group has been committed for some time, even when few believed in it: “We screwed up our courage and today we know we have done the right thing. For many years, our strategy has placed renewables at the centre of development of what is new, and the gradual disposal of thermal power plants at the centre of what is old.”
We think we can achieve full decarbonisation more quickly than we thought was possible
Francesco Starace, Enel CEO
As Starace explained, this process is “difficult” because “it has to go forward without turning off the lights.” But the Group is taking the right steps: “We have already passed the point of no return: we plan to achieve full decarbonisation more quickly than we expected.”
Furthermore, the CEO pointed out that what is happening today is “an acceleration along a path already taken.” This is also confirmed by the attention that Europe is giving to the issue of sustainability, and it is no coincidence that today the European Union attracts about 50% of sustainable investments around the world. “This is a competitive advantage for the European system. The more it becomes common knowledge, even from a political point of view, the more it will be used,” Starace commented.
In this perspective, the Next Generation EU Fund “only confirms what was already a primary issue for the new European Commission: the energy transition towards a sustainable and decarbonised economy.” The plans were already moving in this direction, and now “they can only be strengthened in such a way as to create a system that is more resilient, green, more competitive and safer from an energy point of view.”
Enel editorial staff