Prysmian Group accelerates its commitment to sustainability by adopting social goals alongside environmental ones

The new objectives focus on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion; Digital inclusion; supporting and measuring impact on local communities; employment and personal development
They include a commitment for 30% of management roles to be held by women and more than 500 new women with STEM backgrounds to be hired by 2030
The new social ambition complements the group's climate ambition, which includes the adoption of scientific targets to reduce the group's carbon emissions to net zero between 2035 and 2040[1]

Prysmian Group, the world leader in the supply of energy and telecommunications cable systems, today confirmed its ambition to be a global leader in sustainability with the announcement of new Social Ambition goals that complement its existing Climate Ambition goals.

Key focus areas of the group's new social ambition include commitments to improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I); digital inclusion; empowering communities; and hiring and training employees. The new 2030 goals support the achievement of Prysmian's social ambition goals and further align the group with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Valerio Battista, CEO of Prysmian Group, said: "At Prysmian, we are committed to promoting the development of our employees and having a positive impact on the local communities in our global markets and being courageous in addressing the economic, societal and environmental challenges that we face. The launch of our social ambition targets further confirms and reinforces Prysmian's commitment to bold and necessary action.”

Chief Sustainability Officer Maria Cristina Bifulco said: "Just as we want to play an active role in the energy transition, we want to actively promote the transition to a more equal, diverse, inclusive and enriched work environment and have a positive impact on the development the communities and societies in which we operate. Our investors are increasingly focusing on the social aspect of ESG sustainability. Combined with the governance commitments we announced with the establishment of our new board in March, the promises we are announcing today are not only aligned with our own values but with international best practices and the demands of ESG-minded investors."

Prysmian's social ambition complements its climate change ambition, which aims to make Prysmian one of the leading technological players in the transition to low-carbon energy. Its climate strategy adopts science-based targets aligned with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, which sets a net zero target to be achieved between 2035 and 2040 for emissions from its operations (Goal 1 and 2) and for value chain emissions by 2050 ( Purpose 3). Full details of the targets and sustainability plan are available on the Group's website at: https://www.prysmian.com/en/sustainability

In order to support the expected acceleration of the development of new subsea and underground energy interconnections (mainly links and interconnections of offshore wind farms), the Group has planned investments worth EUR 450 million until 2022 (more than 50% of the total investments ), which are also intended to further improve the sustainability of the organization and the supply chain. 48% of Prysmian's sales are already attributable to business segments and products that contribute to the emergence of a low-carbon economy.

Making full use of the global expertise of its people is an integral part of Prysmian's long-term sustainability strategy. Prysmian is proactively developing as an organization that recognizes the need for diversity, inclusion and gender equality at all levels and is committed to empowering more women to pursue careers with Prysmian in technical and scientific roles. The Group also promotes programs to expand the digital inclusion of all its employees, while eliminating discrimination based on role or position

Prysmian Group has adopted the principles of women's empowerment and promotes gender equality throughout the business. The group continues to improve work-life balance to open up new career opportunities, especially for women. Other measures include childcare and guaranteed return after parental leave, as well as flexible and part-time working patterns, including for managers.

Notes to editors

To further align Prysmian with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the group has set the following goals for 2030 to support the achievement of its social ambition goals:

- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

• A 50/50 percentage of new hires for women and men
• Commitment to at least 30% of senior management roles to be held by women
• Zero Salary Differences - with equal pay across all roles
• Commitment to hire over 500 women in a dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) recruitment program
• At least 30% of directors must come from underrepresented nationalities/ethnicities
• Local mentoring programs for 500 minority students

- Digital inclusion

• Connecting all employees through global digital platforms, ensuring significant progress in adoption levels

- Local communities empowerment

• Development of educational training programs dedicated to schools and local communities, with a focus on the most vulnerable and developing regions
• Encouraging young children of all ages to explore and adopt a technical and scientific career through knowledge-sharing programs that draw on the Prysmian Group's extensive global expertise

- Staff recruitment and training

• 40 hours of learning per year for all employees
• Over 25% of employees involved in rotation/career growth experience every year
• At least 50% of employees as permanent shareholders through our share plans
• Greater than 80% response rate to annual engagement survey
• Leadership Impact Index improved to 70-80%