Our relationship with our stakeholders

Our stakeholders are people or groups who influence or are influenced by our actions, both directly and indirectly. They are the people we deal with daily and with whom we must build a relationship of mutual trust. How? By involving them in every stage of our work, with continuous dialogue, constant exchange.

In the communities where we work we want to create shared, lasting value, while following principles of honesty and transparency. We have structures dedicated to institutional relations, so we can always provide company representatives to have dialogues with institutions, guaranteeing that our relationship strategies are unified and consistent. Eni is on the European Parliament and Commission's Transparency Register and signed up to the related code of conduct, which governs its relationship with EU institutions. In the United States we are signed up to a similar register under the terms of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which guarantees that our activities are transparent.

We were among the first companies in Italy on the transparency registers of the Ministry for Economic Development and the Chamber of Deputies. Eni does not make donations to political parties, but it does support a range of scientific, cultural and social schemes around the world. We submit every request from such schemes to rigorous due diligence to make sure our contribution will not be misinterpreted.

We work with institutions and international bodies on projects for technological innovation, care for the environment and support for local communities. In 2001, Eni was the first Italian business to sign up to the Global Compact, an initiative encouraging companies around the world to adopt sustainable policies, document their progress, follow the universal principles of sustainability and support the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are also signed up to Global Compact Lead, an initiative for international companies that the Global Compact believes are capable of playing a leading role in the world when it comes to sustainable development, including by actively promoting the SDGs.

We are a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which helps the private sector achieve economic growth through shared methods of sustainable development. We talk about sustainability topics with other companies in the Oil & Gas sector at the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA), an association that brings these companies together to improve the sector's environmental and social performance.

In the ambit of human rights, we work with the independent Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and take part as a stakeholder in the Comitato Interministeriale per i Diritti Umani (CIDU), which ensures Italy fulfils its obligations under international human rights agreements. In the last decade, Eni has been a partner of and done a range of work with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), an independent organisation financed by the Danish government, which aims to protect and promote human rights and address the impact of business on them.

We also have a solid dialogue with the Ministry for Economic Development's Italian National Contact Point, a body set up to promote the OECD's guidelines for multinationals.

We have collaborated with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and with the International Training Organization of the International Labor Organization (ITCILO), with which Eni has developed a series of initiatives focused on international labor standards and equal opportunities (e.g. online seminars). Studies were also conducted on international regulatory frameworks, one of which, in 2018, led to the publication of a booklet drawn up in collaboration with the ITCILO in order to map the ratification status of the ILO Fundamental Conventions and other ILO Conventions of interest for human resources in the countries where Eni operates.

We have chosen to extend our work to development projects outside of our operations, with internationally recognised partners in local areas, so that our synergistic activity and sharing of expertise can become an engine for growth in the countries we work in. This is the case with the recent partnerships we have signed with international organisations like the FAO, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as humanitarian agencies, religious organisations, universities and research institutes. These partnerships serve the goals of the 2030 Agenda, in line with national development plans and the commitment made by countries at the Paris Agreement.

We also work with Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), an outstanding centre of research into the environment, energy and economics.

Eni has always been committed to choosing professional suppliers and subcontractors that share its company values. Choosing reliable partners is indispensable if we want to create value for our shareholders, be innovative, constantly improve and protect our integrity and reputation on the market. That is why we came out with our Code of Ethics, Model 231, Statement on Respect for Human Rights, and Management System Guidelines (MGSs) on corruption.

Eni believes in respecting and protecting human rights at every stage of its relationships with it suppliers, and therefore subjects these to a structured assessment, which assesses and monitors whether they conform to the ILO's key standards, specifically:

• Commitment to promoting and respecting health and safety in the work place

• Respecting the ban on forced work and child labour

• Freedom of association in trade unions and collective bargaining

Besides these activities, which are an integral part of our procurement process, we have for many years had a programme of assessment for those suppliers that carry out the most risky work or operate in the most risky countries, to see whether they meet the ILO's main standards in the field. These assessment activities come under the banner of the Vendor Management System, which makes sure vendors are eligible by assessing and monitoring their technical capacities, organisation, management, respect for HSEQ requirements, financial solidity and ethical and reputational reliability, based on the standards defined by Eni and international best practices.

Specifically, Eni selects its suppliers by assessing whether they are on board with the following:

• Fighting corruption

• Protecting the environment

• Promoting safe, healthy working conditions

• Freedom from discrimination

• Respecting the ban on forced work and child labour

• Freedom of association and collective bargaining

Our suppliers are required to declare that they sign up to international principles and standards on human rights like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the principles of the Global Compact and Eni's Code of Ethics, as well as the specific requisites dictated by the SA8000 certification. The supplier assessment ends with assigning them a status, indicating the result of the assessment and any failings or areas in which to improve. If a supplier is accepted, it is generally for 60 months, unless there are specific time constraints.

A growing awareness of the ethical and sustainable standards of all those who work with us led to the creation of the JUST - Join Us in a Sustainable Transition programme, a path of common growth, on which the principles of environmental protection, social equality and economic development are an integral part of all the goods, works and services provided to us, through tangible action and with a measurable impact.

As well as JUST, we are introducing several innovations in the different phases of the procurement process:

• Stronger sustainability criteria when evaluating qualifications

• Shared development plans to measure suppliers' growth in relation to sustainability themes

• The alignment of market intelligence tools with the co-design of technical specifications, focusing on social, economic, environmental and sustainable balance

• The adoption of award mechanisms and “sustainability bonuses” for tenders

Moreover, we want our suppliers to be involved in these matters and as such we have implemented the Supplier Code of Conduct, a document inspired by our Code of Ethics, stating a mutual commitment to implement core common principles while creating long-term value. In addition, to be even closer to our suppliers, we have created the eniSpace website, purposely designed as a space entirely dedicated to their expertise and the passion they bring to their work. Thanks to a series of sharing and discussion tools, suppliers can contribute their ideas and put forward solutions to the technological challenges which we periodically launch, taking part in a joint effort towards the energy transition.

Our work with international associations and organisations is geared towards the promotion of sustainability, respect for human rights and corporate responsibility. We achieve this both through central coordination of our activities and through the local relationships cultivated by our associates and subsidiaries.

We talk with local communities before starting any activity, throughout the entire operational pathway and up to decommissioning. We inform and involve local communities by offering preventive, free and informed consultations, to take into account their legitimate expectations in the planning and implementation of their business activities, including local development projects. Analysing the needs of local communities is a dynamic, participatory process that takes stakeholders' views into account. Their involvement and participation are fundamental to understanding the needs of communities and providing clear, comprehensive information on Eni's presence in the area. We listen to our stakeholders' expectations and concerns, share the results of our assessment of impact on the area and work together to come up with projects for shared local development, to mitigate any negative effects and identify new business opportunities.

Individuals and communities living in the areas where we work are our main stakeholders since we share with them the common objectives to achieve sustainable local development. We support and develop initiatives to generate value and to improve living conditions in our communities. Special attention is paid to vulnerable groups living in the project areas, such as children, women, disabled and elderly, minorities and indigenous people. Eni commits to respect their cultural, economic and social rights and to involve them during consultation processes, also through special tools and precautions. With regards to indigenous populations, Eni has also specific policies (for example in Norway and Australia) to protect their rights, culture and traditions and to promote their free prior informed consultation.

Find out more about the Stakeholder Management System and Grievance Mechanism