Our approach to local development in Mexico

Over the years, we have launched several projects to support the coastal communities of the municipality of Cardenas in the state of Tabasco, near the Upstream Area 1 project zone. The planning, implementation and monitoring of these initiatives were rendered official in 2019 thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which provides for collaboration in five priority areas of intervention: 

• Education
• Socio-economic development and employment
• Health
• Environmental sustainability
• Safety.

As part of the MoU, we have launched the following projects to date:

We have launched our educational initiative across 10 rural coastal locations of school area 46 within the Municipality of Cardenas. As part of this project, in 2020 we signed a local cooperation agreement with AVSI Mexico, designed to strengthen abilities and skills within the area. Specifically, we aim to:

• promote equitable and inclusive access to quality education and learning
• decrease rates of absenteeism, school drop-out and early school leaving
• reduce the inadequacy of facilities
• improve the skills of 60 teachers
• further involve the parents of students. 

To date, 4 public primary schools have been renovated, benefiting a total of 637 pupils, and around 900 individuals have been reached by awareness campaigns designed to assist in the management of the Covid-19 epidemic. Between 2020 and 2024, around 1,600 boys and girls will benefit from the project; these children, aged 6 and 14, attend 13 public schools.

In Eni Mexico we are very proud to contribute to the education of the communities where we operate. We have been working together, with our local partner, AVSI Mexico A.C., in programs that enhance learning in elementary schools in remote locations in Tabasco. We are committed to support the development of the future generations.

To confirm our global approach to promote the children's education, in September 2022 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start several education initiatives, including the infrastructure rehabilitation, training for teachers and internship programs to be performed in partnership with local institutions.

In the State of Tabasco, the fisheries and aquaculture sector is constantly growing and represents 2.4% of national production. Our area of influence is located near the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona lagoon system where nine oyster farmers' cooperatives are based, and which is home to around 200 species, 8 of which are of major commercial importance, with oysters in first place. 

To promote this activity and benefit producers in the lagoon area, on May 2023 Eni Mexico delivered the first batch of baskets for oyster cultivation based on the Australian farming method. This is the first step toward the full implementation of an integrated project with which, through training and technical support, we aim to improve safety and hygiene and make quality oyster production increasingly sustainable, expanding their commercial possibilities. This project is for four years and will benefit up to 12 local cooperatives.

The State of Tabasco ranks fourth in Mexico for the number of overweight and obese minors; this can lead to issues such as diabetes and hypertension, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and heart failure at an early age. In 2019, we signed a Cooperation Agreement, as a result of which a childhood nutrition programme was established in the communities upon which we have an influence in the Municipality of Cárdenas and in the city of Sanchez Magallanes. The agreement includes anthropometric measurements, laboratory studies to investigate the general state of health of subjects, and the timely detection of coexisting pathologies that are associated with poor nutrition in boys and girls. At a later date, as soon as face-to-face teaching resumes at 100%, we will arrange interviews with family teachers, implement food education programmes, commence distribution of healthy snacks and continue the constant monitoring of the health of those enrolled on the programme.

The children enrolled in the initiative are aged between 3 and 12 years. As of today:

• 1,118 children have taken part in the programme
• 1,305 children from 13 schools have benefited from weight and height assessments
• 733 laboratory tests have been carried out.

In November 2020, the State of Tabasco was affected by heavy rains that claimed a number of victims and caused damage to crops. To support the affected populations, we delivered aid kits and food parcels, benefiting around 1,700 families.

In 2018, the inhabitants of the local communities near Area 1 expressed a need to pave the roads, highlighting the way in which the poor conditions of the road surface resulted in low levels of safety and a high and continuous risk of accidents. To improve the safety of community infrastructures, more than 5 km of roads in the communities of Paylebot, Ley Federal de la Reforma Agraria and Coronel Andres Sanchez Magallanes have since been paved. Around 6,700 people have benefited from this.

Through Eni Foundation, the corporate foundation that promotes social and humanitarian initiatives worldwide, in June 2022 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health of the State of Tabasco to promote the access of the most vulnerable people to primary health care (Primary Health Care - PHC) services in the Cardenas municipality. Activities include the improvement of PHC network health infrastructure & supply of medical and technological equipment, the training of the health personnel at all levels, and education and communication’s initiatives to fight the priority pathologies in the area (e.g. obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, teen pregnancies).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an action programme signed in September 2015 by 193 UN member states, which includes 17 goals which focus on the socio-economic development of communities and countries. With the initiatives launched in Mexico, we are contributing to ending poverty (SDG1), hunger (SDG 2) and ensuring health and well-being (SDG 3). We are engaged in projects that provide high-quality, equitable and inclusive education (SDG 4) and that ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation facilities (SDG 6). Furthermore, we help ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy systems (SDG 7) and encourage lasting, inclusive economic growth and decent work for all (SDG 8).

More specifically, in order to support the programme, we took part in an initiative called Proyecto 17, which promotes the United Nations 2030 Agenda through the representation of the SDGs with 17 murals in Tlatelolco, a historically and culturally significant neighbourhood of Mexico City. Eni supported the creation of the "Solar Alchemy" mural, dedicated to Objective 7. This work of street art was created by Leonardo de la Rosa, a young Mexican artist who was inspired by the energy transition, with the sun as a symbolic element representing life and energy. 

Safety in the workplace is an imperative value we want to share with our employees, contractors and local stakeholders. We are committed to eliminate accidents and protect the integrity of our assets. We consolidate a culture of safety through management and organization models, digital tools and communication initiatives. Our goal is strengthening the awareness of our people and their sense of responsibility toward themselves and others, by expanding HSE tools and digitalization to make corporate processes safer, more efficient and faster. 

In 2022, we signed a four-year Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with a view to jointly contributing to the sustainable development of the local economy. The goals of the initiatives will include economic diversification, the protection of the natural heritage, access to basic services, respect for and promotion of human rights and inclusion, and the protection and promotion of traditional culture and knowledge.