Sustainability Report 2020

The Esprinet Group reaffirms its will to pursue a sustainable path, capable of generating and distributing value in a long-lasting manner, by focusing on the needs of its stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, investors, associations or institutions), and by establishing “ESG-Environmental Social Governance” goals in line with its business.

The health, economic and social crisis that started in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the worsening environmental crisis have prompted our group to adopt corporate policies geared toward the concept of sustainability.

Currently, economic policy considers the planet's resources to be almost infinite and does not quantify the impact of pollution on human life and nature.
Consequently, it is up to us companies to move to the forefront to safeguard our ecosystem by creating value for the surrounding territories and communities.

Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are ethical imperatives, but beyond that, it is now clear that management that is oriented toward the long term, represents a model that can guarantee better results than the mere pursuit of short-term profit. To succeed in this endeavor, it is necessary to conjugate the goals of maximizing shareholder value with a proper balance and respect for the expectations of all other categories of stakeholders.
Due to these considerations, the Esprinet Group has for some years now identified and undertaken its sustainability policy thanks to which, through listening to its "stakeholders," a number of social and environmental sustainability projects have been identified and initiated. The goal is to route Esprinet towards a stable and lasting path of value creation.

One of the most important steps on the path to sustainability occurred in 2020 with the acceleration of human capital inclusion and enhancement policies managed under the TIB program, which stands for Together Is Better.

The program is based on a series of anonymous interviews of all employees. The data, which is collected by the specialized human resources consulting firm Willis Tower Watson, is used to establish what is known as "Employee Engagement." This is an essential parameter that helps the Group's top management determine which aspects to take action on in terms of corporate welfare.

The results of the investigation constituted the basis for the development of a series of initiatives aimed at valuing human capital: as of 2019, Esprinet launched a corporate welfare program, as well as implemented training plans and programs for sharing company performance with quarterly video conferences. The calls were directly managed by the Group CEO, to whom all employees could submit any questions on any topic, even anonymously.

With the outbreak of the health emergency in 2020, we have further strengthened our ESG policies by introducing strict health protocols in the company and offering all employees the opportunity to work directly in smart ways. To facilitate the transition to the new ways of working, we have provided some training protocols for employees.

A second major strand of sustainable growth program development has been the measurement and improvement of the level of "customer satisfaction."

Again, we engaged an external consulting firm to conduct specific surveys. The results obtained were used to establish a metric through which to assess the percentage of short-term variable compensation linked to sustainability goals.

Based on the indications obtained through the survey, the staff training programs were implemented plus the procedures and the incentive systems were modified with the aim of increasing the level of perceived customer satisfaction, creating sustainable value over time.
Remaining on the subject of health emergencies, Esprinet during the pandemic offered support directly in the territories. Starting in 2020, it stood out for a whole series of activities supporting health personnel engaged in the fight against Covid. Part of the Group's staff was sent to the Red Cross, as well as numerous pieces of equipment were donated to hospitals and an ambulance, to the payment of which part of the staff also contributed.

The "For-Te" project, the first delivery service in Italy made entirely by people with intellectual disabilities, which is planned to be expanded during 2021 once definitely over the health crisis has continued in a reduced mode.

During 2020, the groundwork was laid for the development of environment-related activities, not only by continuing with the commercial program launched in 2019 related to the promotion of more energy-efficient product categories, but also by commissioning a major CO2 emissions analysis. The aim is to launch a multi-year emissions abatement program in 2021 that will account for 20 percent of the proposed three-year targets for the Group's long-term variable compensation policy for executive directors and senior executives.

With the commitment that the culture of sustainability will be translated into concrete actions every day by expanding in every area, we invite you to read the Sustainability Report 2020, which is also the third consolidated non-financial statement pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016.