The Terna Foundation for inclusion and a just transition

The energy transition is not just a technological challenge: it’s a social one too. This is the starting point from which Terna has chosen to reaffirm its commitment and its social responsibility by creating the Terna Foundation, which recently launched its first projects. Generally speaking, its objective is to work towards inclusion, to ensure that the twin transition is also a just transition. According to the operator of the Italian national electricity transmission grid, this goal will be reached by promoting awareness and education programmes, as well as by facilitating new work opportunities.

The Foundation, which presented its initiatives to Rome’s Associazione Civita cultural promotion association on 2 April last, is active in three main spheres. These are: spreading an energy culture by promoting energy literacy, including through educational initiatives that involve younger generations; fighting energy poverty; and establishing programmes that facilitate access to the labour market and to new professional opportunities in the energy sector.

«When American President Jimmy Carter spoke for the first time of energy transition, almost 50 years ago, he spoke in pessimistic terms, describing it as "the greatest challenge" that the nation would face, with the exception of "preventing war. I, however, would like to talk about this transition from an optimistic perspective», declared Terna’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Giuseppina Di Foggia, during her speech as the Foundation’s honorary Chairperson. «It’s not just a green transition, but one which will also help us to achieve energy independence and energy security, and to prevent price volatility by reducing gas imports,» she added. «What’s more, in 2024, the quantity of renewable energy overtook energy from fossil sources. With the sense of responsibility that we are known for, we are also setting ourselves the goal of leaving nobody behind: we want the twin transition to be a just transition too».

Di Foggia sees a similarity with the world of telecommunications, «where I struggled for years with the problem of the digital divide, between those who have broadband access and those who do not. Likewise, in the energy sector, we have a problem with limited access to energy [...] it is to tackle these issues, and in this spirit, that the Foundation has been created». «We want to carry out social projects which rely on the facts and on concrete actions like our infrastructure and our work to produce long-lasting, tangible and measurable benefits», she went on to explain. «We will do so by harnessing the full power of our resources, first and foremost our human resources, the jewel in our crown, led by a Scientific Committee which it is my honour to chair».

The President of Associazione Civita, the event’s host, Gianni Letta, took the time when opening proceedings to emphasise that “it is to the credit of Terna, this wonderful, modern company which is the pride of Italian technology, that it has always been attentive to social issues”. «Its Chief Executive Officer has worked hard over the years to encourage young people, particularly young women, into STEM subjects. Like Chairman De Biasio, who believes in leadership based on trust, because not everything can be contained in spreadsheets and numbers: it is also essential to consider the inhabitants and young people of this country, who must find a better future. I see these lofty ideals reflected in the Foundation», he continued.

«A just energy transition leaves nobody behind», remarked Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italian Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, as he addressed the crowd. «Investing in an energy culture means making Italy stronger, more aware and more equal, and also requires the government’s efforts. For Terna, the Foundation represents a new approach running alongside the structural one, a matter not only of cables and transporting energy, but also of our nation’s history».

For Igor De Biasio, Chairman of Terna and of the Foundation, the Group’s success can be measured «by the value of its actions, by the billions it invests, by its growing number of employees, but alongside these economic and financial indicators we must also consider other, social parameters: Terna’s true mission is to improve the lives of Italians. We do this through industrial policies, through grid management, through security and resilience that guarantees all citizens access to energy, but we also do it through the social initiatives which Terna has pursued in the past, and which will receive further impetus thanks to this Foundation».

It is a «tool born out of our desire to restore the value of social inclusion to Italians through concrete actions. We’ve shared this idea ever since we met Giuseppina. Don’t think of it as Terna the company and Terna the foundation, but rather as a united Terna community which puts economic and social values into practice through a variety of tools. As of today, Terna will have another tool at its disposal for doing good and improving life in our country and in our communities», he concluded.

In line with this objective, the Terna Foundation has carried out a preliminary analysis of the Italian social context, identifying the social categories to be prioritised in its initiatives through the indicators that measure the most critical aspects — i.e. absolute poverty, education poverty and energy poverty. Using these criteria, and with a highly qualified scientific committee, the Foundation has launched its first projects. These centre around minors and people at risk of social exclusion or those in vulnerable situations, in order to develop useful interventions and achieve concrete, long-lasting results.

According to Francesco Salerni, the Head of Strategy, Digital and Sustainability for the Terna Group and General Manager of the Foundation, the Group’s aim in doing so is to «consolidate its social responsibility”. “I hope that the Foundation becomes known for carrying out free initiatives, in three areas in particular: energy culture, fighting unequal energy access, and equal opportunities to work in the energy sector”. Salerni also referred to ISTAT data illustrated by the three researchers in attendance, Miria Savioli, Valeria De Martino and Livia Celardo, which show that «over two million families live in absolute poverty in Italy, in other words 5.6 million individuals. Absolute poverty also means energy and education poverty, which is why we particularly want to aim our solidarity and scholastic programmes at younger kids, those in junior high and the earliest years of high school, in order to reduce the social inequalities which are fairly significant in Italy».

According to ISTAT data, these gaps and conditions of absolute poverty are concentrated mainly in the South and on the Islands. However, the threshold for what is considered absolute poverty also varies depending on family composition, the level of education of the "reference person", and the unemployment rate.

The basket of goods and services used to determine absolute poverty can be split into three macro-components: food, housing and other, explained the researchers illustrating the information. These differ based on sex, age, family size, region of residence and size of the municipality of residence. The unit of reference for this basket of goods and services is the family, considered in light of the characteristics of its members, their specific needs (nutritional requirements, for example), and any economies of scale or forms of savings that can be made depending on different family compositions.

In 2023, according to ISTAT data, over 2.2 million families in Italy were recorded as living in absolute poverty. The families at greatest disadvantage were those in which the "person of reference" was seeking employment (20.7% in 2023), or was employed in a lower professional category, "such as a labourer or similar" (16.5% in 2023). Absolute poverty mainly affects families with five or more members, or households made up entirely of non-national members (with the figure rising from 20.1% to 35.1% in 2023, according to the data). Finally, the most concerning statistic is that of the 1.29 million minors in absolute poverty in Italy.

The researchers also showed the data for 2021, according to which 13.5% of under-16s lived in conditions of specific deprivation, with the rate for this indicator even higher in the South (20.1%) and for minors of non-Italian citizenship (41.5%).

The Scientific Committee. The group of experts assisting the Foundation in selecting its projects consists of three leading Italian thinkers: Father Paolo Benanti, a member of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, professor and theologian who deals with ethics, bioethics and technology ethics; Simona Onori, associate professor in Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Energy Control Lab; and Donatella Sciuto, Rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan.

«Having studied mechanical engineering, and having now turned to the question of technology ethics, it is clear to me how I can be of service to the Foundation in this sense. Knowing that a company as important as Terna and the Foundation associated with it are serious about giving due consideration to this transformation, and to the social effects of technology, was all I needed to say yes right away. I am very excited to have the chance to work with the Foundation in embarking upon this new stage of Italian industrialisation, because education is the crucial component in preventing technology from being something to be simply endured», commented Father Benanti.

For the Rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan, «we have a shared understanding with Terna”, because “we intend to join forces in making a contribution that will ensure all young people can acquire skills and capabilities for the challenges of the future: environmental, digital and social. By synergising our activities, I believe that we can bring real benefits to young people in order to guarantee equal access to education, including higher education, regardless of their social background».

As a member of the Scientific Committee, Professor Onori wished to emphasise how the projects chosen as part of the Foundation’s work affect her personally: «The Giffoni Innovation Hub is a traininginitiative that focuses on an important age bracket. I have a six-year-old daughter, and I believe that it is vital to help teachers find ways to explain technologies like this, the concept of what energy is, how it’s consumed and how it’s wasted. We cannot have a real transition if we do not educate these young minds».

The projects

The Giffoni Innovation Hub (GIH) is a spin-off of the Giffoni Film Festival’s innovation department. It connects companies, startups and talent to develop and implement innovative projects through content and creativity that can generate a positive impact for future generations which is measurable and quantifiable over time. The Terna Foundation has begun a collaboration with the Education Business Unit for the target age range of 6-11 years, involving the conception and development of educational content regarding energy, the production of a digital teaching kit, and the subsequent organisation of experience-sharing and integration initiatives for both students and teachers.

The Foundation has also entered into a partnership with Fody Fabrics, a company which transforms used clothing and waste fabric into life-saving blankets for donation to non-profit organisations supporting people in crisis situations and abandoned animals, as well as giving new, unused clothing a second life. The Foundation is focussing on this latter aspect, in relation to the company’s stores of new clothing throughout the territory such as, for example, goretex jackets. As these are PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), they have an expiry date after which they can no longer be used by Terna’s operating personnel. Fody Fabrics processes these materials to “debrand” them, making them anonymous and suitable for donation.

The third project being launched is "CERs-Comunità Energetiche Rinnovabili solidali" (Solidarity-Based Energy Communities) in Sardinia, in collaboration with Fratello Sole. A Renewable Energy Community (REC) is a legal entity made up of citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises, territorial bodies and local authorities, including municipal administrations, cooperatives, research and religious entities, third-sector and environmental-protection organisations, all sharing the renewable electricity produced by systems available to one or more of the community’s associated parties.

The Foundation is considering the creation of three RECs in the south of Sardinia, whose legal establishment and technical implementation, including enquiries with the Energy Services Operator for legal purposes , shall be delegated to its partner Fratello Sole. Finally, the "Emissions Offsetting" project aims to calculate the CO2 emissions of all the Foundation’s activities — its so-called carbon footprint — and offset them by purchasing certified carbon credits to finance climate actions in accordance with its mission.

This activity, to be carried out with the support of Carbonsink, a leading Italian company in the definition and implementation of climate strategies, involves totalling the emissions from the Foundation’s activities and the website at the end of the year (consisting of the relevant residual Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions) involving the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The offsetting shall take the form of purchasing certified carbon credits to contribute to a climate action project in Mozambique, in accordance with the Mattei Plan for Africa promoted by the Italian Prime Minister's Office, as well as by virtue of a Carbonsink office in its capital city, Maputo.