Background
We live in an era of hypervisibility. Communication and information-sharing technologies tend to place us all in a snow globe, with the rest of the world outside looking in. Sharing credible information and gaining public trust for the ethical leadership of businesses and governments is more important than ever.That is why the United Nations has placed the principles of integrity and transparency at the heart of its Sustainable Development Goals, embedding them in the 10th goal – Reduced inequalities – and the 16th, which focuses on peace, justice, and strong institutions.
Ethical integrity and transparency in corporate and individual conduct are thus increasingly recognized as cornerstones for building sound businesses that are economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible.
Poste Italiane's commitment
Poste Italiane is a signatory to the sustainable development goals and a member of the Global Compact. We are thus committed to applying the spirit of the principles of integrity and transparency in our work.
In practical terms, not only does our Group report on everything it does in a timely fashion, including through its in-house news outlet - TG Poste - but that it also goes beyond mere regulatory compliance. Poste Italiane gives everyone the opportunity to easily assess its progress on targets in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas of sustainability.
This goes beyond talking about what we do. It’s about doing: creating sustainable value and spreading a culture of integrity, honesty, and trust toward all stakeholders.
Therefore, we have set the following goals:
- Adaptation of the Internal Control Framework on Sustainability Reporting in line with regulatory changes (eg. CSRD) by 2024.
- Increase staff training on ethical principles by 2024.
- Group-wide implementation of the sustainable procurement framework by 2024.
- Carrying out sustainability audits (ESGs) aimed at defining, establishing, and consolidating a supply relationship compliant with the Minimum Safeguards and capable of supporting the process of alignment to the Taxonomy of economic activities acquired from third parties by the Poste Italiane Group by 2026.
- Implementation of the new Integrated Anti-Fraud Platform (PIAF) that combines fraud prevention objectives with improved customer satisfaction by 2024.
- Definition of ESG parameters in the participation requirements and in the evaluation criteria of the technical tender offers by 2024.
- Maintaining ESG parameters in the participation requirements and in the evaluation criteria of the technical tender offers by 2024.
Areas of Impact
Our commitment goes back over the years and can be seen through multiple initiatives of which we summarize some of the main examples here.
In addition to our tax transparency policies, we have confirmed the 2017 agreement with the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s tax enforcement service, which covers all our contracts to combat tax evasion, avoidance and fraud; public spending malfeasance; economic and financial crime; money laundering; forgery and payment system fraud.
Also on the anti-fraud front but from a customer perspective, we carry out periodic awareness and information campaigns on how individuals and families can protect themselves from fraud. We aim to increase our positive impact through the activation of an Integrated Anti-Fraud Platform (PIAF) by 2024 to prevent fraud and improve customer satisfaction.
We have implemented an integrated certification management system, based on a transparent process, which made us in February 2022 the first company in Italy to be certified with an Integrated Compliance Management System. We have also been certified for a few years now for our management system for the prevention of corruption.
In 2022, we confirmed the ESG requirements for the qualification of all suppliers, extending our sustainability and transparency strategy to the entire supply chain.
This same detailed attention applies to logistics. In addition to aiming for a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicles by 2025, we have started consulting our suppliers to better understand their needs in upgrading their fleets and guide them through their energy transition, to reduce our Scope 3 emissions.
In addition to our tax transparency policies, we have confirmed the 2017 agreement with the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s tax enforcement service, which covers all our contracts to combat tax evasion, avoidance and fraud; public spending malfeasance; economic and financial crime; money laundering; forgery and payment system fraud.
Also on the anti-fraud front but from a customer perspective, we carry out periodic awareness and information campaigns on how individuals and families can protect themselves from fraud. We aim to increase our positive impact through the activation of an Integrated Anti-Fraud Platform (PIAF) by 2024 to prevent fraud and improve customer satisfaction.
We have implemented an integrated certification management system, based on a transparent process, which made us in February 2022 the first company in Italy to be certified with an Integrated Compliance Management System. We have also been certified for a few years now for our management system for the prevention of corruption.
In 2022, we confirmed the ESG requirements for the qualification of all suppliers, extending our sustainability and transparency strategy to the entire supply chain.
This same detailed attention applies to logistics. In addition to aiming for a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicles by 2025, we have started consulting our suppliers to better understand their needs in upgrading their fleets and guide them through their energy transition, to reduce our Scope 3 emissions.
Suppliers, a strategic incentive for success and sustainability
As previously mentioned, suppliers are at the heart of our commitment to integrity and transparency in areas such as supply chain, transportation, and logistics. That’s why it’s vital for us to involve them as much as possible in discussions on how to keep ESG issues open, creating shared value, and develop new sustainability projects.
Customers and employees: two anti-fraud fronts
Consumer protection and the security of operations and transactions are a priority shared by two key stakeholders: our customers and employees. On the one hand, Poste Italiane recently presented an anti-fraud instruction booklet with a few simple, key and easy-to-remember rules customers can follow to avoid running into possible security problems, in person and online.We also strive to increase the culture of cyber security among our employees through accessible and user-friendly initiatives. In 2023, Poste Italiane published a podcast series titled "Masterminds – Rise and Decline of America's Most Wanted Cyber criminals" on the corporate intranet, with the aim of raising awareness among Group employees about issues concerning the digital world. The podcast is supported by a cybersecurity section, that employees can subscribe to, in order to receive news and updates related to cybersecurity.
