Energy management represents an increasingly strategic element in business management. It is therefore a priority to precisely and periodically establish energy use and consumption profiles for each business activity, by developing a Strategic Energy Policy.

Within its energy policy, MM adopts a strategy of direct involvement of the area in which it operates, based on the four “E”: endorsement (training, commitment and involvement of Top Management), empowerment, (training and commitment of the operators in its organisation at various levels), engagement (involvement of local players and establishment of relationships of collaboration), enforcement (commitment to and verification of the implementation of the programme and the corporate policy).

MM’s strategic objectives in terms of Energy Policy can be summed up as follows:

• Commitment to the continual improvement of its overall energy performance;
• Commitment to guarantee the availability of the information and all the resources necessary to reach the energy objectives and targets;
• Commitment to satisfy the applicable legislative requirements;
• Commitment to purchase products and services in accordance with energy efficiency criteria.

In order to reach these objectives, in 2011, MM implemented an Energy Management System (EMS) for its Water Service in accordance with the UNI CEI EN ISO 50001 standard. The elaboration of an ambitious Energy Policy shared at all levels and the adoption of a constantly evolving Energy Management System have enabled MM to act effectively in terms of Energy Efficiency and Saving and this has made it possible for the company to plan, design and perform operations that optimize the company’s energy consumption and supply costs without any reduction in the services or deterioration in the quality offered.

With this in mind, MM has undertaken numerous specific activities in order to:

• obtain in-depth knowledge of the production system and the company’s energy requirements through the collection, structured management, monitoring and analysis (Energy audits) of its energy consumption and related costs;
• adopt a systematic approach to the continual improvement of energy performance, by identifying the most critical points, elaborating the improvement plan and the priority of its operations;
• check and reduce the environmental impact of its energy system, by progressively diversifying its supplies;
• increase the awareness of MM employees to keep them constantly informed, involved and aware of the strategic importance that rational and responsible energy consumption has for the company (by changing simple “habits” or improper behaviour and adopting virtuous measures aimed at reducing energy waste).

MM is convinced that investing progressively in energy efficiency, by undertaking a virtuous process, brings substantial benefits both to the company itself (through the value of the energy saved) and to the environment (through the reduction in CO2 emissions).

Objectives

For MM it is indispensable to improve its energy efficiency (the reduction of energy consumption without any reduction in the quality/quantity of the services provided), through a constant, systematic approach, by:

• encouraging the employees to “behave responsibly”;
• supporting economic investments in the sector, even without employing new financial resources but capitalizing future savings (for example, through the purchase of new, more efficient and less energivorous technologies);
• continually improving (by making specialist and technological skills available) the Energy Management System for which MM is the first company in its sector to obtain UNI CEI EN ISO 50001 certification.

The energy targets set by the organisation are updated regularly by the Energy Manager and the Energy Team. The Energy Manager also plays a key role in the UNI CEI EN ISO 50001 certified Energy Management System.