Environmental & Social Information • Apr 28, 2021
Environmental & Social Information
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Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree 254/2016
This document contains a faithful translation into English of the original report in Italian "Report di Sostenibilità 2020 - Dichiarazione consolidata di carattere non finanziario ai sensi del D.Lgs. 254/2016".
However, for information about Fiera Milano Group reference should be made exclusively to the original report in Italian.
The Italian version "Report di Sostenibilità 2020 - Dichiarazione consolidata di carattere non finanziario ai sensi del D.Lgs. 254/2016" shall prevail upon the English version.
Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree 254/2016
Message to Stakeholders 5
Fiera Milano Group
Who we are
Socio-economic impact generated
The strategy and the new business model
The digital transformation and the Fiera Milano Platform
Materiality analysis
Our commitment to sustainability
The integrated Risk Management model
Fiera Milano Group Stakeholders and their engagement
24
Preparation of the report
Notes on indicators
The Covid-19 emergency
Business and economic performance
Results
Group activities
Governance and ethics in business
Tackling undeclared and irregular work
Fighting active and passive corruption
Developing the corporate culture
The work-life balance monitoring and regulation system
Training and development paths
Diversity and equal opportunities
Staff composition: the figures
Customer satisfaction
FM Index
The call centre
Healthy venue certification
Security
Security
Health and safety at the exhibition site
Fieraccessibile
Principal risk factors associated with sustainability
Environment
Social
People
Human rights
Fighting active and passive corruption
GRI Content Index
Independent Auditor's report
In 2020, the world was faced with the emergence of the Covid-19 virus, a pandemic that would very quickly alter and disrupt the daily lives of individuals, families and businesses. Since the beginning, Fiera Milano has followed the development of the pandemic through an internal team dedicated to managing the emergency and, in addition to the organisational and health measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus, has taken out a health insurance policy to protect its employees in the event of hospitalisation due to Covid-19.
For the Fiera Milano Group, the pandemic led to the suspension of activities as a result of various regional and national measures that prevented exhibitions and congresses from being held in person. Social shock absorbers needed to be put in place, along with other cost containment measures, in order to limit the impact caused by the sharp drop in revenues. Furthermore, in order to ensure the safety of staff, the company ensured that employees could work from home as of March, providing them with laptops and a special tool for video meetings.
Between September and October, it was possible to host a number of events, in complete safety and with limited numbers of participants, as a result of strict compliance with the guidelines contained in the 'Protocol for the containment of the spread of the new coronavirus' drawn up in conjunction with the main Italian exhibition centres and the sector's leading associations.
Fiera Milano has intensified its efforts to involve exhibitors at and visitors to the main exhibitions organised by the Group through the creation of a series of webinars on topics relating to the events. This cycle of meetings in 2020 developed into 8 digital events. The group also decided to focus firmly on the creation of new exhibition formats that would complement in-person events. These included the first digital edition of Miart, the international contemporary art exhibition, which recorded a total of 2,240,000 interactions in September. November saw the staging of MGW-X, Fiera Milano's digital show dedicated to the world of video games and cartoons, with almost 6 million minutes' worth of content streamed live over the course of the 4-day exhibition.
Over the course of 2020, the Group introduced a "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" with the aim of promoting the economic, environmental and social sustainability of events organised and hosted at the exhibition and congress sites, following principles of good management, security, inclusiveness, integrity and transparency. The activity continued with the integration of all phases relating to the design, organisation, execution and hosting of exhibitions and support services into Fiera Milano's Quality Management System, which will be followed in 2021 by the obtaining of ISO 20121 certification for sustainable events.
In the latter part of the year, the company worked on preparing the new 2021-2025 strategic plan, which, alongside the usual economic and financial objectives, also contains specific sustainability targets. On this occasion, the purpose was introduced, the Group's mission and values were revised and the materiality matrix was enhanced with contributions from Stakeholders. The changing scenario requires rapid responses. Fiera Milano has adopted a new business model with which it intends to strengthen its position and remain a leading player in the 'new normal'.
We are ready for normal business to resume and to continue along the pathway of creating value for the Fiera Milano Group and all its Stakeholders.
Happy reading,
Carlo Bonomi
The Chairman
Luca Palermo Chief Executive Officer
The revision of the business model, following the changing economic context, led the Group to define its purpose for the first time and to review its mission, values and materiality matrix.
Fiera Milano intends to become the leading platform in the exhibition and congress business in the context of the new normal.
Creating multiple opportunities for businesses and people through a European hub and a global network
To be a leading, smart, hybrid platform for leading innovative, sustainable, global events
The Fiera Milano Group's new values were defined through a survey conducted in February 2021 among the company's population in Italy, in which 481 employees, or 76% of the total workforce, participated.
Fiera Milano Group ("Fiera Milano S.p.A. and its subsidiaries" or the "Group") is the leader in Italy and one of the leading companies worldwide in the trade fair sector. It is active in all the phases of the value chain: it plans, manages and provides equipped exhibition space available, provides value-added services and organises exhibitions and manages congresses.
In Italy, the Group, through Fiera Milano S.p.A. ("Fiera Milano" or the "Parent Company") manages the two exhibition sites of fieramilano in Rho, the leading exhibition site in Italy with indoor exhibition space of 345,000 gross square metres and 60,000 gross square metres of outdoor space in total, and in fieramilanocity Milan, a city-centre site of 54,000 gross square metres of exhibition space overall. Fiera Milano Congressi S.p.A. ("Fiera Milano Congressi") manages MiCo - Milano Congressi ("MiCo"), the largest congress centre in Europe, and the Stella Polare convention centre, located in the service centre at the Rho exhibition site, as well as Montecitorio Meeting Centre (MoMec) in Rome.
Outside Italy, the Group operates directly or through joint ventures, mainly in China, Brazil and South Africa.
Fiera Milano has been listed Italian on the STAR segment of Borsa Italiana's MTA market since 2002, reserved for small- and medium-capitalisation companies that meet strict corporate governance and corporate disclosure requirements.
The company is owned by Ente Autonomo Fiera Internazionale di Milano ("Fondazione Fiera Milano") which holds 63.82% of the share capital of Fiera Milano. Fondazione Fiera Milano is a private law foundation set up in 2000, to encourage, promote and develop trade fair systems while leading the exhibition and convention system in Milan to become increasingly modern and important, as well as more competitive at an international level. Fondazione Fiera Milano is a non-profit foundation that works for the public good and supports, promotes and expands the exhibitions and events organised both in Italy and abroad. It owns all the exhibition and congress assets used by the Fiera Milano Group: the fieramilano and fieramilanocity districts and the MiCo.
One of the strategic objectives of Fondazione Fiera Milano is to strengthen the role of the Fiera Milano Group, through a series of investments aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of exhibition sites and the congress centre and the development of surrounding areas. Specifically, in 2020, it made investments totalling Euro 17 million, relating to the following:
developing digital technologies to increase safety and interaction with customers
for environmental protection, reduced energy costs and even greater appeal
to simplify the participation experience both outside and inside structures
to improve the customer journey and integrate physical and digital touch points
The Fondazione Fiera Milano 2021-2023 Business Plan incorporates a gradual recovery of the predisposition to invest that began in the years prior to the pandemic, with expected investments in Fiera Milano of approximately Euro 43 million in the preceding three-year period. The Fondazione expects investments to amount to a total of Euro 90- 100 million in the framework of Fiera Milano's 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.
Fondazione Fiera Milano makes its Research facilities, academy and historical archive available to the Fiera Milano Group and all the companies within the trade fair system.
Fondazione Fiera Milano also supports the third sector through a charity model to reduce inequality, support a culture of inclusion and legality, through partnerships with institutional bodies.
* Company in liquidation
On 21 February 2021, Fiera Milano Media signed a preliminary contract for the sale of the publishing business unit to Quine Srl, a publisher specialising in technical magazines in the engineering, mechanical, food and construction sectors. This sale related to newspapers specialising in the technology, hospitality and ICT sectors. The transaction, following completion of all of the required regulatory and contractual steps, took effect on 1 March 2021.
Fiera Milano organises mainly B2B exhibitions in the fashion, home and lifestyle, construction & plant engineering, mechanical engineering, security, tourism, professional hospitality, agri-food, art, sailing and entertainment sectors in Italy. Fiera Milano has also established a presence abroad. In Brazil, for example, it directly organises 10 professional exhibitions in the industrial plant, paint, rehabilitation technology, environment & energy, and safety & security sectors. In South Africa, meanwhile, it organises Africa's largest modern and contemporary art fair, the ICTAF (Investec Cape Town Art Fair). In China, it has operated through Hannover Milano Fairs China and Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai, which are part of the joint venture with Deutsche Messe AG, since 2008, and has a portfolio of 20 exhibitions in numerous sectors including the mechanical engineering, automation, automotive, construction, industrial handling, packaging, tourism, environment and energy sectors.
The Group is able to create modular set-ups and advanced custom-designed solutions capable of satisfying very different exhibition requirements, including through commercial partnerships. Furthermore, it offers a wide range of technical services for trade fairs, including technical lighting systems, gantries, panelling, platforms, carpeting, fixtures and fittings. It also assures exhibitors of dedicated and continuous assistance, extending, if requested, to activities the exhibitor may wish to carry out outside the Milan exhibition sites. Fiera Milano can also offer digital services for organisers, exhibitors and visitors through the new business platform, Fiera Milano Platform, from dedicated portals to websites, smart apps to event streaming and remote matching. It also boasts a age system, the installation of which in the Rho district was completed ahead of its launch in September 2020.
Fiera Milano hosts national and international trade fairs through the provision of well-equipped exhibition spaces in a state-of-the-art district. The exhibitions hosted span all of the main product sectors in the domestic market and embody the 'Made in Italy' concept, from fashion, textiles & accessories to industrial automation and mechanics, furniture & furnishings to transport, plant engineering & energy to communication and even crafts.
Fiera Milano has one of the largest state-of-the-art congress centres in Europe in the form of MiCo, managed by subsidiary Fiera Milano Congressi. The capacity of the complex was expanded over the course of the year, and by 2021 it will be able to accommodate up to 21,000 delegates. The Group therefore manages conventions, congresses, conferences and events, as well as providing hospitality-related services for participants. In addition, Fiera Milano is allowed to use the meeting rooms at the Stella Polare convention centre, located at the service centre of the Rho exhibition site, and the Montecitorio Meeting Centre (MoMec), an executive business suite in the heart of Rome.
Source, "Study of the socio-economic impact" prepared by KPMG in March 2019, based on 2017 data;this estimated impact is attributable to a standard year and these estimates do not apply to 2020, given the shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Italian trade fair system is an irreplaceable asset to the competitiveness of Italian industry, the growth of the country's productive fabric, the internationalisation of its companies and the appeal of Italy as a system. When it came to producing the strategic study "The future of Italian industry: resilience and relaunching following the global health crisis and towards long-term competitiveness", The European House - Ambrosetti, together with Fondazione Fiera Milano, measured the economic consequences for exhibitors in terms of sales achieved through participation in trade fairs as described below.
In a normal year, the over 50 trade fairs in the Fiera Milano portfolio, which are attended by almost 25,000 exhibitors and 4 million visitors, generate revenues of Euro 46.6 billion for Italian exhibiting companies alone, equating to around 6% of the total annual turnover of the sectors in which the exhibitors in question operate.
Estimation of the export share of revenues generated by Italian exhibiting companies as a result of participating in Fiera Milano trade fairs: Euro 17.5 billion per year, 38% of turnover generated by participating in trade fairs.
The total contribution to GDP (direct, indirect and induced) amounted to Euro 53.7 billion, which is equivalent to 3% of Italy's GDP in 2019.
Trade fair sales trigger a multiplier of 3.1: for every Euro of added value achieved by exhibiting companies as a result of sales generated through participating in the fair, an additional 2.1 Euros are generated within the economy as a whole thanks to the activation of upstream supply chains and consumption.
Revenues of
generated by exhibitors who participate at Fiera Milano exhibitions Euro 46.6 billion
Euro 17.5 billion
export generated by Italian exhibiting companies by partcipating at Fiera Milano exhibitions
total contribution to GDP generated by Italian exhibitor sales by participating at Fiera Milano exhibitions
3.1 multiplier
triggered by sales carried out at Fiera Milano exhibitions
Source: Report on "The future of Italian industry: resilience and relaunching following the global health crisis and towards long-term competitiveness", produced by The European House - Ambrosetti in collaboration with Fondazione Fiera Milano. The methodology used to identify the estimates involved an analysis of the value of purchases made by Italian and international buyers at a sample of exhibitions organised by Fiera Milano and a survey of over 1,500 exhibiting companies. The data was then processed and honed thanks to the contribution of around 100 interviews with sector experts and trade fair and company managers, an analysis of sector literature and over 10,000 company balance sheets of exhibiting companies, resulting in a basket of 18 of the most representative trade fairs.
Fiera Milano Group's strategy, outlined in the 2021- 2025 Strategic Plan communicated to the market on 22 February 2021, is based on four strategic lines:
The execution of the Plan is based on a series of enabling and cross-cutting elements that see the quality and nurturing of human capital, product and service excellence, technological innovation and huge investments designed to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the district as the fundamental pillars for achieving the set targets.
Sustainability becomes a key factor in the strategy with an impact right across the business.
The Fiera Milano Group launched a digital transformation strategy based on four avenues:
As of September 2020, the trade fair experience has been enhanced with a new integrated services platform dedicated to the entire supply chain community, including exhibitors, visitors, buyers, journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders. Thus was born the Fiera Milano Platform, an innovative system in which a series of physical and digital services complement the traditional offering that involved selling exhibition space, completely transforming the business journey thanks to the creation of a supply chain network that is operational 365 days a year.
An ecosystem of services in the form of a series of actions, including the following:
A constantly active business platform that creates a new way of experiencing the trade fair in an 'integrated' manner, not only by streaming events, producing talk shows and performances, and perceptually enhancing the pavilions to amplify the overall narrative of the event, but also by providing a platform for exchanging insider information and business contacts and for sales.
Furthermore, among the structural interventions carried out within the Rho exhibition site using multiple touch points based on new technologies (IoT, data analytics, the cloud, mobile apps, etc.), Fiera Milano now has at its disposal a series of tools including the following: an infrastructure consisting of 80 high-resolution LED walls adaptable to a wide variety of infotainment types; a heatmap that allows for geolocation across the site, a map that monitors flows and routes through the pavilions for better interaction between buyers and exhibitors; a new site app for accessing a range of services including the new wayfinding system, the fast track system and parking and restaurant reservations.
Integrated offering of advanced digital solutions to re-design the customer journey through
Digital and physical touch points
A scalable and flexible platform
Fiera Milano Platform is, from a technical perspective, the set of "phygital" touchpoints designed to support the various Stakeholders at different points during their Fiera Milano experience.
The new interactive portal where the exhibitors can tell about their company, their products and news and, at the same time, interact with visitors through chat, live session and webinar. Anew way to meet supply and demand digitally
Single portal to manage all services and exhibitor/buyers' need
Single portal to manage all exhibition-related services
Single portal to manage end-to-end stands set-ups
Visitors/buyers' website with a dedicated reserved area
Dedicated App to group all services (e.g. Smart-lunch, Wayfind.)
Set of dynamic and interactive ledwall for organizers/exhibitors
Phygital info-point with interactive services for buyers/visitors
Holistic tracking system for geo-location services and data analysis
The Fiera Milano Group carried out its first materiality analysis in 2017 with the aim of identifying relevant issues reflecting significant impacts in the areas outlined by Legislative Decree 254/2016 through a workshop with top management including the Chief Executive Officer. This process has been updated over the years, as outlined below.
In 2018, marking the launch of the 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, material issues were re-evaluated internally in terms of their relevance to the Group by sending a sustainability questionnaire to the heads of the Group's main departments. The results of this questionnaire were incorporated into the materiality matrix. The same issues have been confirmed for the drafting of the 2019 NFI.
In November 2020, work began on updating the materiality matrix with the aim of incorporating the Stakeholders' vision into the process and helping to define the ESG objectives to be included in the strategic plan.
Stakeholders' views were heard through a series of interviews with a sample of Stakeholders divided into clusters of institutional shareholders, exhibition organisers, exhibitors and congress organisers. Stakeholders' priority issues included health and safety, accessibility and sustainable mobility, technological innovation and digitalisation, quality of service and customer experience, business ethics, and combating active and passive corruption.
To complement the stakeholder view, a questionnaire, to which 68% of employees responded, was also sent out to the entire company population in Italy. Priority issues for employees included circular economy, employee professional development, combating active and passive corruption, health and safety, employee training and climate change.
The company's perspective was obtained through a questionnaire sent to the management team and the CEO. The materiality matrix as presented below was validated by the Chief Executive Officer. The results of the analysis were presented to the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee.
Company view
Sustainable
Fiera Milano considers sustainability to be a fundamental component of its strategy, as set out in the "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" outlined in 2020. The decision to adopt sustainability policies that take into account social and environmental aspects, as well as economic ones, is linked to the desire to interact in the best possible way with all Stakeholders, while at the same time enhancing the area in which the group operates. Fiera Milano promotes the economic, environmental and social sustainability of events organised and hosted at the exhibition and congress sites themselves, following principles of good management, security, inclusiveness, integrity and transparency.
The table below describes the results achieved in 2020 and the objectives set out in the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan - CONN.E.C.T. 2025 approved by the Board of Directors on 22 February 2021.
| Material topic | Goal | 2020 Actions/Results | 2021-2025 Plan | Development Goals (SDGs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conscious use of resources – energy and water consumption |
Develop strategic management of environmental |
Photovoltaic system installation at fieramilano exhibition site |
Increase in the use of energy from renewable sources (target for 2025: |
|
| Responsible management of emissions -– climate change |
sustainability issues to minimise the Group's impact |
Increase in the use of energy from renewable sources (from 12% to 21%) |
50%) and consequent reduction in emissions Reduction in the amount |
|
| Responsible waste management – circular economy |
Reduction of disposable plastic and waste at exhibition sites and MiCo |
of mixed waste (target for 2025: -80%) Promotion of sustainable |
||
| Accessibility and sustainable mobility |
Extension of the scope of the ISO 9001 Management System to all phases of |
mobility (renewal of company fleet and initiatives for Stakeholders) |
||
| the exhibition and support services |
Certification Plan | |||
| Implementation of the actions necessary to achieve both ISO 20121 certification for the Parent Company and LEED certification for MiCo |
Reducing the environmental impact of the exhibition |
|||
| LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment) exhibition analysis |
||||
| Determining the "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" |
||||
| Health and safety | Protect the health and safety of collaborators and all people present at the exhibition sites and |
Completion of Safety Plan Launch of the digitalisation plan for work and safety |
Strengthening the safety culture and implementing a management system by 2025 |
|
| MiCo | management (Smart District) Anti-Covid-19 health and safety initiatives |
Maintaining the number of serious accidents suffered by employees and workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is under the organisation's control at 0 |
||
| Professional development of employees Employee training |
Enhancing human capital and promoting the development of a change culture |
Support for employees regarding anti-Covid-19 measures (working from home, Covid-19-related insurance cover, etc.) |
Extension of the PLM system across the entire group and inclusion of at least one ESG target (target for 2025: 100% of the company population) |
|
| Training in the digital culture (target for 2025: 100% of the company population) |
| Material topic | Goal | 2020 Actions/Results | 2021-2025 Plan | Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development of company culture Diversity |
Promoting diversity and equal opportunities |
Launch of digital culture training (Digital Workplace) Assessment system for the entire company population |
Involvement of 30 high potential talents in a Next Generation Fiera professional development programme |
|
| Launch of a plan for replacing the technological tools available to employees |
Obtaining of an employer branding certificate by 2025 |
|||
| Implementation of an HCM (Human Capital Management) system |
Conclusion of Italian subsidiaries harmonisation process for second level contracts |
|||
| Welfare system for 98% of the company population |
Strengthening work-life balance initiatives |
|||
| Development of diversity and equal opportunities policies |
||||
| Contribution to local economic development Economic performance |
Promotion of social and economic development in local areas |
Support initiatives for exhibitors and visitors (webinars) |
Implementation of a project for assessing customer satisfaction |
|
| Quality services and customer experience Technological innovation |
Greater integration of CSR into the business Promoting a culture of |
Drafting of a sustainability plan incorporated into the business plan |
Implementation of a claim management system to assess services sold and the quality of services provided |
|
| and digitalisation | quality and customer satisfaction |
Implementation of the digital platform Customer satisfaction survey for own exhibitions |
Increase in sales of digital services (target for 2025: >50%) |
|
| Increase in the number of employees digital skills (target for 2025: 100%) |
||||
| Activities to promote sustainability through both own and hosted exhibitions |
||||
| Implementation of corporate and social volunteering initiatives in the region |
||||
| Responsible supply chain management (human rights and combating undeclared work) |
Continue to develop policies for combating active and passive corruption, to promote and spread an ethical, legal and anti-corruption culture |
Extension of reputational assessment and qualification process to suppliers of foreign subsidiaries |
Increase in qualified suppliers, including with ESG criteria (target 2025: 75%*) |
|
| Keeping of supplier monitoring measures (reputational assessment for 100% of suppliers >10K) |
||||
| Implementation of the protocol and continuous commitment to combating the phenomenon of undeclared and irregular third-party work |
||||
| Fighting active and passive corruption Business ethics |
Continuous improvement in anti-corruption and implementation of other |
Updating Models 231 Procedure for gifts, |
Implementation of the ISO 37000:1 management system by 2025 |
|
| compliance programmes | donations and sponsorships for foreign subsidiaries Employee training activities |
Training for employees of foreign companies on anti corruption guidelines |
||
| Maintenance of high severity audit findings at 0 |
||||
Fiera Milano Group
The Fiera Milano Group adopts a structured, integrated risk analysis and management process at Group level, inspired by internationally recognised Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) standards. Given that the risk mapping and quantification procedures require the direct involvement of Group management, Fiera Milano Group's ERM process supports, on one hand, the evaluation, definition and planning of the Group's corporate objectives and strategies, and, on the other, the correct pursuit of these objectives through the integration of the following activities in the corporate planning and management process:
The results of the aforementioned ERM process are regularly reported to the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee, the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Board of Directors, and are used by the Internal Audit function as information for the preparation of specific risk-based audit plans.
In view of the significance of ERM for the Group, the company has a Risk Management function, which is responsible for guaranteeing the planning, design and implementation of a global process of corporate risk management. The process of systematic identification, assessment, management and reporting of Fiera Milano Group's corporate risks is regulated within a specific procedure. This procedure also allows it to respond to the requirements of corporate governance regarding aspects of Risk Management applicable to listed companies.
The risk management methods, called risk response strategies, vary according to the type of risks identified and to their exposure, and are basically attributable to the following four types:
From 2019, risks with potential environmental, social, reputational and health and safety impacts (ESG risks) were added to the Enterprise Risk Management process.
For further information, regarding risks and risk management methods please refer to the paragraph "Principal risk factors relating to sustainability".
Fiera Milano Group
The aim of the Fiera Milano Group in Italy is value creation for all its Stakeholders and to this end it uses different instruments depending on requirements and circumstances.
| Stakeholders | Communication channels, contact and engagement |
Stakeholder expectations |
|---|---|---|
| People | Meetings with Group workforce to share results of and updates on development plans (at least 4 per year) Contact with and involvement of employees through regular individual meetings |
Information about the Group's economic and financial strategies and results Clarity of targets and of assessment system Training and professional development |
| Technical training and training events on newly issued/updated procedures |
Projects to improve employees' well-being, health and safety |
|
| Corporate intranet, mailing, surveys on specific topics |
Equal opportunities Focus on the environment |
|
| Inter-functional and inter-managerial committees | Solidarity initiatives | |
| Corporate welfare plan | Creation of a more active community among Group companies |
|
| Relations with trade union representatives for the renewal of the Supplementary Contract |
||
| Health and safety activities | ||
| Initiatives to promote a sustainability culture (Social Responsibility Contest) |
||
| Employer branding initiatives | ||
| Suppliers | Regular contacts | Continuity of supply |
| and commercial | Supplier portal (register) | Compliance with contractual conditions |
| partners | Market surveys | Visibility and business development (new |
| Freephone number and technical support e-mail for supplier accreditation |
partnerships) | |
| Supplier quality audit | ||
| Organisers | Ongoing relationships | Improvement and development of services |
| Customer satisfaction surveys following each event | Promotion of win-win initiatives | |
| Specific meetings for sharing the Smart District | Information about the Group's strategies | |
| project and other Group initiatives | Involvement in sharing sustainability projects or achieving ISO 20121 certification |
|
| Exhibitors | Direct contacts | Improvement and development of own exhibitions |
| E-Service platform | Expansion of the range and quality of services | |
| MyMatching (interface for organising meetings | offered | |
| with Buyers) | Conventions during exhibitions | |
| Call centre | Development of new product areas for own exhibitions |
|
| Corporate website | Development of new sales and export channels | |
| Newsletter | (e.g. e-commerce) | |
| Social media networks | Creation of exhibition communities | |
| Customer satisfaction questionnaires following each own exhibition |
||
| Webinars |
| Stakeholders | Communication channels, contact and engagement |
Stakeholder expectations |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors | Corporate website | Improvement and development of offered services |
| App | Product variety and business opportunities | |
| MyMatching | Site safety | |
| Call centre | Static and real-time information on how to get to | |
| Fieraccessibile | the fieramilano and fieramilanocity districts | |
| Social media networks | ||
| Fiera Milano Infomobility service | ||
| Webinars | ||
| Local administrative bodies |
Direct contacts Committees |
Implementation of projects and events in the region in conjunction with own exhibitions |
| Integrated mobility solutions | ||
| Working groups | Protection of the local area and security | |
| Corporate website Newsletter |
Shared initiatives on preventing and combating undeclared work |
|
| Social media networks | Plans and procedures to manage and control the flows of clients and suppliers |
|
| Management of access and road networks for the fieramilano and fieramilanocity districts and related parking areas |
||
| Shareholders | Shareholders' Meeting | Understanding the business model and the final and expected economic and financial results |
| Roadshow | Value creation in the medium to long term | |
| Continuous dialogue | Prompt dissemination of exhaustive information | |
| One-to-one meetings and events held at the company's headquarters |
Dialogue | |
| Corporate website | ||
| Post-results conference calls | ||
| Fondazione Fiera Milano |
Periodical meetings on the investment plan to support the exhibition sites and MiCo |
Development and optimisation of managed exhibition sites |
| Research and analysis on the exhibition market | Growth and internationalisation tool for exhibiting | |
| Format Exhibitionist (series of edutainment meetings | companies | |
| on digital contamination in the exhibition sector) | Promotion of socio-economic improvement in the region |
|
| Training for managers and professionals working in the exhibition sector by Accademia Fiera Milano |
||
| Local businesses | Collaboration on a daily basis | Partnerships |
| Organisation of committees and round tables | Impact on associated economic activities | |
| Corporate website | ||
| Trade fair | Round tables on Innovation, HR, Waste Management |
Active participation by trade fair system operators |
| associations | Promotion and comparison on industry best | |
| Regular meetings and conventions UFI UN SDG Reporting: initiative to collect activities and projects that demonstrate the contribution of |
practice | |
| trade fair system operators to goals set by the UN | ||
| UFI Award (Digital Innovation, HR, Management, |
Industry Partners, Marketing, Operations & Services, Sustainable Development)
Depending on the specific nature of each single business, the companies of the Fiera Milano Group are members of various Italian and international trade associations.
Fiera Milano Group's 2020 Sustainability Report, Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information (hereinafter also "NFI") pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree No. 254 of 30 December 2016, as subsequently amended (hereinafter also "Decree" or "Legislative Decree 254/2016")3 complements and augments the information contained in the Annual Report and gives a detailed report of the performance and leading sector indicators with regard to corporate sustainability and responsibility.
The Report was prepared in accordance with the procedure for drafting disclosures of non-financial information, which formalises the process for collecting and approving the non-financial information being reported. The process requires the involvement of all company departments responsible for issues relating to the five areas covered by the Decree. The appointed contact people collaborated in the data collection, analysis and consolidation phase. The data is validated by departmental managers, who are responsible for the aggregated content included in this document, according to the appropriate procedure.
As required by Legislative Decree 254/2016, the Fiera Milano Group has identified the material topics that, within the scope of the 2017 Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information, are necessary to ensure full understanding of its business activities, trends and results, and the environmental impact of those activities. In 2018, the issues of significance for the Fiera Milano Group were updated through interviews with top management including the Chief Executive Officer. The material issues were then shared and validated by the Chief Executive Officer. The same material issues were confirmed during the drafting of the 2019 NFI. The materiality matrix was updated over the course of 2020 and included certain categories of Stakeholders and all Group employees in Italy, as outlined in greater detail in the chapter on the materiality analysis on page 14.
| Legislative Decree 254/2016 |
Material topic | GRI indicator | Internal perimeter |
External perimeter |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conscious use of resources – energy and |
302-1 | Energy consumption within the organisation |
X*** | ||
| water consumption | 303-3 | Water withdrawal by source | X*** | ||
| Responsible management | 305-1 | Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions | X*** | ||
| Environment | of emissions - climate change |
305-2 | Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions |
X | |
| Responsible waste management – circular economy |
306-2 | Waste by type and disposal method | X*** | ||
| Accessibility and sustainable mobility* |
302-1 | Energy consumption within the organisation |
X*** | ||
| Quality of services and customer satisfaction |
102-43 | Approach to stakeholder engagement | X | ||
| Social | Technological innovation and digitalisation |
404-2 | Programmes for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programmes |
||
| Economic performance | 201-1 | Direct economic value generated and distributed |
X | ||
| Contribution to local economic development |
203-2 | Significant indirect impact | X |
| Legislative Decree 254/2016 |
Material topic | GRI indicator | Internal perimeter |
External perimeter |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | 403-9 | Types of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work related fatalities |
X | ||
| 102-7 | Scale of the organisation | X | |||
| 102-8 | Information on employees and other workers |
X | |||
| 102-41 | Collective bargaining agreements | X | |||
| Professional development of employees |
401-1 | New employee hires and employee turnover |
X | ||
| People | 401-2 | Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees |
X | ||
| 401-3 | Parental leave | X | |||
| Employee training | 404-1 | Average hours of training per year per employee |
X | ||
| 404-2 | Programmes for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programmes |
X | |||
| Development of company culture |
404-3 | Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews |
X | ||
| Diversity | 405-1 | Diversity of governance bodies and employees |
X | ||
| 102-9 | Supply chain | X | |||
| Responsible management | 102-10 | Significant changes to the organisation and its supply chain |
|||
| Human rights | of the supply chain** (human rights and combating undeclared |
204-1 | Proportion of spending on local suppliers |
X | |
| work) | 409-1 | Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labour |
X | ||
| Fighting active and passive corruption |
205-2 | Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures |
X | ||
| Fighting active and passive |
102-16 | Values, principles, standards, and norms of behaviour |
X | ||
| corruption | Business Ethics | 419-1 | Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area |
X |
* Also relating to the "Social" category
** Also relating to the category "Fighting active and passive corruption"
*** Reporting does not include the offices of the Business International department and the MoMec in Rome, as these are not considered significant given the size of the Group. With particular reference to energy consumption in 302-1, gas consumption for central heating in the Rome offices is excluded as irrelevant. The reporting parameters of the present Report incorporates all of the companies fully consolidated by the Fiera Milano Group. Some fully consolidated subsidiary companies were excluded from this report with regard to one or more categories of Legislative Decree 254/2016, and the reasons are reported below.
| Criteria used to exempt the company from the report | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Revenues as percentage of Group 2020 |
Environmental category |
Social category |
Anti corruption category |
Personnel management category |
Human rights category | |
| Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa Pty Ltd |
0.8% | Size of the company; business purely organisational (no venues managed) |
reported in this document | No exclusion. These topics are | Size of the company; event (no exhibition areas managed) and consequently limited amount of outsourced services |
||
| CIPA Fiera Milano Publicações e Eventos Ltda |
0.01% | Size of the company; business No exclusion. These topics are purely organisational (no reported in this document venues managed) |
Size of the company; business purely organisational (no exhibition areas managed) and consequently limited outsourcing of services |
||||
| Fiera Milano India |
0% | The company is not operationally active and is under liquidation |
With regard to the 2019 Report, Made Eventi was included in the consolidation period of the 2020 NFI following Fiera Milano's acquisition of 61% of the company on 1 December 2019.
With reference to the topics explicitly indicated in Legislative Decree 254/2016, it should be noted that the atmospheric emissions generated by Fiera Milano's activities do not include particular pollutants, as there are no industrial activities at the exhibition sites and the only emissions are those generated by natural gas fuelled winter heating boilers and by vehicles owned by the group or used by others. This topic is therefore subjected to a purely qualitative risk assessment. In addition, the topic regarding protocols agreed by international and supranational organisations regarding social/personnel issues was not considered relevant to the business model.
With the exception of topics relating to the environment (for which the "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" has been adopted) and countermeasures against active and passive corruption (as addressed by several elements of the Code of Ethics Decree herein) the Group did not consider it necessary to adopt specific policies regarding topics cited by the decree, in part given the satisfactory functioning of practices that have been consolidated over a prolonged period and the high degree of centralised control.
Given that almost all of the Fiera Milano Group's business is conducted domestically, and therefore almost all of its taxes are paid in Italy, the approach to taxation was not considered relevant. It should be noted that Fiera Milano takes reasonable steps to determine and comply with the legislator's intention and builds its tax planning policies based on a risk-minimising framework. In this regard, the tax approach is integrated into the company's structure, in terms of both processes and procedures, with controls in place at the key junctions for evaluating the relevant values for taxation purposes.
The 2020 Sustainability Report, Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016, as amended, of Fiera Milano Group has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards published in 2016 by the GRI-Global Reporting Initiative, under the "Core" option and the relevant updates.
The information contained in this document relate to activities carried out by Fiera Milano Group between January and December 2020 unless otherwise indicated. Where possible, a comparison of the quantitative information is shown for the period under review with data for the two years 2018 and 2019.
The present 2020 Sustainability Report, Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016, as amended, of Fiera Milano Group was approved by the Board of Directors of Fiera Milano on 15 March 2021 and published on the website www.fieramilano.it.
With reference to expenditure for suppliers located in Lombardy, the figure refers to the Group's Italian companies.
With regard to the chapter on environmental management, the consumption data is attributable to the exhibition and congress sites, the Nolostand warehouses, and the administrative offices at the fieramilano, fieramilanocity and MiCo sites. Generation of waste, water consumption and consumption of gas for heating are not reported for the Rome locations, as these are not considered significant in relation to the size of the Group.
Fuel, diesel, petrol and methane consumption figures refer to leased cars used by Group employees. Natural gas consumption mostly relates to heating.
With specific reference to the paragraph on mobility, the data on visitors' cars is provided by partner public transport and parking companies. Data on cars and vehicles of exhibitors, suppliers, fitters and employees comes from the "LogisticainFiera" platform used for the accreditation of people and vehicles and for access management. These figures have been rounded and do not include events and congresses organised by the Fiera Milano Congressi subsidiary.
For the purposes of calculating the energy consumed with regard to the consumption of diesel and petrol for transport, natural gas and district heating, the national standard parameter table produced by the Italian Ministry for Environment and updated in 2020 was used as a source of conversion factors.
For the purposes of calculating Scope 1 CO2 emissions relating to the consumption of diesel and petrol for transport and to natural gas, the emission factors in the national standard parameter table produced by the Ministry for Environment and updated in 2020 were used. With regard to calculating Scope 2 CO2 emissions, emissions relating to district heating consumption are derived from the emission factors in the national standard parameter table produced by the Ministry for Environment, while CO2 emissions relating to electricity consumption are derived from the conversion coefficients provided by Terna for location-based calculations and from the AIB emission coefficients for market-based calculations (latest versions available).
Injuries suffered by workers who are not employees but whose work and/or place of work is under the control of the organisation concern contracted companies and do not include the hours worked. This data is reported from 2020 onwards.
The injury frequency index is the relationship between the total number of injuries and the total number of hours worked, multiplied by 1,000,000.
Exhibition activity was heavily affected by the massive spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The Fiera Milano Group was able to manage the emergency by setting up a crisis unit to adapt operations to the decrees issued based on the pandemic's progress. This pandemic had a significant impact on the exhibition business in Italy, forcing the closure of activities through the issuing of various Prime Ministerial Decrees.
the Prime Minister signed a decree on "Urgent measures for the containment and management of the Covid-19 emergency", which included the closure of all activities (including trade fairs and congresses), with the exception of those deemed necessary or of strategic importance to the country, in order to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic;
suspension of trade fairs and congresses until 14 July 2020;
extension of the ban on organising "Congresses and major trade fair events" until 31 July 2020;
the decree resolves the situation regarding the organisation of trade fairs and congresses, which as of 1 September 2020 will once again be allowed, subject to compliance with the relevant safety regulations and only in accordance with the guidelines on the size and characteristics of the venue, so that a distance of one metre between people can be maintained. The decree does, however, allow for preparations for such reopenings to be undertaken as of 9 August 2020;
'green corridors' allowing individuals to enter Italy for international exhibitions, are introduced. Green light for those who present to the carrier, prior to boarding, a certificate proving that they have obtained a negative test result within the past 72 hours;
the decree more explicitly refers to the possibility of trade fairs and congresses being held subject to the adoption of and compliance with certain protocols validated by the Scientific Technical Committee and in accordance with organisational measures appropriate to the size and characteristics of the venue and such as to enable visitors to maintain a distance of at least one metre from other people. These protocols were validated by the STC, with a double legal opinion from AEFI and Fiera Milano;
suspension of conference and congress activities, but national and international exhibitions are still permitted;
suspension of exhibitions;
suspension of conferences, congresses, festivals and fairs until 3 December 2020. Restriction or suspension of movement between regions based on the rate of contagion;
decrees the closure of trade fairs until 5 March 2021;
dictates that conferences, congresses and other similar events will be suspended until 6 April 2021, regardless of the threat level in the region in question.
In March 2020, Fiera Milano Group companies began applying for support from the Salary Integration Fund (FIS) on a rotating basis for all employees of the Group's subsidiaries, with the exclusion of Fiera Milano Media, which triggered the Ordinary Wage Guarantee Scheme (CIGO) support mechanism for its employees (excluding the Journalist category). The use of the social security cushion was vital and urgent in order to balance the need to preserve jobs and at the same time mitigate the impact on the Group's statement of income. During periods when work was suspended, the Group brought forward the payment of benefits and ensured the regular accrual of contractual rights as in the case of normal employment. The application for income support was extended, according to the provisions of the various new regulations, until August 2020 and for the period between September and December 2020. In view of the provisions contained in Budget Law No. 178/2020 and the continuation of the pandemic, income support measures have also been requested for the period January – March 2021.
In order to ensure staff safety in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company ensured that all employees could work from home as of March 2020, providing the company population with a special tool for video meetings, along with laptops. Covid-19 insurance cover was put in place for all Group employees and extended to 2021.
During this period, in order to be able to maintain a relationship with employees, albeit remotely, the HR team highlighted various initiatives and sites designed to help cultivate different interests during these unique times.
In March 2020, the Group adopted a "Protocol for regulating measures to combat and contain the spread of the new coronavirus in the workplace", which was subsequently updated on 24 April 2020 and circulated among the entire company population. The document governing the implementation of the aforementioned protocol was prepared and sent to all employees in order to protect the health and safety of Fiera Milano S.p.A. workers from possible contagion from the new coronavirus and to guarantee a healthy working environment.
Similarly, employees, third parties and all other parties entering the exhibition sites have been informed of the measures taken to combat and contain the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and the provisions to be complied with in accordance with the instructions of the health and government authorities.
• Installation of protective Plexiglas barriers in all front offices
• Mass roll-out of home-working and shift working, and limitation of meetings and travel based on the orders of the authorities
The Covid-19 emergency
During the period from 1 September to 24 October 2020, a limited amount of activity was undertaken following special protocols to ensure that it was carried out according to all of the safety criteria imposed by the relevant bodies and outlined in detail below.
Thanks to a collaboration with a team of experts and in synergy with the main players in the sector, Fiera Milano has been involved in establishing a "Protocol to contain the spread of the new coronavirus" that outlines concrete guidelines aimed at resuming activity in the exhibition sector, in full compliance with the existing legislation and taking into account the progression of the epidemic and the consequent provisions. Among the measures adopted by Fiera Milano, in compliance with the guidelines issued by leading international associations UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) and EMECA (European Major Exhibition Centres Association) and in addition to the new entry procedures, the guidelines for managing visitor flows have been further refined: from pre-registration to arrival at the exhibition and congress sites, through wider and more regulated structured routes that guide the visitor through the pavilions, communal areas and refreshment points.
Compliance with national legislation regarding health and hygiene guidelines designed to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus was the basic premise of the aforementioned protocol, along with the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health and individual regions. From a prevention perspective, the protocol therefore includes measures that follow the precautionary principle and fully comply with the legislator's requirements and the health authorities' guidance. The document identified and defined all of the measures deemed necessary in order to allow activities to be undertaken in complete safety. The shared perspective was to illustrate a framework of measures that determined and guaranteed a consolidated security perimeter, each for its own responsibilities, for all of the players involved (manager, organiser, exhibitor, stand fitter and visitor) and that facilitated the resumption of trade fair and congress activities whilst guaranteeing planned, implemented, verified and shared protective measures. All of the arrangements put in place in terms of technologies and services have been made consistent and fully outlined in specific operating procedures that have become an integral part of all of the technical and commercial documents pertaining to our exhibitions.
To complete the process outlined above, a specific implementation protocol was drawn up and applied to each exhibition, which, in addition to taking due account of the specific characteristics of the event in question, correctly represents the implementation of the events protocol, complete with all of the appropriate and required evidence.
In October 2020, Fiera Milano collaborated with the BI-MU exhibition to obtain a declaration of compliance with the "Ripartiamo insieme in sicurezza" ("Getting back up and running safely, together") proprietary scheme issued by ICIM SpA, a third-party certification body. The service developed by ICIM for manufacturing companies was created with the aim of providing an application scheme for identifying and implementing actions to ensure compliance with regulatory protocols for fighting and containing Covid-19 in the workplace, in accordance with legislative provisions, to protect both workers' health and business continuity. With regard to the BI-MU declaration, the service was extended to include the specific requirements of the trade fair sector.
31
Fiera Milano took steps over the course of 2020 to organise a series of webinars aimed at the reference communities of exhibitors and visitors and looking at the main trends and issues in their respective markets in order to compensate for the lack of its own exhibitions due to the Covid-19 health emergency.
| Date | Exhibition | Webinar title and main topics covered |
|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2020 | BIT, TUTTOFOOD, |
From East to West Food and Beverage market and Luxury Hospitality trends in the world - European F&B market - current trends and opportunities for the Gulf |
| HOST | Conversation on the current condition and emerging trends reshaping the F&B and hospitality business in Europe, the impact this will have in all the supply chain and its effects in the Middle East |
|
| 29 July 2020 | BIT, TUTTOFOOD, |
Food and Beverage market and Luxury Hospitality trends in the world - Luxury hospitality trends in North America |
| HOST | Conversation to analyse innovations and best practices from the luxury hospitality sector that will surely serve to set the trend for the entire industry |
|
| 13 October 2020 | TUTTOFOOD, | Sustainability in Luxury Food and Beverage and Hospitality |
| HOST | Connecting simultaneously leading personalities of the industry in four global luxury tourism destinations (Miami, Milan, Dubai, Shanghai) |
|
| 23 November 2020 | Safety | Cyber Security Talks - Cybersecurity and Smart Working |
| New types of 'attacks', data protection in remote working, cybersecurity checklist for large companies and SMEs |
||
| 26 November 2020 | HOMI FASHION& |
SLOW RENAISSANCE AND INNER IDENTITY: future trend scenarios for fashion accessories and jewellery |
| JEWELS | Analysis of trends and contemporary influences in fashion jewellery Delivered in Italian in the morning and in English in the afternoon (2 webinars) |
|
| 1 December 2020 | HOMI, PTE | The irresistible attraction of awards |
| Reward and loyalty to maintain customer relationships Focus: prizes, gifts and incentives |
||
| 1 December 2020 | SìSposaitalia | The 2021 Bridal BoutiqueTrend |
| Emerging Wedding Store Innovations: redesigning the store according to the new customer experience 4.0 |
In November 2020, the Eventing Milan organisation set up over a decade ago as part of Fiera Milano Congressi, became separated from Milano&Partners to create the YesMilano Convention Bureau, a joint entity with the ability to promote Milan as the ideal location for hosting major international business events, together with other institutional partners (the municipality of Milan, the CCIAAs of Milan and Brianza and the Fondazione Fiera Milano), and some major companies in the area (Borsa Italiana, Pirelli, SEA Aeroporti di Milano, Fiera Milano Congressi and TIM). This move made up for the city's delayed position, in relation to the main economic and institutional capitals around the world, where for several decades there have been coordinated efforts on the parts of all of the main regional assets to attract business tourists from all over the world, coordinating the offerings of all of the hospitality services in the area and at the same time ensuring a course of action resulting from a common development strategy and the optimisation of promotional investment initiatives. The YesMilano Convention Bureau team is particularly relevant today given the importance of implementing a recovery plan to mitigate, where possible, the negative economic effects of the global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in order to promote a faster recovery. The focus on business tourism is motivated notably by an awareness of the significant economic benefits it generates in the area, as well as the indirect effects of attracting foreign investment and improving both knowledge and cultural and social development.
September 2020 saw the first digital edition of Miart, Milan's international modern and contemporary art fair organised by Fiera Milano and directed for the fourth year by Alessandro Rabottini. 133 national and international exhibitors participated with 1,761 works, divided into the four major categories that have always set the fair's research path apart, namely modern, contemporary and emerging art and collectible design. 195 online events and 125 insights were organised, allowing the public to learn more about the artists and the works on display. The event recorded 178,709 views for the works in question, 10,119 for the events and 7,693 for the insights significant numbers that, together with an average of 24 minutes spent on the platform and a total of 2,240,000 interactions, show the extent to which browsing the rich digital content that the fair had to offer stimulated visitors' interest. The chat room, which allowed exhibitors and users to chat directly with one another, was a great success, with 1,986 open chats - including 884 conversations with over 5 interactions per user - amounting to a total of 8,331 messages and 2,569 images of works sent.
November 2020 saw the first digital edition of Milano Games Week, MGW-X - Xtensive Xperience, a marathon of pop, geek and nerd entertainment brought to life via six Twitch channels and a schedule of events and renowned national and international special guests. The digital show saw Milan Games Week, Italy's leading event dedicated to video games, e-sport, digital entertainment and geek culture, now in its 10th edition, combined with Cartoomics, the long-running appointment with the world of comics, publishing, entertainment and pop culture, for the first time ever. The rich MGW-X programme was developed based on six theme-specific channels, all streamed live on Twitch.
In doing so, MGW-X set a new benchmark for the sector as a whole and established a format designed for a new type of business platform, recording 1,256,573 live views, 6 million minutes watched and peaks of over 130k unique viewers per day on a single channel over the course of the 4-day event.
The economic values for 2019 take into account the effects of the new IFRS 16 accounting standard on accounting for leases, mainly relating to leases for exhibition sites and the congress centre. The effect of the above-mentioned accounting standard on EBITDA and on the net profit (loss) was Euro 47.7 million and Euro -4.6 million respectively. The application of the accounting standard did not involve the restatement of the previous compared periods (modified retrospective approach). The value relating to the net financial position is shown before the effects of IFRS 16.
The 2020 financial year was heavily penalised by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the competent authorities to implement measures designed to restrict both gatherings of people and mobility, resulting in the suspension of trade fair and conference activities from 23 February to the end of the year, with a brief interlude between early September and mid-October.
As a result, all of the main economic indicators fell sharply compared to the previous year.
Fiera Milano's share price underperformed by 48% in 2020, compared to a 6% drop in the FTSE Italia All-Share index. The FTSE Italia STAR index, on the other hand, was up 14%.
| (thousands of Euro) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic value generated (A) | 103,851 | 286,403 | 255,475 |
| Economic value distributed (B) | 94,858 | 209,573 | 230,949 |
| Value distributed to suppliers of goods and services | 48,287 | 125,643 | 168,269 |
| Value distributed to employees | 31,852 | 47,432 | 47,037 |
| Value distributed to providers of capital | 12,981 | 13,844 | 402 |
| Value distributed to public administration | 1,324 | 12,878 | 5,586 |
| Value distributed to shareholders | - | 9,314 | 9,227 |
| Value distributed to the community | 414 | 462 | 428 |
| Economic value retained (A-B) | 8,993 | 76,830 | 33,395 |
In line with the Consolidated Financial Statements of Fiera Milano Group at 31 December 2020, these values refer to the entire Fiera Milano Group. It is appropriate, when considering this data, to recognise that the Group's activities are highly seasonal due to the presence of biennial and multi-annual exhibitions, which distorts the comparison of results of different periods. The 2020 results were strongly influenced by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the suspension of exhibition activities between 23 February and 31 August and between 15 October and 31 December 2020. The 2018 figures include the results of the new IFRS 15 principle, in effect from 1 January 2018.
The 2019 dividend figure has been updated following the shareholders' resolution after the publication of the 2019 NFI.
Social initiatives undertaken in 2020 focused primarily on the following:
Focus exhibitions in Italy 2020
21 events in Italy equal to
net square metres of exhibition space and
6,855 exhibitors 7
of which were organised by the Group, equal to
net square metres of exhibition space and
1,895 exhibitors
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net square metres of exhibition space | 342,590 | 1,462,365 | 1,442,890 |
| Exhibitors | 6,855 | 24,240 | 24,150 |
| of which from Italy | 67% | 65% | 66% |
| of which from abroad | 33% | 35% | 34% |
| Visitors* | 292,397 | 3,505,818 | 4,048,628 |
* Prepared by Fondazione Fiera Milano's Research and Development service based on ISFCERT, CFI online data and exhibition press releases; the 2019 data was updated over the course of 2020 following a fine-tuning by ISFCERT that included more exhibitions in the database; the 2020 data, where not available, has been estimated.
A limited number of exhibitions took place within the above context in 2020. The exhibitions originally planned were cancelled and/or rescheduled for 2021 onwards.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net square metres of exhibition space | 3,910 | 23,160 | 49,290 |
| Exhibitors | 100 | 840 | 1,065 |
| Visitors | 22,000 | 152,000 | 173,294 |
The exhibition business in Brazil was affected by the pandemic in 2020, so all events planned for the year were rescheduled.
In South Africa, the Cape Town art fair followed the trend of previous editions.
| Registered Office | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. events | Participants | No. events | Participants | No. events | Participants | |
| Milano Congressi (MiCo) | 20 | 26,315 | 110 | 278,830 | 108 | 245,545 |
| Stella Polare, Rho | 6 | 3,400 | 21 | 10,340 | 16 | 18,970 |
| Stresa Convention Centre* | - | - | - | - | 12 | 5,941 |
| MoMec | 6 | 169 | 40 | 1,373 | 33 | 790 |
| Total | 32 | 29,884 | 171 | 290,543 | 169 | 271,246 |
* The congress centre is no longer run by Fiera Milano Congressi, having been handed over in 2019.
Congresses were severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to the postponement of major events scheduled for March onwards, including Lions, ICTAM, ERA EDTA, Enlit, Emerson and ESSKA, to 2021 and beyond.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training events | 102 | 98 | 127 |
| Annual conventions* | 10 | 17 | 19 |
| Participants | 4,656 | 4,900 | 5,800 |
| * Including exhibitions incorporating conventions |
As of March 2020, the Fiera Milano Group's media company and its business unit faced the new paradigm that was this change to human life and therefore to business that was and indeed still is taking place, and the consequent changes that this brought with it for exhibitions and training events. Since the spring of this year, Business International's entire educational programme for managers and companies has migrated online, experimenting with platforms and expanding its fields of information and knowledge and therefore research and product development, as was the case for the high-level training events for C-Levels at The Business Leaders Summit, the AIXA - Artificial Intelligence Expo of Applications festival (dedicated to artificial intelligence applications), the CEO Italian Summit & Awards and the first edition of the Milan Fintech Summit, which were again held via innovative digital platforms that combined ease of use and access to digital content with a highly immersive and interactive web experience, exclusive networking, matchmaking and participant engagement measures.
Fiera Milano's company governance system manages and coordinates Italian companies covered in the nonfinancial declaration and is based on a traditional management and control model, with a Board of Directors and a Board of Statutory Auditors.
The Board of Directors plays a key role in company organisation. It is responsible for strategic and organisational guide lines, as well as ensuring the internal control and risk management system works and is monitored. The Board of Directors has the broadest powers of ordinary and extraordinary administration over the company. Specifically, it may take any action it deems necessary or useful to reach social goals, with the sole exception of those reserved in law for the Shareholders' Meeting.
The company's governance system conforms to the law and applicable existing regulations. It is also in line with the new Corporate Governance Code for companies listed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (hereafter the "Corporate Governance Code"), which came into force in 2020.
The mandate of the Board of Directors, currently ongoing, was conferred by the Shareholders' Meeting of 20 April 2020 and will end with the one held on 31 December 2022 to approve the financial statements.
On 22 April 2020, the newly elected Chairman Mr Antonio Caorsi tendered his resignation from the position of Director and Chairman of the company with effect from the date of the next Board of Directors' meeting, subsequently set as an emergency measure for 25 April 2020. At the last Board of Directors meeting, the majority shareholder, Fondazione Ente Internazionale Autonomo Fiera di Milano, recommended that, pursuant to Article 2386, paragraph 1, of the Italian Civil Code, Mr Carlo Bonomi be appointed as a new director of the company and its Chairman.
Mr Fabrizio Curci subsequently resigned from his position as Chief Executive Officer on 3 June 2020, with effect from 18 June 2020.
The company then implemented the CEO Succession Plan, approved in March 2019, granting Chairman Bonomi operational powers to ensure continuity and stability of management pending the appointment of a new CEO. At the Shareholders' Meeting of 2 October 2020, a new independent director, Mr Luca Albino Palermo, was appointed, bringing the number of members of the Board of Directors to nine. Luca Palermo would become CEO of Fiera Milano on 1 January 2021.
The Board of Directors includes a higher number of independent members than required by law and legislation and the company's by-laws, as applicable on 31 December 2020.
With regard to the diversity policies adopted by the company in terms of the composition of the administration, management and control bodies, there are specific provisions in the company's By-laws concerning notably the gender balance required by law and the appropriate degree of diversification in terms of the expertise, experience, age, gender and international profile of their members.
The Board of Directors of Fiera Milano was made up of nine people as of 31 December 2020, five of them women and four men, as shown in the table below. For further information, see the Report on Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure for 2020, paragraph 4.2, "Composition (pursuant to art. 123-bis, paragraph 2, letters d) and d-bis) of the Consolidated Law on Finance)".
| Gender | Age group | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 30 to 50 years | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Over 50 years | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Total men | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| Women | 30 to 50 years | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Over 50 years | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Total women | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 9 |
The company also has 'Regulations for the Board of Directors of Fiera Milano S.p.A.', written pursuant to existing legislation and the Corporate Governance Code issued by Borsa Italiana SpA in July 2018. It defines, inter alia, further requisites the directors must have in besides those set out in law; an update of the document is planned over the course of 2021 to ensure that it complies with the provisions of the new Corporate Governance Code, effective as of 1 January 2021.
To this end, the following specific areas of expertise are required of the Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors has set up within it two Committees with roles and functions in line with the standards in the Corporate Governance Code and best practices in the matter.
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee provides consultation, suggestions and instructions to the Board of Directors on remuneration and company appointments.
The Control and Risk Committee was renamed the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee in 2020 and saw that the corresponding regulations were also updated. The Committee provides consultation, suggestions and instructions to the Board of Directors, to help it make assessments of and decisions on the internal control and risk management system, as well as approve regular financial reports and the non-financial declaration. The same Committee, as part of its responsibilities to instruct, oversees, inter alia, all other sustainability issues linked to the business's activities and its interactions with the relevant Stakeholders.
The Board of Statutory Auditors of Fiera Milano was appointed by the Shareholders' Meeting of 23 April 2018 and its mandate will end with the one held on 31 December 2020 to approve the financial statements. It monitors that the law and company's by-laws are observed, the principles of proper administration are followed and the organisational structure of the company is satisfactory, along with the internal control system and accounting and administrative system, ensuring that the latter reliably presents the facts on management. It monitors concrete ways of enacting the rules on corporate governance in the codes written by management companies in regulated markets, and ensures the company's instructions to subsidiaries are satisfactory. The Board of Statutory Auditors also oversees legal revision of the annual and consolidated accounts, the effectiveness of the internal control, internal revision and risk management systems, and the financial information process. The Board of Statutory Auditors also sees to it that the rules on non-financial declarations in Legislative Decree no. 254/2016 are observed and addresses this in its annual report to the Shareholders' Meeting.
The internal control and risk management system of the company and the Group, in line with the Corporate Governance Code, is represented by the set of rules, procedures and organisational structures aimed at allowing the effective and efficient identification, measurement, management and monitoring of the main risks, in order to contribute to the sustainable success of the Group. It contributes to the conduct of the company and the Group, consistent with the corporate purposes established by the Board of Directors of the Parent, and encourages the adoption of informed decisions. It also ensures that (i) the company's social assets are secure, (ii) the company processes are efficient and effective, (iii) financial information is reliable and (iv) laws and regulations are respected, along with the company's By-laws and internal procedures.
Fiera Milano has adopted Guide Lines on Direction and Coordination that aim to ensure unified company management, identifying the company functions and control bodies of each Group company in order to decide the links that need to be forged between them for effective collaboration that benefits each of them. This work affects all subsidiaries directed and coordinated by Fiera Milano. The latest update of this document was presented at the Shareholders' Meeting in April 2020.
Within its company governance system, Fiera Milano has adopted Guide Lines for Managing Information Flows for its control bodies, the aim being to define how small information flows are managed both within the Group and within the parent company, in order to properly assign separate responsibilities and help enforce the ethical principles and rules of conduct in the Group's Code of Ethics, and the protocols set out in the Organisation, Management and Control Model under Legislative Decree 231/01 (hereafter the "Model 231").
As a result of its need to guarantee transparency and fairness in its business dealings, the company considered it appropriate to adopt a Model 231, which was most recently the subject of two important amendments approved at the meetings of the Board of Directors held on 29 July 2020 and 10 November 2020 and an update to the General Part of the 231 Model approved on 10 March 2020. On the occasion of the first update, the list of predicate offences was amended in the light of regulatory changes that extended the list of offences included in Legislative Decree 231/2001, including Tax Crimes (introduced into Legislative Decree 231/01 by Legislative Decree No. 124 of 26 October 2019).
Subsequently, a new Special Part of Model 231 was introduced in July 2020: special Section no. 14 Tax Crimes, in relation to the so-called Tax Crimes, referred to in Article 25-quinqiesdecies of Legislative Decree no. 231/2001. The activity, focused on the drafting of the new special section, also entailed the need to update special sections no. 1 Offences against the Public Administration and Bribery among Private Individuals, no. 2 Corporate Offences, no. 3 Market Abuse, no. 4 Transnational Crimes, no. 6 Offences of Receiving of Stolen Goods, Money Laundering, Use of Money, Goods or Benefits of Unlawful Origin and Self Laundering, no. 8 Organised Crime Offences and no. 9 Offences against Industry and Trade.
On the occasion of the said update, noting the publication in the Official Journal of Legislative Decree No. 75 of 14 July 2020 on the 'Implementation of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 on the fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union by means of criminal law' (the 'PIF Directive'), it was anticipated that Model 231 would need to be updated in light of the significant and numerous changes in administrative liability introduced with effect from 30 July 2020. Lastly, Model 231 was then updated in November 2020 to comply with the so-called PIF Directive, through the integration of (i) the General Section, which led to the addition of the list of predicate offences (ii) Special Section no. 1 Offences against the Public Administration and Bribery among Private Individuals and (iii) Special Section no. 14 Tax Crimes.
Please note that on the occasion of the above-mentioned updates of the special parts of the Model, which took place in July and November, a Risk Assessment activity was carried out. In particular, to identify the risks of occurrence of the new predicate offences and their relevance to the activities actually carried out by the company, the relevant internal documents were examined (procedures, policies, proxy and delegation system, organisation chart, function chart, etc.) and interviews were conducted with the company representatives who, each for their specific area of competence, supervise the so-called sensitive areas.
The Legal and Company Affairs/M&A department, through the company, governance and compliance secretary, constantly monitor compliance with the procedures and policies adopted by all the Group's companies, in order to ensure the highest possible level of conformity with existing legislation and recommendations by Italian and international organisations. Specifically, the above function monitors that the company complies with, and helps it comply with, internal organisational regulations (manuals, policies, procedures, codes of conduct) and, externally, the regulations of the Fiera Milano Group, in order that it is in line with the best practices of listed companies. Compliance is regulated by the Compliance Manual, approved by the Board of Directors of Fiera Milano and defined by a specific annual work plan, followed by prompt accounting of the findings.
With regard to privacy, the company has a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and a Policy on Personal Data Protection, in order to define general policies and guide lines on personal data protection to be applied by Fiera Milano, with a particular focus on how existing legislation on this matter should be applied, as well as policies, procedures, instructions, measures and documents adopted to ensure conformity with this legislation. Over the course of 2020, regular meetings were held with the DPO in a dedicated working group with the aim of supporting him in the performance of his duties. These meetings were attended by the DPO's contact person (Litigation and Privacy Function) and one or more units coordinated by the same contact person, depending on the matter at hand (Internal Control Department, HR Department, IT Department, Security Department and/or Compliance Function). Also in 2020, the register of processing operations pursuant to art. 30 of the GDPR as owner of Fiera Milano and the register of processing operations pursuant to art. 30 of the GDPR as manager of Fiera Milano were updated and one-to-one training was also provided for all privacy delegates/appointees and their respective privacy focal points.
The Fiera Milano Group received no significant sanctions for non-compliance with either social or economic legislation in 2020.
Fiera Milano has, since 2019, a Crisis Management Plan for managing any crises that may arise in infrastructure or the operating functions. The aim of the Crisis Management Plan is to spot and analyse any crises in infrastructure or operations at the exhibition sites, whether internal or outside of the company. This plan lets us govern emergency prevention and management, with a plan that keeps important people safe within the exhibition site. It identifies the people involved or who need to be involved and potential actions to be taken. Within the realm of its governance system, the Group has also developed and maintained certified management systems for specific companies that conform to international standard principles.
Fiera Milano, which was already ISO 9001:2015-certified, continued the process of extending the scope of its Management System to include all phases relating to the design, organisation, implementation and hosting of exhibitions and support services in 2020 with the aim of obtaining ISO 20121:2013 Event Sustainability Management Systems certification in 2021. The work on reviewing and integrating the procedures of Fiera Milano's Management System that began in 2020 will continue in 2021 in order to cover every single process involved.
In this regard, Fiera Milano adopted a "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" in 2020 with the aim of promoting the economic, environmental and social sustainability of events organised and hosted at the exhibition and congress sites, following principles of good management, security, inclusiveness, integrity and transparency.
The subsidiary Nolostand adopts an integrated management system in compliance with the following certifications: ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System; ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System; OHSAS 18001:2007 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System; ISO 20121:2013 – Event Sustainability Management System. Migration to the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems standard, replacing OHSAS 18001:2007, is planned for the first half of 2021.
Fiera Milano Media's Business International division is also ISO 9001:2015 - Quality Management Systems certified.
For more details on corporate governance in the Fiera Milano Group, see the following documents, available on the website www.fieramilano.it, in the "Investors" section:
Fiera Milano manages the Group's purchasing activities centrally through the Procurement department, which collaborates proactively with the soliciting functions by means of an integrated programmatic approach in order to optimise spending and ensure compliance with the applicable procedures and targets set in terms of timeliness.
The Fiera Milano Group's supply chain is made up of goods suppliers and specialist and consultancy services covering the following product categories, among others:
Operations in this field are regulated by a set of procedures that include, among others, the procurement procedure, the procedure for the technical and economic qualification of suppliers, the reputational assessment procedure (managed by SoD in the Security department) and the procedure for managing relations with commercial intermediaries.
Continuing on from what had already been implemented in 2019 with a view to simplifying the Group's body of procedures, an updated version of the procurement procedure, into which the catering services procedure was incorporated, becoming a single document, was also issued in 2020. The company maintains a register that allows it to record and manage qualification requests using digital functions for suppliers, be they contractors or subcontractors of the Group, current or potential. The continuous updating of the register allows the company to constantly monitor the market in order to verify and update skills, operational capabilities and competitiveness. The online platform makes it possible to manage the technical and economic assessment, for which the Procurement department is responsible, and the reputational assessment, for which the Security department is responsible, in the early stages of the relationship. The IT system approval process follows the rules outlined in the procedures adopted by the two departments directly involved in the evaluation and authorisation process and makes it possible to inform the Group's soliciting functions about supplier status through a series of reports that can be viewed in real time. Some 800 reputational assessments were performed in 2020.
When it comes to qualifying for inclusion on the register, all suppliers are required to share the principles of conduct outlined in the 231 Model and in the Code of Ethics with a view to ensuring the compliance and legality of the supply relationship and all suppliers are informed about the "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" adopted in 2020. Furthermore, suppliers must be included on the register and upload the documents required for the technical, financial and reputational assessments in order to be qualified. The outcome of the assessment process is then used to determine which suppliers meet the necessary requirements to be able to work with the Group. The supplier and assessment documents, separated in accordance with the rules on data processing, as well as any updates resulting from the GDPR standard, are stored on the register platform. The creation of a single repository ensures that all authorisation processes are traceable and transparent.
The digitisation of purchasing processes initiated in 2018 with the aim of reducing the use of paper documents continued in 2020. The practice adopted by Procurement provides, for example, for ature, sending contracts by certified e-mail and archiving contract documents in the computer database, thus reducing paper consumption.
The new release of the supplier register software, together with the changes made to connect it to the new eProcurement management system developed as part of the One Group project, made it possible to consolidate the platform's functions in 2020, improving the management of the qualification process. The acquisition of sustainability certifications issued by accredited bodies - ISO or specific product certifications - continued over the course of 2020, raising awareness among suppliers with this in mind.
47
There were 4,078 suppliers on the Fiera Milano Group's supplier register as of 31 December 2020. There were 962 qualified suppliers, of which 918 were Italian. 40% of qualified suppliers had sustainability certifications (mainly ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and other certifications of various kinds). 86% of qualified Italian suppliers had their headquarters located within 300km of Fiera Milano, while the remainder had their operational headquarters further away. Suppliers of Italian companies located in Lombardy accounted for 79.9% of all spending in 2020. The scouting of foreign suppliers plays a functional role in optimising value for money and the modernisation of traditional technologies. Furthermore, commercial policies designed to develop the presence of foreign exhibitions within the Group's portfolio require the supplier bases in the countries concerned to be developed accordingly.
As part of its activities, the Procurement Department adopts operational policies in the field of sustainability, in accordance with the Procurement Procedure (Green Procurement), which provides for technical scores to be awarded to suppliers in possession of sustainability certifications when such requirements are included in the selection process undertaken by a technical and economic evaluation committee. The technical score awarded contributes to the overall technical score obtained throughout the entire competitive selection process. These evaluation methods were also adopted in the competitive comparisons for 2020.
The procurement procedure in force where Italian subsidiaries are concerned provides that the purchasing of certain products for regular consumption (such as printer paper, batteries, etc.) be based on a series of criteria typical of green procurement with the aims of (i) protecting the environment and public health, (ii) preserving natural resources, (iii) minimising waste disposal and (iv) reducing toxicity. The framework contract for stationery was renewed in 2020, maintaining the same type of green products as in 2019; these products accounted for 96% of all stationery used over the course of the year. Given the introduction of home working in 2020 following the health emergency, there was an overall reduction in stationery consumption.
The Group intends to continue its efforts to introduce sustainability-related elements into its supplier selection processes and notably expects to have 75% of those suppliers of goods and services that have the greatest impact in terms of sustainability selected according to ESG criteria by 2025.
On the basis of the provided service procedure, for any Fiera Milano Group departments/functions in need of goods, services or consultation, the Procurement department, through the Supplier Quality function, supports functions requesting its help in the first-level service-monitoring process, through second-level sample checks on the service provided by the Group's suppliers.
The Supplier Quality function guarantees, through checks and sampling monitoring, from both the qualitative and quantitative perspectives, the service provided by suppliers in compliance with contractual agreements and supports the achievement of business objectives through second-level control audits that also focus on sustainability issues. The Supplier Quality function performed 1,381 supply checks during the exhibitions held in January, February, September and October of 2020, the only periods in 2020 during which Fiera Milano operated, as a result of the Covid-19 health emergency. These checks revealed a compliance rate of approximately 99%.
Fiera Milano is in a position to implement additional entry pass document control measures for those suppliers employing large numbers of workers on site. This was done through an entry database managed by the Security department, the aim of which is to ensure that the on-site presence or otherwise of authorised sub-contractors is in line with the supply and/or service contract agreed with the company holding the contract.
The procurement process adopted by foreign subsidiaries is managed by local entities based on procedures inspired by corporate guidelines. The Group's Procurement department receives regular information on the main contracts the former signs up to.
Brazilian subsidiary CIPA follows the Procurement and Purchasing Procedure and Supplier qualification procedure inspired by the guidelines of the relevant procedures implemented by the Italian companies.
The Code of Ethics outlines out the basic policies designed to combat illegal and irregular work; the 231 Models in force include a specific section on the employment crimes of third-country nationals staying in the country illegally, as well as a section on crimes of illicit brokering and labour exploitation, with the aim of preventing and controlling the aforementioned crimes.
The types of suppliers that the Fiera Milano Group uses to provide its own services include product areas that are associated with varying levels of risk, especially with regard to the impact of the labour component. The risks associated with undeclared work relate exclusively to the Group's supply chain given that there are no labourers on the Fiera Milano Group's payroll since it subcontracts all of its labour activities to third parties. With regard to procurement processes, those suppliers most exposed to the risk of illegal work are those who perform operational activities relating to managing the districts concerned and the congress centre and those who supply the Nolostand subsidiary. With this in mind, and within its procedural frameworks, such as the reputational assessment procedure, the Fiera Milano Group places particular emphasis on those supplier categories that involve a significant labour component (e.g. cleaning, set-up, security, catering, etc.), providing for tighter controls both at the supplier selection stage and when performing the relevant checks in the field, in order to ensure the absence of any undeclared working practices in its supply chain. Reputational assessments are all valid for 12 months, as provided for in the relevant procedure. Tighter controls may be implemented during the qualification stage, depending on the level of risk associated with the product category in question.
Access passes stating the pavilions and stands for which they are valid are issued during the access granting stage in order to more effectively control the presence of workers inside the pavilions. This method makes it possible to identify any irregularities that, if detected, can lead to penalties such as the removal of workers from the district in question being imposed.
A protocol agreement on the prevention and combating of undeclared and irregular work within the exhibition centres managed by Fiera Milano was signed between the Prefecture of Milan and the Milano-Lodi Regional Labour Inspectorate, INPS Milan Metropolitan Branch, INAIL Lombardy Regional Directorate, ATS Metropolitan City of Milan, Fiera Milano and CGIL - CISL - UIL, FILCAMS CGIL - FISASCAT CISL - and UILTUCS UIL on 21 June 2019 with the aim of creating a coordinating network to ensure timely intervention in terms of prevention, surveillance and counteraction. This protocol calls for more efficient and better coordinated planning of measures for monitoring and counteracting any undeclared and irregular work within the exhibition centres and the organisation of integrated information and training courses aimed at promoting a culture of legality and safety in employment relations.
This protocol led to the setting up of a permanent observatory that met for the first time in February 2020, its aim being to promote as widespread a culture of legality as possible. The observatory will proceed to set up a technical and operational group made up of all of the bodies signing the protocol under the aegis of the prefecture. The various components of the technical and operational group, coordinated by the prefecture, will continue to implement the protocol.
The protocol agreement follows an earlier protocol, signed in 2007, between Fiera Milano and the CGIL, CISL and UIL regional trade unions of Milan, with trade organisations and the RSU, which had allowed the company to incorporate a series of contractual clauses into the contracts and tenders signed by Fiera Milano and to open the work desk managed by the three regional trade unions of Milan within the fieramilano district.
The Labour Supplier Quality office, in collaboration with the General Service Access office, implemented a control and verification initiative on suppliers' data and access control data in a number of specific cases in 2020, in accordance with the laws in force regarding privacy protection aimed at establishing joint and several liability for both contributory and retributive debts.
Appropriate checks were carried out in 2020, including following reports received at the work desk regarding the application of Covid-19 protocols and the impact of the Prime Ministerial Decrees on contract changes, with reference to suppliers' workers.
The issue of fighting corruption is initially dealt with in the Group's Code of Ethics and is notably regulated in terms of business conduct, customer relations and supplier relations. The Code of Ethics prohibits corrupt practices, illegitimate favours, collusive behaviour and the direct or indirect solicitation of both personal and career benefits either for oneself or for others. Corruption is prohibited across all of the Group's activities in all countries, without exception. This principle applies to all transactions between the companies within the Group and any other party, regardless of whether they are between one of the companies within the Group and a private party or between one of the companies within the Group and a public official or person responsible for a public service. The directors and employees of the Fiera Milano Group must avoid conflicts of interest between their own personal and family economic activities and the tasks they perform within the structure to which they belong.
Fiera Milano's Model 231, just like the Model 231 adopted by individual companies belonging to the group, also allocate ad hoc special sections to the matter of corruption, specifically offences committed in relations with public administration and corruption between private individuals, and describe the types of offences that could potentially be committed by employees or senior management to the benefit or in the interests of the company, the sensitive activities within which corruption could be committed and the protocols for monitoring the sensitive issues in question. These monitoring protocols are then broken down into specific company procedures, among which all of those relating to the field of procurement are relevant for the purposes in question.
The general section of the Model 231 of the company is available on the website www.fieramilano.it, in the section Investors/Corporate Governance/Model 231 - General Section, as is the Code of Ethics, published in the section Investors/Corporate Governance/Code of Ethics.
All clients and suppliers, and indeed all third parties operating with Fiera Milano and the individual companies within the Group in general, are informed of the 231 Model (General Section) as applicable to each company and of the Group's Code of Ethics. Each supplier is required to adhere to the company's Code of Ethics and Model 231. The contracts also include specific clauses in which third parties must declare they are aware of the contents of Legislative Decree no. 231/2001 and undertake to refrain from any conduct that might constitute an offence under that decree (regardless of whether the offence is actually committed or punishable). Failure to comply with this commitment is considered a serious breach of contract and grounds for termination of the contract pursuant to article 1456 of the Civil Code.
In the first quarter of 2020, a risk assessment was performed by the Compliance function on foreign subsidiaries CIPA and Fiera Milano Exhibition Africa regarding the application of the Anti-Corruption and Compliance Programme Guidelines. As a result of the work carried out with the aim of assessing whether additional controls needed to be included in the company's procedures, in order to fully implement the provisions of the above guidelines, the CIPA and Fiera Milano Africa subsidiaries adopted a special procedure for gifts, donations and sponsorships in 2020, inspired by the guidelines of the parent company's procedure. Dedicated training will be provided for all employees of the above-mentioned foreign subsidiaries over the course of 2021.
Fiera Milano also has a well-structured procedural system designed to fight corruption, among other things.
As a safeguard against passive corruption, the procurement procedure incorporates a job rotation mechanism for representatives of corporate functions that come into contact with suppliers belonging to medium/high-risk product categories, with different rotation periods depending on the seniority of the individual concerned; the last rotation took place in January 2021.
The Group's Italian companies also have a Whistleblowing Procedure, which regulates the process by which reports are received, analysed and processed, including anonymous or confidential reports, made by third parties and Group company personnel relating to potential crimes, offences or irregular conduct committed in violation of the Group's Code of Ethics, 231 Models adopted by Group companies, internal regulations (manuals, policies, procedures, instructions, etc.), laws or regulations or measures adopted by the authorities or in any case designed to cause damage or prejudice of any kind to the Fiera Milano Group. In line with the aforementioned procedure, a special internal committee, the Whistleblowing Committee, made up of HR, Security and Internal Audit representatives, has been tasked with performing the necessary checks in the event of any illegal acts and/or behaviour being reported. This committee performs the tasks for which it is responsible in conjunction with the Supervisory Board in the event of any reports concerning significant offences pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001. Please note that the reports examined by the Whistleblowing Committee in 2020 were not considered relevant for the purposes of Legislative Decree 231/2001.
Fiera Milano also has an Accreditation and Access Control Procedure serving as an additional safeguard where its supply chain is concerned.
In line with the provisions of the Code of Ethics and the provisions of the procedure for the management of gifts, donations and sponsorships, the Group is committed to sponsoring and organising only events of a national and/or international scale. Fiera Milano does not sponsor or organise promotional or training events for individuals and/or countries featured on the reference lists issued by public authorities for the purposes of fighting organised crime, terrorism and money laundering. Gifts and forms of hospitality, whether paid or complimentary, are permitted only if they are of moderate value not exceeding Euro 250, do not compromise the integrity or reputation of any of the parties and cannot be interpreted as aimed at obtaining any sort of unfair advantage.
All newly hired employees are given a form that gives them an idea of the Group's important organisational documents, including procedures, the Code of Ethics and the 231 Model of the reference company, and details on how to complete the compulsory e-learning session on the 231 on the company's intranet. The 231 e-learning training for Italian companies has involved the entire company population since 2019.
To continue the training of recent years, information and training initiatives for all corporate employees were implemented. Following the more general training that took place at the end of 2019 on Model 231, two further training activities in particular were carried out in the 2020 financial year.
The first took place on 12 February 2020 and consisted of a classroom-based training activity aimed at all Group employees in Italy. It dealt with relations with the public administration and was attended by 15 executives (equal to 60% of the total) and 463 managers and white collar workers (equal to 74% of the total).
A second training activity was delivered in December 2020, specifically in relation to tax offences within the 231/20021 regulatory framework. Self-study training materials in particular were prepared and sent out, and knowledge acquisition consequently verified in February 2021 by means of a validation questionnaire. In the second half of 2021, employees who could not take the test on this first occasion or who failed it will get another opportunity to take it.
Members of the Board, as recipients of the 231 Model (and individuals with authority of approval), are required to comply with anti-corruption processes and provisions.
The Internal Audit, Security and Corporate Secretariat, Governance and Compliance functions are responsible for monitoring issues relating to fighting corruption.
Auditing activities are performed in order to monitor the internal control and risk management system in place within the entire company structure. Such activities are notably performed on the basis of an Audit Manual and an annual Audit Plan approved by the Board of Directors and based on any reports of critical issues identified by top management. Audits performed in 2020 focused on cyber security, procurement and consultancy management, privacy, and managing gifts, donations and sponsorships, among other things, without overlooking areas of interest that had been monitored in previous years and that require follow-up checks to be performed.
The pandemic inevitably meant changes to the Fiera Milano Group's exhibition and congress calendar and the consequent updating, over the course of the year, of the Audit Plan, justified by the emergence of new risks and new priorities relating to ensuring compliance with the regulatory provisions issued during the health crisis, without affecting the efficiency of the internal control system regarding the methods adopted by the company departments, which are in any case directed towards and coincide with the corporate procedures in force. In this regard, it is worth noting the continuous monitoring of the actions implemented by the Fiera Milano Group in compliance with the provisions issued by the Italian Government for dealing with the Covid-19 epidemiological emergency.
Furthermore, the Internal Control department performs the relevant verifications for all of the companies in the Group managed and coordinated by Fiera Milano, through full audits and/or analysis activities focusing on specific company processes. The Internal Control Department carried out an audit of the NFI preparation process in 2020 with a view to improving the maturity of the non-financial information processing procedure and making it as robust as the financial information processing procedure. The audit covered a sample of indicators for each material topic.
The Corporate Secretariat, Governance and Compliance function monitors the risk of non-compliance with the relevant regulations with a view to ensuring that company activities where the Italian subsidiaries are concerned are carried out in accordance with the internal and external regulatory framework in force. In this respect, and with specific reference to the fight against active and passive corruption, the following should be underlined:
The Security department, meanwhile, supports the other functions in assessing any potential conflicts of interest regarding suppliers/partners and the Italian companies within the Group.
40 Internship experiences University of the Sacred Heart, IULM University, Carlo Cattaneo University - LIUC, Sole 24 Ore Business School, Accademia di Comunicazione, Accademia di Fondazione Fiera Milano, AFOL Metropolitana, ADECCO, Randstad, the Accademia del Lusso in Milan, and the Gema Business School in Rome.
The figures in this chapter differ from those reported in the 2020 Annual Report as they relate to a different corporate perimeter, as explained in the chapter on "Preparation of the report" on page 24 of this document.
The enhancement of human capital is at the heart of the Fiera Milano Group's strategy, since the value and quality of a company's people are vital to achieving its objectives. The Human Resources department is committed to developing the skills of each Fiera Milano Group employee to ensure that the individuals concerned are able to fully express their energy and creativity and achieve their full potential, in compliance with the Code of Ethics. The continuous introduction of innovative tools, the identification of the most effective organisational solutions, the maintenance of an effective industrial relations system and the implementation of remuneration policies that are in line with the market are all factors that help to determine the best conditions for boosting professionalism and motivation among employees.
The main HR tools that the Fiera Milano Group uses are outlined below:
§ An Employer Branding programme aimed at building academic and professional networks to position the Fiera Milano group and attract young talent interested in the world of events, trade fairs and congresses. The ultimate aim of the programme is to promote generational renewal and cross-fertilisation between different generations of employees who are simultaneously present and operating within the group in order to bring complementary and equally important expertise, skill sets and energies to the table. Collaboration and partnership with the Accademia di Fondazione Fiera Milano plays a fundamental role within the programme, both in terms of numbers and opportunities to create synergies, along with various agreements with the main universities of Milan and the surrounding area (among others) aimed at identifying young talents and attracting and developing new skills.
§ A Performance Leadership Management (PLM) model that makes it possible to assess the performance and leadership of each employee in the group by setting annual targets and explaining expected behavioural traits, and that therefore also makes it possible to define the actions to be taken both in terms of salary policy and in terms of personal development and growth, particularly with a view to spreading a culture increasingly based on merit. The PLM process also makes it possible to align the "work" of all employees with the company strategy and employees' "way of working" with the company values and leadership model adopted. The overall PLM model also includes a procedure for the distribution of MBOs - (management by objectives) aimed at the Fiera Milano Group's management team and commercial entities.
As part of its personnel management policies, subsidiary company CIPA Fiera Milano notably adopts policies that are consistent with the parent company's provisions but adapted to the specific context in which it operates. The Brazilian company specifically adopts an integrated human resources management procedural system relating to the recruitment, training and development of its employees and the performance and leadership evaluation system (PLM) with the aim of promoting the growth of its people.
A separate chapter should be devoted to the various initiatives aimed at people and undertaken following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, for which the Group has implemented the initiatives illustrated in the dedicated chapter on the "Covid-19 emergency" on page 28.
As part of a programme of integrated personnel management policies, Fiera Milano recognises the need both to identify a system that is capable of aligning the efforts and skills of the individual with the Group's strategy and to promote a cultural renewal based on the meritocratic management of both people and their work.
The skills and knowledge of the individual, together with the performance of predetermined roles, must be transformed into services that are consistent with the Fiera Milano Group's strategy through a system of procedures and policies with the ability to continuously fuel and update the company's capabilities.
The Performance Leadership Management model adopted by the Fiera Milano Group in 2018 continued to be implemented in 2020. In the early months of the year, the 2019 cycle was closed with a self-assessment of the individual performances of the population involved in the year in question, followed by the direct manager assessment phase and subsequent calibration by the general management. The system is structured in such a way as to encourage cross-functional collaboration and develop formal manager-employee communication for the purposes of increasing opportunities for constructive feedback.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Executives | nd | nd | nd | nd | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Managers and White collar workers (including Journalists) |
nd | nd | nd | nd | 135 | 203 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 111 | 0 | 0 |
| Workers | nd | nd | nd | nd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 154 | 207 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 116 | 0 | 0 |
Again in the early months of the year, and at the same time as the 2019 assessments were being performed, the Fiera Milano Group had embarked upon, and largely finalised, the process of assigning individual performance goals to the target population for the 2020 PLM campaign.
Following the health emergency caused by Covid-19, which led to the cancellation and rescheduling of several major trade fair and congress events and consequently to the request for income support measures for all Fiera Milano Group companies, many of the objectives linked to business operations, assigned based on the PLM method, became inapplicable. The extensive and enforced practice of working from home over the course of 2020 suddenly made it possible to base the organisation of work on individual responsibility. In this regard, Fiera Milano extended its Performance and Leadership Management system to the entire company population under the following conditions.
With regard to the Leadership elements, the traits assessed will remain the same: Leading Change (wanting to be the best; seeking discontinuity and simplification; practicing what you preach; acting with integrity and respect for others) and Leading People (encouraging teamwork and promoting collaboration; valuing others and helping them to develop and grow; demonstrating humility, transparency and flexibility; taking responsibility and expecting the same from others).
With regard to the Performance element, everyone will be assessed on the following objectives, which are the same for everyone:
The process will take place by means of the "Oracle HCM" platform launched in March 2021 and will follow the planned schedule.
As confirmation of the Fiera Milano Group's commitment to pursuing sustainability objectives, at least one ESG goal is expected to be incorporated into the PLM of all Group employees by 2025.
During 2020, the succession & management continuity plan continued to be used to identify potential successors for key positions within the Group. Over the course of 2020, the plan did, in fact, lead to the replacement of one individual reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of a subsidiary. Following the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of the parent company, Fabrizio Curci, with effect from 18 June 2020, a succession plan was launched, and later completed in October 2020, with the appointment of the new Chief Executive Officer, Luca Palermo, with effect from 1 January 2021.
The 2018-2019 LTI (Medium-Long Term Incentive) Plan based on a combined cash and performance share structure was concluded in 2020. The performance results reached the maximum target in both of the years covered by the plan. In March 2020, at the same time as the approval of the preliminary Financial Statements, the Board of Directors of Fiera Milano therefore proceeded to propose to the subsequent Shareholders' Meeting that the Plan be concluded and that the amounts payable be paid to the relevant beneficiaries.
The scope of processes managed through Oracle HCM and that previously involved manual processing extends to those related to the Core HR, Recruiting, Performance and Training modules.
§ The Recruiting module will support the creation and approval of vacancies, the corresponding publication of searches (internally, on the intranet, or externally, on institutional websites) and the entire selection process until the successful candidate is appointed.
§ The Performance module will involve conducting annual "campaigns" to set targets and assess performance, in accordance with the PLM (Performance and Leadership Management) programme that the Fiera Milano Group adopted three years ago. The functionalities of the module will also be used to conduct the calibration meetings (talent reviews) and record the outcomes thereof.
The Fiera Milano Group felt and still feels that digitalisation, including in the management of the four areas of activity relating to the development of human capital, will make a significant contribution to improving its ability to attract talent, develop skills and measure the performance of the company's workforce, as well as being a unique and essential basis for managing information relating to its people.
Such activities are particularly important looking to the future, at a time when the pandemic has suddenly resulted in working relationships becoming increasingly based on trust and performance (as opposed to purely "working time") and when the ability to reskill and upskill (train) one's own resources will be strategic due to the high rate of change in the business in question and the average length of service of the group's employees.
Finally, HCM will also allow other corporate functions such as Compliance, Prevention and Protection Service, and Audit to monitor mandatory training and the delivery of agreed plans, as well as to refer to public information and centralised reporting, as driven by the information system.
The deployment of the HCM software within the group, in the first months of 2021, will essentially be divided into three different stages aimed at encouraging its gradual adoption. The first phase (in January) will involve training the small HR group so that the team most directly involved becomes familiar with the tool and starts to consistently update the database in the system (migrated from various company sources during the project phase). The second phase (in February) will see the opening up of the system to the entire corporate population in ESS (employee self-service) mode in order to supplement the database with a campaign to update personal profiles with a view to HCM operation, as well as initial "process" experience, especially where the learning module is concerned. The final phase (in March) will involve providing direct training for people managers on their role in the key processes (performance and learning) that will involve them.
New digital technologies that have developed over the last few years enable HR managers to deliver a more engaging and personalised employee experience on a large scale. At the same time, data automation and the ability to analyse results have introduced new innovations when it comes to understanding, managing and engaging the workforce. HR managers now have a completely new set of tools for maximising the value of their organisation, from intelligent recruitment to personalised retention procedures, performance optimisation to a 'continuous learning' process for its resources.
The Fiera Milano Group has decided to adopt modern tools for managing and enhancing its human capital, set up initiatives aimed at its people and measure the effectiveness of such efforts.
2021 will be the first year in which this tool will be used and the Company believes that it will immediately bring shared and perceived added value. This is particularly true in this phase that we are currently experiencing and especially within the group's accelerated digital transformation process, where HCM could also find itself playing the role of "facilitator" (e.g. through the training module, to provide all employees affected by the various changes with reference points and training programmes).
The Fiera Milano Group has confirmed its focus on its own people by seeking to find alternative means of promoting the well-being of employees, irrespective of factors such as rate of employment, length of service, or job description or classification.
A Corporate Welfare Plan has notably been draw up for all Group employees, giving them the opportunity, via a special platform, to access supplementary pension benefits, personal services and other measures designed to improve their work-life balance, with the recognition of specific credit. This plan can be accessed online via the WellFair portal, where employees can "build" their own package of goods and services and manage it independently as far as their available credit will allow. The WellFair portal focuses on opportunities in various areas, such as education, health insurance, supplementary pension funds, babysitters and social workers, sports, holiday packages, culture, shopping vouchers, transport subscriptions, repayment of loan/mortgage interest, legal advice, home maintenance, etc.
The Italian companies belonging to the Fiera Milano Group are bound by the national collective bargaining agreement for employees of tertiary, distribution and services companies, with the exception of journalists
employed by Fiera Milano Media, who are bound by the specific contract for their category. Companies operating in other countries, of course, adhere to local employment and contract law.
All Italian companies, as well as CIPA Fiera Milano (Brazil), also have a secondary Supplementary Contract or company regulations that complement and improve upon the provisions of the relevant NCBA.
Fiera Milano's Supplementary Company Contract (CIA), valid from 4 March 2019 until 31 December 2022, in particular contains numerous innovations for the Group in terms of working hours, social clauses and support for families and parents, as well as in terms of welfare. As regards working hours and the work organisation specifically, the aim of the contract was to harmonise and bring in line company organisational requirements, which are specific to the exhibition industry, with peak times, with the personal and professional needs of people, in order to promote a greater balance between professional and personal life. New social and family institutions have also been set up.
Furthermore, in order to achieve a good work-life balance, the 40 hours per week provided for in the
Redefining welfare indirectly proportionally by gross annual salary band so that those in the lower income bands receive more
40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, with a minimum of 4 hours per day
Increased adaptability and flexibility of start and finish times
The adoption of the "Tempo Solidale" time-share system whereby employees can donate holiday time and/or hourly leave voluntarily and free of charge to colleagues who have already exhausted their own allowances
80-hour reduction in working time as opposed to the 72 hours provided for in the commercial NCBA
Option of making up for any work carried out on a Saturday on a weekday in the same week in which the work is carried out or within the following week at the latest; Sunday working is paid in full if it follows a Saturday that has been made up elsewhere
Parental leave coverage of up to 80%, currently paid by the INPS at a rate of 30%, for leave taken by both parents within the first year of the child's life
25 hours of paid leave per year for each child placed in nursery or primary school
Subsidy of Euro 1,000 for the birth/adoption of a child or the death of an immediate relative (spouse or common-law partner)
Parking spaces reserved for pregnant employees
Company canteen and high-quality catering services
Extension of the grace period to a maximum of 365 days over two calendar years, with a supplement of up to 100% of the salary
50 hours of paid leave per year for specialist examinations, medical treatment and/or clinical laboratory tests, including those concerning immediate relatives and/or relatives-in-law, i.e. spouse or common-law partner
40 hours of paid leave and 108 hours of unpaid leave per year to care for disabled or elderly dependent family members
Supplementary company pension scheme whereby the company contributes 3% of the gross annual pay for employees signed up to the PREVIP scheme
Production bonus, available in cash or welfare benefits, for employees not covered by the individual incentive scheme, payment of which is subject to the consolidated EBITDA threshold in terms of budget being reached
Occupational and non-occupational accidents, permanent disability and life insurance, including for those on fixed-term contracts
Granting of subsidised loans
Extra hours of study leave in addition to those provided for in the NCBA
Supplementary Contract are calculated on a weekly basis and therefore based on broad criteria in terms of daily flexibility.
The Fiera Milano Congressi subsidiary has internal regulations(the standardisation of business services across the Italian companies within the Group is expected to be completed in 2021, with the Fiera Milano Congressi subsidiary and MADE Eventi adopting the Supplementary Company Contract) that provide, among other things, for attractive health insurance to be extended to employees' families.
Digital Workplace is the Fiera Milano Group's project aimed at profoundly transforming the way in which its employees work and operate and that therefore, in addition to the corporate implications of productivity, safety and transparency, also has an impact on the personal and professional lives of the Group's employees.
Among the various initiatives of the Digital Workplace project in 2020, the development and testing phase of the new employee app continued, with the app being made available to the entire company population as of January 2021, along with the allocation of new IT hardware as part of the renewal and updating of the 'machine' inventory. Further app functionalities are also being implemented with the ultimate aim of making it the single digital interface between employees and the company. Within the app, in addition to the calendar of exhibitions and the corresponding pavilion maps, the employee will also find the latest Noi Fiera 365 (the new company intranet) news and all useful information about the site itself, updated on a weekly basis. The app will also allow users to file reports with various departments in real time, create their own business cards, obtain a smart badge and calculate the quickest route to a specific location. In the future, the app should enable payments to be made across the site and meal vouchers to be digitised.
Again as part of Digital Workplace, a plan was launched in 2020 with a view to integrating and replacing the technological equipment available to employees (laptops, smartphones, tablets, keyboards and mouses) in order to provide everyone with the basic tools they need to enjoy the necessary flexibility, in keeping with the new philosophy of assigning and performing work based on objectives rather than on the time spent on various tasks, on the one hand, and with digital development and therefore with a new working culture that favours greater integration, collaboration, mobility and IT security, on the other. The plan will be concluded over the course of 2021, when these working tools and their respective usage policies will be available to all employees.
In addition to the Digital Workplace project and the technological investments made, Fiera Milano brought forward the Agile Working project by performing the corresponding analysis and feasibility study in the latter part of the year. To this end, a survey was carried out among managers and all employees of the Group in Italy to assess the following
1 the feasibility of agile working in individual areas and the preferred methods of application (managers)
2 the general vision of and interest in agile working and a new organisation of work (employees)
The results of the survey (managers) showed, for their respective areas of competence, that most activities were in keeping with a different and more flexible (remote) organisation of work and could therefore be reorganised, thanks, in part, to the tools provided. The results of the survey (employees) showed a largely positive opinion of the possibility of implementing agile working arrangements for a large percentage of employees (97%). The main perceived advantages included a reduction in commuting time, improved professional well-being and valuable help in terms of managing a family. At the same time as collecting feedback on the Agile Working project, a Joint Technical Committee was set up between the company and the RSU (United Trade Union Representatives) to determine the technical aspects and policies to be applied with the launch of this new type of organisation and performance of work. The implementation and execution phase of the project is expected to being in 2021, as soon as the conditions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic allow for the resumption of normal activities.
The Fiera Milano Group's training process in 2020 was once again aimed at helping its people to acquire knowledge and skills that would prove useful in the undertaking of their activities and improving the quality thereof, based on the belief that people's expertise and continuous capacity for learning are a company asset that should be constantly stimulated and cultivated.
Owing to the health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, training was mainly delivered in e-learning mode over the course of the year. After the first few months of 2020, when it was possible to continue with classroom-based training aimed at all employees, on regulatory and procedural updates regarding relations with the Public Administration, the remaining delivery focused on webinars and summits of a technical, specialist and managerial nature, thanks primarily to the agreement entered into with Group company Fiera Milano Media (Business International), which meant that Group employees were able to attend refresher webinars and conferences on Finance, Marketing and Sales, Supply Chain and Leadership, offered on a monthly and weekly basis.
Journalists belonging to the Group were also able to continue their continuous training remotely, and the fruitful collaboration with the trade associations' (Asseprim and Ebiter) training companies continued, offering in-depth webinars on digital, web-related and smart working issues.
The Fiera Milano Group also begun a process of digital transformation, as previously mentioned, with the launch of the Digital Workplace project, which has allowed the Group to begin transforming working practices, changing habits and operating models, through the adoption of new tools, including Office 365. Digital ambassadors have been appointed for each area of the company for the purposes of supporting this period of change. These are people of reference who are enthusiastic and want to learn, who will serve as examples and centres of expertise for their colleagues when it comes to adopting the relevant tools and actively participating in the Digital Workplace project. In addition to organising specific training on the new Office 365 tools (Teams, Planner, Forms, SharePoint, etc.), an online support community was established for them and an e-learning platform with training videos on using the tools created. This training involved 47 employees in training courses lasting 10 hours each, making a total of 470 hours' training.
Staying in the field of digital transformation, one of OneGroup's (a programme for implementing various new corporate management software programs) main projects is the commissioning of the company's new CRM solution (Salesforce), which will have an impact on the working methods of approximately two hundred colleagues. As part of this project, and as the first of a series of dedicated CRM training initiatives that will undoubtedly be delivered over the course of 2021, 656 hours of training on the use of Salesforce were delivered in 2020, involving 12 executives and 146 managers and white collar workers.
Efforts to provide digital training for employees will continue over the next few years, with the aim of training the entire company population from a reskilling and transformation perspective, including a cultural one, which should help increase both productivity and effectiveness when it comes to the group's releasing of new, different and hybrid products, as envisaged in the Strategic Plan, by 2025. In 2021 alone, the group expects to provide at least 10,000 hours of digital training, but the actual figure could be up to double that amount. Digitalisation projects focused on CRM (6,000 hours), Design and Exhibition Layout (1,500 hours), Digital Workplace (1,000 hours), Procurement (800 hours) and HCM (700 hours).
Despite the fact that the Group's training efforts will focus on the development of digital skills in particular in 2021, the anticipated training plan will also include activities aimed at the new and conventional leadership skills required by this different way of working, including working remotely and encouraging self-learning as a fundamental skill in the process of professional and personal training via the new HCM application. The training plan will exploit all opportunities for funded training available to the company's workforce (including executives), providing training courses that complement those already outlined, in terms of the skills sought (soft skills, language skills, technical skills, etc.) and also in terms of delivery methods, with a return to inperson classroom-based training as soon as conditions allow.
In 2020, the weekly 'Tips' educational initiative (IT tips and tricks on the use of tools and software) was also launched by sending a weekly e-mail to the entire population and publishing the news on the company intranet.
With regard to the foreign subsidiaries, CIPA Fiera Milano focused on providing appropriate guidelines to all employees on actions related to the postponement of its exhibitions, the communication approach to be adopted when dealing with clients, and constant information on health and well-being, as well as on preventive measures relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company also offered all employees the opportunity to participate in a test event in the form of a trial organised for the purposes of implementing and properly testing the health protocols issued by the Brazilian health authorities as part of training and development for the company's upcoming exhibitions.
In 2020, the South African subsidiary did not put in place any individual training plans.
Overall 537 people took part in the 51 training courses held, for a total of 2,503 hours. The investment in training on the part of the Group's Italian companies in 2020 amounted to Euro 45,106, accounting for 0.1% of the total consolidated wage bill (0.3% in 2019).
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Executives | 106 | 57 | 8 | 0 | 280 | 43 | 54 | 0 | 345 | 175 | 54 | 0 |
| Managers and White collar workers (including Journalists) |
891 | 1,383 | 12 | 47 | 4,411 | 7,078 | 697 | 338 | 5,025 | 7,253 | 104 | 207 |
| Total hours of training delivered |
997 | 1,440 | 20 | 47 | 4,691 | 7,121 | 751 | 338 | 5,370 | 7,428 | 158 | 207 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Executives | 4.6 | 28.5 | 8.0 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 10.8 | 54.0 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 34.9 | 54.0 | 0.0 |
| Managers and White collar workers (including Journalists) |
3.7 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 17.9 | 20.7 | 63.4 | 17.8 | 21.2 | 20.0 | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Average hours of training per employee |
3.8 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 17.4 | 20.6 | 62.6 | 17.8 | 20.7 | 20.2 | 12.2 | 9.9 |
Internships have been a very important recruitment channel for the company for some years now, with a view to developing and enhancing its human capital as part of a structured professional and training pathway. The Covid-19 health emergency, which affected the Group over the course of 2020, led to a drastic reduction in the selection of new young talents and had an impact on active internships. Over the course of the year, however, 40 internships were transferred to the Fiera Milano Group, of which 14 were initiated in the first months of 2020. Despite the precarious circumstances, Fiera Milano initially kept the interns active, albeit suspended, for a long period of time, before cutting their internships short when the company was unable to guarantee the terms of the training pathway. Nevertheless, one of these interns was then hired on a fixed-term contract.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Already taken on |
12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Taken on in the year |
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 46 | 1 | 0 |
We managed to continue to implement and develop the Employer Branding project launched in 2019 right throughout 2020, despite changes to the corresponding conditions, consolidating existing partnerships and establishing new ones. Fiera Milano has maintained and enriched its network with universities and specialist schools by participating in countless online events aimed at students.
The Social Responsibility Contest, promoted and executed over the course of 2019, had seen the presentation of seven projects considered valid and worthy of moving on to the implementation phase, thus also rewarding the dedication, passion and enthusiasm of all involved.
The outbreak of the pandemic and the halting of activities led to the discontinuation of several projects; nevertheless, with regard to the "Green Gift" project, the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment - a recognised method for calculating the ecological impact of an activity) implementation phase was launched with the aim of offsetting some of the emissions through projects implemented at a local level.
Furthermore, with regard to the "Sustainable Event" project, the update of Fiera Milano's Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety was published in November 2020 following the implementation of the Integrated Management System (IMS) to ISO 20121 and ISO 9001 standards, as required in order to obtain the relative certifications.
(from the Code of Ethics)
As far as the Fiera Milano Group is concerned, offering all employees the same opportunities to develop their own skills and capabilities, avoiding any form of discrimination based on race, sex, age, nationality, religion or personal beliefs, is considered a key pillar of its management policy.
With regard to female employment in particular, Fiera Milano produces a biennial report on gender equality in terms of the situation regarding recruitment, training, promotions and other factors, in compliance with Legislative Decree no. 198 of 11 April 2006.
Women accounted for 57% of the total workforce at the end of 2020. The percentage of all executives and white collar workers who are women stands at 59%, with this figure decreasing to 8% where managerial roles are concerned.
The number of female staff members decreased from 365 in 2019 to 363 in 2020. Of the 35 new recruits joining the company in 2020, 23 were women.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man Woman | Totale | % | Man Woman | Totale | % | Man Woman | Totale | % | ||||
| Executives | 24 | 2 | 26 | 8% | 23 | 4 | 27 | 15% | 23 | 5 | 28 | 18% |
| Managers and White collar workers (including Journalists) |
249 | 361 | 610 | 59% | 258 | 361 | 619 | 58% | 249 | 383 | 632 | 61% |
| Total | 273 | 363 | 636 | 57% | 281 | 365 | 646 | 57% | 272 | 388 | 660 | 59% |
Fiera Milano is actively involved in the HR Working Group set up by the UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and committed to managing staffrelated challenges in the exhibition sector. The issues in question are shared within the wider UFI community through various events (including the HR Management Forum and the HR Special Interest Group held at the UFI's Global Congresses). Fiera Milano's commitment to the UFI HR Working Group also continued in 2020. Fiera Milano hosted a meeting of the Working Group at its Rho headquarters in January that was attended by numerous representatives of various companies operating in our sector. The development of the Covid-19 pandemic subsequently impacted the Working Group's normal activities, including leading to the cancellation of the planned HR Management Forum in Stockholm in May 2020 and the annual HR Award. The Human Resources Director of the Fiera Milano Group was appointed "Chair" of the HR Working Group in October.
100% of employees of the Group's Italian companies who took maternity leave in the two years returned to and stayed in work. All women who have taken maternity leave – 9 in 2020 and 10 in 2019 – net of leave not yet completed, returned to work after 12 months.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Permanent employees | 258 | 331 | 11 | 22 | 250 | 324 | 12 | 19 | 246 | 345 | 12 | 22 |
| Fixed term employees | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 262 | 341 | 11 | 22 | 269 | 346 | 12 | 19 | 259 | 367 | 12 | 22 |
The Fiera Milano Group employs staff on fixed-term contracts to cope with peaks in activity linked to trends in the exhibition calendar and the implementation of one-off projects. The number of staff on fixed-term contracts as of 31 December 2020 stood at 14.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Executives | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Managers and White collar workers (including Journalists) |
239 | 339 | 10 | 22 | 247 | 342 | 11 | 19 | 237 | 362 | 11 | 22 |
| Workers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 262 | 341 | 11 | 22 | 269 | 346 | 12 | 19 | 259 | 367 | 12 | 22 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Full-time | 259 | 284 | 11 | 22 | 266 | 285 | 12 | 19 | 256 | 293 | 12 | 21 |
| Part-time | 3 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 262 | 341 | 11 | 22 | 269 | 346 | 12 | 19 | 259 | 367 | 12 | 22 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Between 30 and 50 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Over 50 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 12 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 1 | 6 |
| Between 30 and 50 | 122 | 174 | 6 | 14 | 132 | 183 | 6 | 9 | 128 | 212 | 7 | 13 |
| Over 50 | 105 | 143 | 3 | 4 | 98 | 126 | 3 | 4 | 95 | 123 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 239 | 339 | 10 | 22 | 247 | 342 | 11 | 19 | 237 | 362 | 11 | 22 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| Between 30 and 50 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| Over 50 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 12 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 33 | 2 | 6 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 0.5% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 6.1% | 1.0% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 9.7% | 1.3% | 2.4% | 5.9% | 11.8% |
| Between 30 and 50 | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 12.1% | 3.4% | 1.1% | 3.2% | 9.7% | 1.8% | 2.7% | 0.0% | 5.9% |
| Over 50 | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 3.0% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 6.5% | 6.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Total | 2.0% | 2.7% | 0.0% | 21.2% | 5.4% | 4.1% | 12.9% | 25.8% | 3.2% | 5.3% | 5.9% | 17.6% |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 8 |
| Between 30 and 50 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 4 |
| Over 50 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 24 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 32 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 30 | 7 | 14 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Under 30 | 1.0% | 2.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 9.7% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 23.5% |
| Between 30 and 50 | 2.7% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 6.1% | 1.3% | 2.8% | 6.5% | 22.6% | 0.6% | 1.8% | 11.8% | 11.8% |
| Over 50 | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 3.0% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 6.5% | 3.2% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| Total | 4.0% | 4.8% | 3.0% | 12.1% | 3.6% | 5.2% | 12.9% | 35.5% | 2.7% | 4.8% | 20.6% | 41.2% |
"Fiera Milano is dedicated to spreading and strengthening a culture of safety at work, in which everyone is aware of risks, using all the resources needed to ensure the health and safety of its visitors and customers and the communities it works in."
(from the Code of Ethics)
One of Fiera Milano's fundamental objectives is to protect people and company assets from threats, fraud and criminal behaviour, be it internal or third-party, that could directly or indirectly harm their finances, reputation or physical well-being. It is supported by the police in doing so, based on the principles of collaborative prevention and integrated security, while respecting the separateness of their roles.
In accordance with the policies promoted in its Code of Ethics and the 231 Model, Fiera Milano is equipped with a Safety and Accessibility Plan that maps the preventive measures in terms of structure at management in place at Fieramilano, Fieramilanocity and the MiCo congress centre to prevent and reduce the risks associated with its activities and set out a course of continuous improvement. The main objective is an integrated security system that protects company assets and people.
Security management within the Group is entrusted to the Security department, which takes actions and uses tools to manage and mitigate risks. Since July 2019, the Security department has included Exhibition Security and District Logistics departments, with a view to complete and organic management of its work throughout the phases of the events. The department operates in compliance with the Security Manual, which defines the principal methods, principles and criteria for the company's security activities.
Security work is done according to a process logic that takes into account its impact on all operations and management and the relevant legislation and specialist technical issues. Specifically, Fiera Milano's security process can be broken down into various sub-processes.
The Security department, in collaboration with the Risk Management department, analyses threats to security, both internal and external, mapping any risks and updating them regularly. They then plan operations and security checks at the macro-level connected with managing the districts and/or organising the exhibitions. Operations in the field of security consist of actions and tools for managing and mitigating risks, identified through previous risk assessment. Moreover, they are followed by assessment and constant monitoring.
Security measures can be divided into organisational, physical and cyber ones.
The Security department ensures, using the best methods of risk assessment and management, that specific checks are done on the reputations of third parties charged by the Group with security, for example:
The department has the perfect tools at its disposal, including authorised data bases and companies that specialise in assessing third parties. Among the main results of the reputation assessments was a rating for third parties, assigned according to an effective risk-scoring model. The reputation rating for third parties is done for security reasons and regularly monitored by the Security department, in collaboration with the relevant company departments (e.g. supplier procurement). Regarding the reputation assessment of suppliers in Brazil, in February 2020 the administrative body of CIPA approved a process of supplier assessment, covering reputation analysis and revisiting the guide lines adopted at the corporate level, albeit with the necessary modifications based on local requirements. For more information, see the chapter "The supply chain" on page 46.
The Security department deals with managing and coordinating physical entry to all company sites of the Fiera Milano Group (legal and operating headquarters and exhibition spaces), as well as assessing them with the help of internal and external people, based on the type of assessment, and the IT systems described below.
When assessing entry, the Security department uses internal and external people to ensure:
The Security department also helps actively run transport in and around the exhibition sites, throughout the different phases of events, through its Traffic Control and Coordination Centre, thanks to a series of agreements with the main transport operators and the police.
Management of the exhibition sites is supported by centres open round the clock, using video cameras and alarmed perimeter fences, with trusted security guards, anti-fire staff and tools, in permanent coordination with the police in the set-up and exhibition phase of events in order to protect security and law and order. Specific documents are made available for every phase of the exhibition, setting out the times and methods of every operation along with the various services needed if every phase is to be carried out in time and as well as possible, to protect the environment and the safety of workers involved in the services. For more information, see the paragraph on health and safety at the exhibition sites.
In 2020, the Security Plan, begun in 2017, was completed. It involved bringing facilities, processes and procedures up to scratch, to raise assessment levels on the basis of the new responsibilities dictated to organisers/managers of public events and exhibitions in the "Gabrielli" circular of 7 June 2017, NR. 555/ OP/0001991/2017/1. Specifically, the plan involved installing bag and full body scanners at entry points to Fieramilano, Fieramilanocity and MiCo, and traffic barriers to protect pedestrian areas. It also involved greater security and checks on the accessibility of areas for exhibitions, with a view to protecting the health and safety of people in the district. This technology also allows us to see in real time the number of people within the exhibition sites.
Lastly, more video cameras and video recording devices were also added, extending the surface monitored by video surveillance to better guard company assets.
| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fieramilano | Fieramilanocity | Fieramilano | Fieramilanocity | |
| Bag checks ('000) | 1,628 | 146 | 2,340 | 250 |
| Metal detector checks ('000) | 318 | 102 | 3,151 | 286 |
The number of checks decreased significantly in 2020 due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the Covid-19 emergency.
The Security department uses good regulatory, organisational and IT tools to ensure proper levels of security when managing the company's information, in terms of:
The Group takes the security measures it feels are necessary to protect the integrity and confidentiality of its information, so as to block any unauthorised access to and attacks on its IT systems. These security measures must protect all the information processed by the company, including that which relates to third parties (suppliers, exhibitors, consultants, etc.).
In terms of cyber security specifically, the security and IT departments work together to define and monitor a system for monitoring cyber threats and risks, including through cyber intelligence work.
The Security department, in collaboration with the IT department and in respect for the relevant legislation (e.g. on privacy), creates and maintains an inventory of all the Fiera Milano Group's IT assets (like applications, databases, technological infrastructure, company archives, etc.), identifies the owners of the information, defines a model for classifying data, information and documents, sets out rules and behaviour for using information based on classifications assigned to it.
Advanced protective measures were implemented in three crucial areas over the course of 2020:
In all three areas, the tools introduced to protect against cyber attacks were the most advanced of their kind in relation to the solutions available on the market. Furthermore, Security Operation services were implemented through first-level players with the aim of making the best possible use of these solutions and significantly increasing the company's overall security level. A consolidation of the various tools and services implemented so far is planned for 2021 through the introduction of SOC (Security Operation Centre) and MDR (Managed Detect and Response) services aimed at centralising and integrating all security controls and services into a single control room.
The Security Department also includes the Exhibition Safety function, which is responsible for mitigating the risks associated with the work involved in setting up, running and dismantling exhibitions.
For the Fiera Milano Group, the health and safety of its workers and everyone who enters its exhibition sites is paramount. Accordingly, they are planned, managed and monitored through a series of preventive and protective actions to protect them. For the proper management of these activities, the Group has permanent contracts for security services at the exhibition sites, for continuous monitoring and protection of all aspects of security at its exhibitions. Each exhibition is, therefore, monitored in all its phases of organisation (from drafting the contract to completion), to assess and ensure compliance with all safety and fire-prevention practices and full compliance with Fiera Milano's Technical Regulations.
The management of the interference risks for each individual exhibition is done in two distinct phases, in compliance with current legislation. During the preparation phase of the exhibition, the so-called 'single document for the evaluation of interference risks' for the exhibition is sent to the organiser, and once duly integrated with the latter's own information, is shared and made available to all those involved. Also at this stage the DUVRI for Fiera Milano contractors is prepared and shared with them. This document regulates the risks of direct responsibility of the exhibition site manager.
On 21 June 2019 Fiera Milano signed a protocol agreed with the prefecture of Milan and the local health authority and approved by the Ministry of the Interior. This agreement defines, in accordance with regulatory requirements, the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in installing and dismantling exhibitions, as well as information and communication obligations between Fiera Milano and the local health authority.
Specifically, the agreement provides for:
In light of the signing of the above protocol, and following the reinforcement of the new organisational structure concerning the Security department, the updating of the various procedures, operating instructions and reference forms was completed in 2020. All contractual documents that Fiera Milano drafts and forwards to the various parties involved in the exhibition document process undergo a suitable review, as do the reference forms on Fiera Milano's website and on the E-Service portal.
In 2020, in light of analyses done at the exhibition sites to prepare for the Crisis Management Plan described on page 45, certain processes were carried out that by their nature required formal, specific working rules. So, working rules were put in place for:
Also in 2020, more than 4,600 hours of monitoring were done and more than 1,800 audit reports written. The main things monitored were: exhibition sites, assessment of technical and construction documentation presented by exhibitors, compliance with fire regulations, especially in terms of maximum crowding and usability of extinguishers (fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, fire buttons, etc.), assessment of escape routes and emergency exits, assessment of safety signs and fire extinguishers at sites and exhibitions.
Over the course of 2020, the management of healthcare provided by the First Aid clinic and ambulances was transferred under the direct responsibility of the Exhibition Safety service and is currently the responsibility of the contracted leading operator (Italian Red Cross).
The Group intends to continue its revisiting of documents and procedures in 2021 to launch the implementation and deployment of a Safety Management System with a view to obtaining certification by 2025.
Over the course of 2020, an LED monitor system was installed at the access gates to the Fieramilano-Rho site and along the pedestrian routes of Corso Italia and Ponte dei Mari. As well as displaying advertising, infotainment and wayfinding content, these monitors are used to provide stand fitters, exhibitors and visitors with information, including rules and prohibitions that are essential for safety purposes, such as the site regulations, exhibition safety provisions, instructions for preventing the spread of Covid-19 and rules of conduct for scanner and metal detector checks. By 2021, the age system is also expected to be used to convey information in real time (flow management in normal and emergency situations, infomobility service, etc.). A similar system has been active since 2018 also at MiCo.
The system will also be used to manage emergencies and any ensuing evacuations.
The Fiera Milano Group has adopted a series of measures designed to ensure compliance with national and EU regulations and technical standards regarding health and safety in the workplace, identifying risks and implementing the necessary preventive and protective measures. The Prevention and Protection function is responsible within the Group for measures designed to ensure health and safety in the workplace, including, as far as it is able, monitoring its contractors. Hazards have been identified and health and safety risks assessed as follows:
The analysis also took into account specific regulatory requirements, along with proven or experience-based technical standards and/or rules (analyses of past accidents and incidents).
The risk analysis refers to sources of risk-related to the type of building, fixed technological service facilities and work-related activities for which Fiera Milano is responsible and those that are connected and exposed in particular. Following the identification of sources of potential danger, a risk assessment was carried out by connecting various aspects, including the following:
The preventive and protective measures implemented by Fiera Milano include the following:
A health monitoring programme for Fiera Milano's internal workers is drawn up every year by the competent physician, looking at the use of display screens and outlining the protocols to be followed.
The annual safety meeting, which is also attended by Employee Safety Representatives, analyses the following points, among others:
All new recruits must undergo training on health and safety in the workplace in accordance with the agreement of the 2011 permanent conference of the state and regions, which notably includes the following:
All employees are required to undergo a five-yearly six-hour update on the health and safety of workers, with four-hour courses every two years.
In 2020, Fiera Milano, via the special Covid-19 Committee, implemented a series of actions aimed at implementing the correct safety measures relating to the emergency linked to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. On this matter, please refer to the chapter on the "Covid-19 Emergency" on page 28 of this document.
The reports shared every three months with the Occupational Safety Officer and the Corporate Secretariat, Governance and Compliance function regarding accidents involving Group employees and workers of contracted companies for the purposes of preparing a special report sent to the Supervisory Board show that no accidents occurred in 2020.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (thousands of Euro) | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad |
| Injury prevention equipment and other safety tools |
48.98 | 0.00 | 8.76 | 0.11 | 10.12 | 0.15 |
| Health checks | 32.96 | 0.49 | 21.26 | 0.23 | 22.44 | 0.32 |
| Environmental analyses | 52.61 | 0.00 | 147.60 | 1.29 | 162.50 | 1.32 |
| Training | 8.19 | 0.00 | 2.68 | 0.00 | 3.64 | 0.00 |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | Italy | Abroad | |||||||
| Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | Man Woman | |||||||
| Total injuries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fatal injuries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serious injuries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frequency index | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.85 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of hours worked |
273,253 292,959 | 31,108 | 48,970 419,720 504,419 | 30,186 | 44,213 398,448 519,910 | 33,761 | 43,607 |
The Fiera Milano Group's aim is to organise events that not only meet the needs of the contemporary market but also, first and foremost, blaze a trail, charting the routes that supply and demand will take in the future.
The Fiera Milano Group's task is therefore to support companies in understanding market trends and identifying actions to be taken in order to seize future business opportunities.
In addition to supporting exhibiting and/or visiting clients in improving their knowledge of the current market and future trends, the Fiera Milano Group aims to offer outstanding services.
A debriefing process coordinated by the Strategic Marketing Department is implemented for the post-event evaluation of all events held at the exhibition sites for the purposes of improving the quality of the services offered. This process involves all of the functions involved in organising the exhibitions being analysed. After this, a summary report is written, looking at the main quality problems encountered during the exhibition organisation and execution stages. Best practices and suggestions for the future edition are also gathered. The last phase of the process involves sharing the report with the company functions and then taking improving measures, if needed.
The Fiera Milano Group has been carrying out customer satisfaction surveys that allow it to continuously monitor supply and demand through a third party company for a number of years now in order to systematically monitor levels of customer satisfaction among exhibitors and/or visitors to each directly organised exhibitions.
The survey, which has been suspended since March 2020 for reasons relating to the pandemic, will resume as of September 2021, taking into account both Fiera Milano's new business model and the outlook for the global exhibition and congress market. Furthermore, a system for monitoring claims will be implemented over the course of 2021 thanks to the new functionalities of the technological exhibition support platform.
The customer satisfaction survey system has been set up to monitor the various driving factors and levels pertaining to customer satisfaction. The weighted average of the sum of all factors is determined using the synthetic "FM Index", which summarises the average degree of satisfaction and can be compared both among all events within the Fiera Milano group and among the international exhibition sector.
The index was built on a weighted refiguring of research into four questions (original model: MPS — Evolving Marketing Research):
Satisfaction — Customer loyalty — Benchmark competitors — Recommendability
The index is explained numerically, on a scale of values between -66 and +134.
Below the synthetic FM Indexes for exhibitors and visitors at the property exhibitions that took place in first quarter of 2020 are analysed.
HOMI Il Salone degli Stili di Vita is an exhibition dedicated to the world of home design, decoration and furniture, held in January every year at Fiera Milano. The event boasts a wide assortment of products for contemporary living and looks to the dynamically evolving world of distribution, everything from specialist sales points to organised mass distribution, e-commerce to interior design. The January 2020 edition was able to showcase the richness of the products, organising them based on the individual features and size of each sales point and presenting an efficient, practical explanation of the exhibition's offer for visitors and buyers. Finally, a socially and environmentally conscious project to reuse production waste from companies for design and aimed at involving the exhibiting companies in an annual design competition was presented at the January 2020 edition. In 2020, HOMI recorded an overall FM Index of 42 for visitors and 21 for exhibitors.
HOMI Fashion&Jewels, a spin-off of HOMI, is the exhibition that combines style, design and research to create original propositions, unexpected combinations and innovative ideas. Built around the world of fashion accessories and jewellery, the exhibition showcases a wide assortment of goods and is aimed at the specialist retail outlet of the fashion world, from clothing and jewellery shops to the most important concept and department stores in Italy and abroad. The February 2020 edition was organised based on a new format aimed at showcasing the specificities of the sectors involved in order to offer a unique interpretation of the exhibition offering that is designed to be effective and functional for the visitor as well as full of valuable content, such as trends for 2020-2022 and fashion shows by the leading brands taking part in the event. Great emphasis is also placed on scouting for new innovative companies that, through a support programme offered by HOMI Fashion&Jewels, attend the fair to meet the market and establish important partnerships with many of the leading fashion houses in the sector that visit the fair in search of innovation and creativity. In 2020, HOMI Fashion&Jewels recorded an overall FM Index of 68 for visitors and 33 for exhibitors.
Borsa Internazionale del Turismo (BIT) is an annual exhibition held since 1980. It brings travellers and operators in tourism from around the world to the Lombard capital. BIT allows carefully selected decision makers, experts in the sector and buyers to meet, from the places in the world with the highest rates of growth and from all sectors in the supply chain. BIT is an event that also provides training, with more than 100 meetings and seminars on the latest sector trends. The satisfaction index for exhibitors remained constant. The choice of location in the city in 2017 was particularly appreciated and in line with the needs of the exhibition. The media coverage of BIT was one of the event's strong points. Exhibitors in particular felt the chances for meetings and interactions with specialist and nonspecialist publishers, professional operators and local government bodies to be unparalleled. The assortment of meetings over the three days of the exhibition met the demands of the operators visiting for training and information. The programme took into account suggestions from the previous edition, without any overlaps, and made it easier to take part. The satisfaction index for visitors was slightly lower than for exhibitors, and reflects the average visitor's experience of seeing fewer foreign countries represented. Professional visitors, on the other hand, found a wide and varied incoming range, which satisfied their expectations.
The 2020 edition was attended by some rather significant associations from the field of organised tourism. Of particular note were ASTOI Confindustria Turismo, which represents 90% of Italian tour operators, and the FTO (the Federation of Organised Tourism), which both held qualifying meetings for the exhibition.
Following the blocking of air traffic from China (introduced by the Italian government at the end of January), it was not possible to invite Chinese buyers to the exhibition.
Overall, compared to recent past editions, a great deal of progress was made with regard to reputational approval, representing the company's assets, including for future editions.
PromotionTrade Exhibition (PTE) is the only annual event in Italy dedicated to the world of advertising, promotional material and personalisation technologies. The exhibition is open exclusively to intermediaries in the sector. It is a priceless opportunity to see specialist offers from producers, importers and distributors, meeting the demands of intermediaries, resellers and personalisers. The development of the 2020 edition promoted the integration of the supply chain, involving the world of technology and innovation as a driver in developing personalisation offers at the exhibition. That is exactly why more space was given over at the exhibition to training and demonstrations of technologies, which allowed for greater participation in the event, always in line with sector demands. Furthermore, the 2020 edition saw a topical Green Path set up to highlight exhibitors of ethical products in terms of environmental sustainability, recycling and green consciousness, showing the commitment of companies in the advertising sector to the environment and the planet. The exhibitor satisfaction index stood at 76 and the visitor satisfaction index at 68.
Fiera Milano's call centre is open to exhibitors, visitors and installers and provides assistance over the phone and by e-mail with certain services, namely:
The team is made up of at least two, at most eight, multilingual (English, French, German and Spanish) operators who are always up to date on all the services.
The call centre works from Monday to Friday and during exhibitions, with uninterrupted working hours.
The level of service it provides is monitored by certain KPIs of quantity and quality, below:
| Indicator | Monitoring activity | Monitoring tools | Assessment time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | Check on monthly percentage of calls missed (max. 10%) |
Report exported through data-tracing system |
First day of the month |
| Check on replies to e-mails within 24 hours of receipt |
Check on e-mail inboxes | Daily | |
| Quality of service | Check on training level of operators |
Written questionnaires | Before opening the E-Service shop for every exhibition |
| Operating procedures | Checking that the operating procedures are respected and properly applied |
Reply e-mails and checks on content |
Sample |
| Emergency procedure | Checks on the presence of a formal plan to replace staff in case of unexpected absences, to guarantee the services run are continuous |
Information in real time and sight checks |
In real time |
| Attendance and punctuality |
Checks on the presence of, punctuality of and respect for working hours by staff |
Reporting on daily check-in by every staff member |
Sample |
| Size and languages covered |
Checks on the efficiency of the organisational structure for the overall exhibition, as defined by the parties |
Staff plan and sight checks | By the end of every month |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answered | 7,500 | 76,173 | 61,350 |
| Refused | 1,411 | 5,580 | 3,336 |
| % Missed | 15.80% | 6.8% | 5.1% |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-Service e-mails | 13,628 | 24,652 | 12,933 |
| Ticket office e-mails | 5,646 | 15,226 | 10,241 |
The percentage of missed calls in 2020 was up on the previous year's figure due to technical problems experienced with support systems in the early part of the year and the remote management of call centre and mail services as a result of the Covid-19 emergency.
MiCo has been Healthy Venue "Gold" certified since 2019. This level of certification, over and above the Bronze and Silver levels, includes an increased focus on catering and promoting initiatives among congress participants and employees.
Fiera Milano Congressi's work in honour of its certifications so far encompass:
The management of environmental issues is a strategic factor for the Fiera Milano Group. Fiera Milano updated the Group's environmental policy in 2020 and incorporated it into the integrated policy, that is the "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety", referred to in the governance chapter on page 40.
Pursuant to the 231 Model, the Group's Italian companies employ a series of measures aimed at ensuring the prevention of environmental crimes. Specifically, several procedures are adopted in relation to the following issues:
In addition, Fiera Milano adopts energy-saving guidelines to activate hall lights and operate air-conditioning systems. These procedures enable the controlled and optimised management of plant, machinery and equipment by taking into consideration weather and seasonal conditions in order to minimise waste and inefficiencies.
The Sites department is responsible for overseeing the environmental management activities, it includes the following functions:
Over the course of a year the environmental impact of the activities of Fiera Milano Group is partly variable, where it relates to the staging of exhibitions and conventions, and partly constant, where it relates to energy consumption in its offices, warehouses and buildings outside of exhibition periods; over the course of 2020, the variable element was virtually zero due to the suspension of all trade fair and conference activities.
The predominant environmental management activities in 2020 were geared towards reducing fixed costs and operating expenses in order to limit the negative impact of downtime on the company budget, while at the same time protecting the civil and plant assets of the exhibition complex. Right from its planning, one of the principal ideas behind the exhibition centre in Rho was for it to be designed so as to minimise the consumption of drinking water by drawing groundwater from seven purpose-built wells to be used for activities not requiring drinking water, such as irrigation, air conditioning, technical plant and equipment and toilets.
With regard to environmental management, Nolostand, a subsidiary that does installations, has signed a declaration of intent and values, which involves an undertaking to reduce the environmental impact of its activities. The subsidiary adopts, among other things, procedures pertaining to the following areas:
In order to conduct its activities, Nolostand requires the use of a storage facility located in Arese, which is within a 10-kilometre radius of the Rho site. Currently, the principal environmental impacts of this storage facility are connected with the management of waste.
Fiera Milano, which was already ISO 9001:2015-certified, continued the process of extending the scope of its Management System to include all phases relating to the design, organisation, implementation and hosting of exhibitions and support services in 2020.
Over the course of 2020, the Group worked on reviewing and integrating the Management System procedures in order to cover every single process involved with the aim of obtaining ISO 20121:2013 - Event Sustainability Management Systems certification in 2021.
The subsidiary Nolostand adopts an integrated management system in compliance with the following standards: ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System; ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System; OHSAS 18001:2007 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System; ISO 20121:2013 – Event Sustainability Management System. Migration to the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems standard, replacing OHSAS 18001:2007, is planned for the first half of 2021.
The service centre, congress centre and office towers at the Rho exhibition site are certified "Silver" by LEED.
In relation to the subsidiary Fiera Milano Congressi, the upgrade to the energy reading system following the installation of the new facility, connected to the district heating system in late 2019, along with the absence of conference activities during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic emergency, resulted in further delay in obtaining LEED certification. We plan to obtain this certification in 2021.
For exhibition-related activities, the principal form of energy consumed is electricity: motive power, lighting the exhibition areas and heating for the internal spaces.
Over the course of 2020, 99% of the total energy required to heat the two sites came from the use of heat from the Silla 2 waste-to-energy plant, in the case of the Rho site, and from a similar plant in the case of the city-centre site.
21% of all energy used in 2020 was from renewable sources, as opposed to just 12% in 2019. This figure is expected to reach 50% by 2025.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 101,821 | 181,836 | 187,047 |
| Natural gas | 2,293 | 15,389 | 23,470 |
| fieramilano district heating | 22,897 | 35,531 | 35,246 |
| Total | 127,011 | 232,756 | 245,763 |
The decrease in thermal energy consumption over the course of 2020 was mainly attributable to the suspension of trade fair activities as a result of the on-going pandemic.
The absorption plant powered by the district heating network to supply refrigerated water to the fieramilanocity and MiCo pavilions was completed in March 2020; the system will contribute to reducing the consumption of electricity for climate control purposes, as well as improving the energy efficiency during the spring and autumn seasons.
All work on installing inverter units on the AHUs in the even-numbered pavilions at the fieramilano district and on replacing the climate control system with pulsion technology in the reception areas of pavilions 5-7 and 9-11 was postponed in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 1,718 | 2,592 | 2,746 |
| Petrol | 17 | 4 | 1 |
| Natural gas | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 1,735 | 2,595 | 2,753 |
The overall fuel consumption of the company's fleet in 2020 was significantly less than in 2019 due to the lack of travel resulting from the Covid-19 emergency shutdown.
During 2019 Fiera Milano, with the support of Fondazione Fiera Milano, developed preliminary plans for the creation of one of the largest rooftop photovoltaic systems in Europe. The photovoltaic plant's total power will be more than 10.15 MWp (peak megawatts), 8.2 MWp of which will be installed on the roofs of pavilions 1–3, 5–7, 9–11, 13–15 and 22–24 and docks. The installation of the photovoltaic panels was completed in 2020 and the cabling and commissioning are expected to be completed in 2021.
Once the work is finished it is estimated that Fiera Milano, thanks to the above-mentioned system, will be able to supply 20% of its own electricity requirements.
In line with the planned time schedule, in the summer of 2019 the fieramilanocity district and the MiCo congress centre were connected to the district heating network, this network was tested in December 2019. The use of the district heating network made it possible, over the course of 2020, for direct CO2 emissions deriving from methane gas used for heating the exhibition site to be reduced to zero, resulting in a financial saving estimated at Euro 38,000.
A proportion of the electricity consumed by the service centre at the Rho exhibition site is produced from renewable sources and is covered by the relevant guarantee of origin certificates.
As of 2020, 100% of the electricity purchased by MiCo comes from renewable sources and is covered by the relevant guarantee of origin certificates, resulting in a significant reduction in Scope 2 CO2 emissions calculated using the market-based method.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct emissions (Scope 1) | 257 | 1,052 | 1,515 |
| Indirect emissions (Scope 2) Location-based | 10,563 | 19,869 | 20,427 |
| Indirect emissions (Scope 2) Market-based | 11,788 | 23,899 | 24,575 |
| Total location-based emissions | 10,820 | 20,921 | 21,942 |
Note: the "location-based" approach reports the average emissions intensity relating to the grid from which the energy is taken, whilst the "market-based" method takes into account the purchased share of electricity from renewable sources.
Emissions generated directly by the Fiera Milano Group's activities in Italy in 2020 amounted to 10,820 tonnes of CO2 . Scope 1 emissions relate to the consumption of fuel, refrigerant gases and heating gas, while Scope 2 includes electricity consumption and district heating. Compared to the tonnes of CO2 generated in 2019, the emissions generated in 2020 were down 41% as a result of the suspension of activity in March-August and November-December 2020 due to the Covid-19 emergency.
Despite it having a limited impact on costs, Fiera Milano monitors and looks to reduce water consumption in the same way that it does for utilities. The water supply for the fieramilano exhibition site is provided by two distinct sources, namely the municipal water supply network, for all drinking purposes, and by withdrawing water from seven groundwater drainage wells, owned by Fondazione Fiera Milano, for all other uses for which drinking water is not required, such as heat pumps, irrigation systems, sanitary water, fire-fighting systems, ornamental tanks and air-conditioning system filling. It should also be noted that the area in which Fiera Milano operates is not considered to be subjected to water stress, according to the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas (https://www.wri.org/resources/maps/aqueduct-water-risk-atlas).
The water taken from the drainage wells and used for the air-conditioning systems by cooling well water is returned as surface water once it has passed through a lamination tank to reduce the temperature and eliminate any heavy residues.
Among the initiatives undertaken to obtain LEED certification for the Stella Polare Congress Centre at the fieramilano site, a number of initiatives to reduce water consumption have been implemented since 2016, including the following:
However, the fieramilanocity fair exhibition site and the Nolostand buildings only use water from the local water network.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local water network | 329,447 | 268,326 | 278,751 |
| Groundwater | 1,715,363 | 2,040,120 | 1,836,416 |
| Total | 2,044,810 | 2,308,446 | 2,115,167 |
Note: the calculation was carried out according to the GRI 303-3 standard, i.e. including water withdrawal data. It should be noted that the value for the municipal water withdrawn is equivalent to the amount used and discharged, as Fiera Milano does not have industrial facilities on site, whereas groundwater is partly used and partly reused for irrigation and air-conditioning.
The annual variation in water consumption is largely due to the work sites present at the exhibition sites to carry out energy efficiency improvement activities, maintenance and to re-roof the initial batch of pavilions that are due to have the photovoltaic systems installed, as well as a large leak in Hall 3 of Fieramilanocity.
Fiera Milano continued its virtuous path in terms of waste management in 2020 with the aim of improving and optimising all aspects of this issue and the corresponding processes.
The company has successfully implemented the provisions of the operating plan to improve the most significant aspects relating to waste management at the exhibition sites, such as the sorting of waste directly at the exhibition site, the fight against the abandonment of waste by third parties during the set-up and dismantling phases, and the definition of company practices/procedures for optimising waste management flows and the corresponding documentary obligations.
Fiera Milano has implemented waste sorting practices for all individual fractions of waste produced in the framework of its activities, meaning that the waste produced in offices, refreshment areas and pavilions is sorted and deposited in separate dedicated containers (bags or bins). Sorting the waste in this way has made it possible to allocate individual fractions to specific recovery and recycling operations, thus reducing the amount of waste being disposed of and encouraging the production of recovered materials.
Over the course of 2020, the main areas dedicated to the collection of sorted waste were set up at the sites, where collection containers/bins have now been positioned and have become the loading point for the vehicles of the relevant service providers. Whether a particular collection areas is "activated" or not depends on what is taking place at the site in question (exhibitions, events, opening of permanent or temporary refreshment points, etc.) and the number of containers provided will be proportionate to the anticipated footfall in the area.
The majority of the waste generated within the exhibition sites consists of municipal waste (according to the latest regulatory classification), such as organic fraction (wet), plastic, paper and cardboard, glass and aluminium, and the residual unsorted fraction, all of which are collected and sent to the respective facilities authorised by the public waste collection service provider.
Further meetings with the various Stakeholders will be encouraged and the information booklets (vademecums) already prepared in previous years updated over the course of 2021 with a view to improving and consolidating waste management practices.
Fiera Milano continued its efforts to fight the abandonment of waste at its sites over the course of 2020. The operating procedure for prevention and detection, involving the relevant departments from right across the company in various ways, has also been formalised. As was the case in the previous year, efforts to raise awareness among all Stakeholders involved (organisers, exhibitors and stand fitters) were stepped up, and at the same time the area was monitored in order to raise awareness and monitor the activities of exhibitors and stand fitters.
The Fiera Milano Group also managed waste deriving from the site's management activities or office-related waste, of which it is the "producer", and waste abandoned at its sites by exhibitors/stand fitters/suppliers, of which it is the "owner" and for which it must take responsibility transferring it to waste facilities, in 2020. Such waste was included in the public waste collection round or managed through suppliers responsible for transporting and recovering/disposing of the waste according to type— urban, special, hazardous and nonhazardous.
Over the course of 2020, the Fiera Milano Group continued to implement the "plastic-free" programme launched in 2019 with the pilot project at both the MiCo congress centre and the fieramilanocity exhibition site with a view to optimising the management of waste and reducing the impacts of pollutants deriving from its activities.
The programme followed the guidelines set out by the Ministry of the Environment in the #IoSonoAMBIENTE plastic-free campaign. During the two-year period 2019-2020, single-use plastic was completely eliminated from the Fiera Milano Congressi offices and from the fieramilano district canteen. Furthermore, micro-filtered water dispensers have been installed at fieramilano's offices to replace the water bottle dispensers, enabling employees to refill. Single-use plastics have gradually been replaced by biodegradable or reusable materials at fieramilano refreshment points since the first months of 2020.
A collaboration project launched along with Ministry approved consortiums, to collect, via a controlled chain, PET plastic water bottles sold at the exhibition sites, will be completed over the course of 2021. There are plans to increase the number of compactors installed at the sites for collecting PET plastic separately from other types of polymers to then be sent to specific recovery plants and used to produce the secondary raw material (R-PET) used for new packaging.
With respect to the carpet hire service used during the exhibitions, since July 2017 the Group has been using a supplier that not only supplies the product but also manages it. Carpet is sent for recycling wherever possible, or otherwise sent for disposal.
This supplier has obtained the CSI ecological product certification for the carpets it uses, based on the application of circular economy principles which include their hire, laying and recovery, transport, transformation and their re-use for other products.
A total of 130,167kg of carpet was collected over the course of 2020, corresponding to approximately 465,000m2 of surface area processed, for which 58 containers were used. Approximately 74% of the amount collected, the equivalent of 96,117kg and around 332,000m2 , was sent for recycling, while the remaining 34,050kg - around 133,000m2 - were sent to landfill.
Tests will be carried out in 2021 to assess the effectiveness of the system currently under evaluation, which aims to recover up to 100% of the material laid.
Generally speaking, the waste produced at the Nolostand warehouse in Arese relates to the activities undertaken by the company and consists primarily of the following:
If possible, the waste is sent for recycling, otherwise it is sent for disposal through third-party suppliers who transport it to the duly authorised facilities and are subjected to checks by the appropriate personnel.
When it came to purchasing new equipment, even greater consideration was given in 2020 to the environmental sustainability aspects of the products in question and the subsequent production/management of the corresponding waste. Laminated honeycomb sandwich panels have been installed, which are more environmentally efficient than untreated honeycomb sandwich panels because they eliminates the need for painting with water-based paints. Furthermore, the assembly system, which is an integral part of the panels, eliminates the need for screws and MDF* accessories and reduces the time and number of operators required for assembly and dismantling, thus reducing the amount of waste generated.
This choice complements the guidelines already adopted by the company, which recovers all potentially reusable material at the end of each exhibition to be reused for future stands and favours the use of reusable materials (such as modular panels) at the design stage. Where necessary, wooden stands are painted with water-based paints.
The stand-fitting activities undertaken by Nolostand at the exhibition sites are entirely entrusted to third-party companies, who must independently manage the waste generated by their activities and for which they are considered its "producer": waste such as paints, scrap materials and packaging.
Indeed, the waste produced by the company at the Rho offices is classified as urban waste and is managed as part of the local public waste collection service.
*MDF=Medium Density Fiberboard
Over the course of 2020 Fiera Milano, with the support of Rete Clima, conducted a life-cycle analysis of the exhibition, known as a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) - a tool used to assess the environmental impacts of an event and identify materials and technological solutions with a lower environmental impact. The LCA is a useful tool for determining strategies and taking steps to reduce environmental impact.
The study took all phases of the exhibition into account: organisation, setup, running and closure. The study showed that the main environmental impacts stemmed primarily from the running of the event. The second-largest contribution came from the event setup, and in particular the production of materials and the transporting of the stands. This impact varied according to the type of setup, and whether it was modular (lighter) or honeycombed (which has a lower impact in terms of transportation), but using the highest-impact materials, such as aluminium. The impact of the stands on the exhibition's environmental footprint was calculated as between 14% and 18%, depending on the type of stand used.
In this respect, Nolostand experimented in 2020 with a laminated honeycomb system that helps significantly reduce environmental impact, as described below, as part of the journey to sustainability that it embarked upon several years ago.
During the February and September 2020 editions of Fashion&Jewels, Nolostand used a set-up system consisting of modular honeycomb sandwich panels with a fir wood frame, just like the untreated ones, but with both faces made of laminated MDF panels.
A bayonet locking system has been used for assembling these panels, thus avoiding the need for screws, tubes and MDF cores, which are largely consumable materials. When used for the first time, the hooks are fixed to the fir frames using templates to allow for custom assembly, and remain in place for the entire life of the panel, thus avoiding the need for MDF cores for alignment.
Since the surfaces have already been finished and are washable, walls made using these panels do not require plastering or painting. This type of setup reduces assembly time as the painting stage has been completely eliminated; electrical systems, fixtures & fittings and signage were installed without waiting for any paint to dry and the finished product was of a higher quality than the painted walls.
Finally, maintenance in the warehouse is limited to cleaning the surfaces with detergents, thus eliminating any dust and waste to be disposed of.
From an environmental sustainability perspective, the new system has eliminated the use of around 1,200 litres of paint (equivalent to 60 cans that would have needed to have been disposed of after use), as well as rollers, brushes, buckets and water for washing them.
The use of consumables (around 1,900 MDF cores, around 450 MDF end caps and some 15,000 screws) has also been significantly reduced.
Last but not least, the cleaning of the panels does not produce any dust or waste consisting of residues of silicone or fillers used in the painted panels.
During 2020, the process launched in 2019 and aimed at improving waste management and implementing the Group's environmental policy was completed at Fiera Milano Congressi. The methods for managing the waste produced inside the congress centre and the methods for separate waste collection, organised based on the model adopted by the municipality of Milan, were consolidated.
| Non-hazardous waste | 2020 | Destination | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood and wood packaging | 661,300 | Recovery/recycling | 3,923,870 | 7,664,990 |
| Mixed packaging materials | 387,850 | Recovery/recycling | 2,843,300 | 4,517,200 |
| Water-based suspensions | 34,000 | Disposal | 193,010 | 157,220 |
| Iron and steel | 48,490 | Recovery/recycling | 89,450 | 115,420 |
| Paper and cardboard and paper and cardboard packaging |
23,560 | Recovery | 20,100 | 21,630 |
| Plastic and plastic packaging | 17,790 | Recovery | 23,110 | 20,950 |
| Unsorted urban waste | 521,960 | Recovery/recycling | 3,108,441 | 3,660,840 |
| Unsorted urban waste | - | Disposal | - | - |
| Bulky waste | - | Recovery/recycling | 65,500 | 11,060 |
| Other | 21,802 | Recovery/recycling | 53,994 | 17,930 |
| Other | - | Disposal | - | 1,030 |
| Total non-hazardous waste | 1,716,752 | 10,320,775 | 16,188,270 | |
| Hazardous waste | ||||
| Paint | 24,640 | Disposal | 125,810 | 115,580 |
| Other | - | Recovery/recycling | 1,610 | 4,870 |
| Other | 5 | Disposal | - | 200 |
| Total hazardous waste | 24,645 | 127,420 | 120,650 | |
| Total waste | 1,741,397 | 10,448,195 | 16,308,920 |
The figures provided by the table exclude waste generated at the premises in Rome, since in the context of the overall Group their relatively small size is not considered significant.
The table shows the total amount of waste produced at the exhibition sites, MiCo and the Nolostand warehouse. The destination of the waste produced is also stated, as well as the amount of hazardous waste, which is mainly attributable to paints. 99% of waste produced in 2020 was non-hazardous, and 97% of it was sent to recovery plants. It should be noted that recovery activities include recovery for use with fuel or other means to produce energy.
Due to the lack of activity in 2020 as a result of the pandemic emergency, it was not possible to analyse the total waste production trend over the last three years.
Generally speaking, it is possible only to note that the collection data for plastic, paper and cardboard packaging seems to indicate a good level of interception of the circuit and consequently that it was handled well by the employees concerned. For these categories of waste, the amounts intercepted were comparable to previous years, albeit with significantly reduced levels of activity.
The environmental impacts of mobility derive from the particular characteristics of the different phases of an event's life cycle. During the organisation and set-up phase of an exhibition, the environmental impact is largely related to the provision of goods and equipment; during the event the environmental impact is connected with the transport of exhibitors and visitors to and from the exhibition site; on the conclusion of the exhibition, those responsible for disassembling and removing the materials used for the exhibition stands represent the primary source of environmental impact. The impact of the Fiera Milano Group's employees should be considered as falling across the entire spectrum of the various phases. The Security department is responsible for overseeing the activities, which are listed below.
During the pre-exhibition phase, planning work was done on the services provided by the local and traffic police on the basis of historical data for the previous edition of the event. In addition, coordination meetings are held with law enforcement personnel and key mobility players to discuss the scale of services required and to plan preventative and/or corrective actions on the basis of predicted traffic flows and the necessary standards of security. If requested by the organisers, a shuttle service is planned and arranged. The existing work sites and potential strikes that could reduce the mobility offering are also being monitored.
Control systems for incoming/outgoing exhibitors and visitors, as well as a monitoring and parking management support system are employed at all exhibitions. A system of information panels directs vehicles towards the car parks with the highest number of available spaces or towards the less congested site exits.
For high or very high attendance exhibitions, the Coordination and Traffic Control Centre is activated, involving local police and traffic police officers and patrols to manage the flow of traffic to and from Fieramilano. Furthermore, the infomobility system means that information on the service status of traffic, flights and public transport can be processed, validated and circulated in real time. There are also plans to include mobility information on the Fiera Milano District app, product sites and age monitors in real time by 2021, in full integration with on-going implementations by the IT Department.
An event log is compiled which collects information on incidents occurring during the flows of exhibitor and visitor traffic as well as mobility data (vehicle occupancy coefficients, car park occupancy assessments by time period, peak parking levels, peak parking times and daily aggregate vehicle numbers/totals).
During the evening disassembly phase, the activities and checks are planned by the exhibition security personnel and by the local police and/or traffic police.
During the period following the exhibition, logistics data is collected and checked, event debriefings are written and any necessary corrective/improvement actions are implemented.
The historical data gathered is also used to develop forecasting models for future editions of the same or similar exhibitions.
The Group adopts a series of initiatives aimed at reducing any environmental impacts connected with mobility.
An exchange of information between Fiera Milano S.p.A., Trenord and ATM was formally established in 2020 in order to ensure the most effective possible management of flows of people relating to trade fair activities with a significant impact on local public transport and on the use of the area and the facilities at nearby stations.
Specific services are implemented by the local police and/or traffic police aimed at preventing or limiting traffic congestion (as well as the consequent increase in emissions) in the vicinity of the exhibition sites.
The logistics management within the exhibition sites is provided by a third-party supplier which uses forklifts. A plan was implemented during 2019 to replace the traditional diesel-powered forklifts with hybrid forklifts (diesel + electric). Of the 58 forklifts currently in operation, 24 are hybrids (diesel + electric).
Product transport includes the transport of materials required for setting up the stands and of the exhibited products.
In the case that an exhibitor uses Nolostand's stand-fitting services, the material transport is managed by the Group. The transfer of Nolostand's storage facility from Vittuone to Arese, in 2018, has enabled the optimisation of the material transport processes. The material labelling process and the installation of a WiFi network within the storage facility to assist with the movement of the stored material and with the material management procedures carried out by personnel, have resulted in an improvement with respect to material management and order preparation.
In the case that an exhibitor uses a third-party supplier, the transport of stand-fitting materials is the responsibility of the individual stand fitter/exhibitor. The transport of the exhibited products is, in all cases, the responsibility of the exhibitor.
The following paragraphs summarise those mobility-related activities which are organised on behalf of exhibitors, visitors and employees.
A technical and economic feasibility assessment is under way at the Fieramilano-Rho site in 2021 with a view to providing car rental services that will enable stand builders, exhibitors and visitors to hire electrically powered vehicles for transporting people.
| Means of transport [km/year] | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| company car sharing (work to work) | 0 | 875 | 928 |
| car sharing for private use through company scheme | 0 | 196 | 189 |
| company car pooling (work to work)* | 37,972 | 163,745 | 12,684 |
| Total/year | 37,972 | 164,816 | 13,801 |
*During 2019, the fleet of cars dedicated to company car pooling was increased by 4 vehicles. The car fleet remained unchanged from 2019 to 2020, but there was a significant reduction in the number of kilometres travelled due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the Covid-19 emergency, the suspension of travel and the introduction of home-working.
Public transport 53% 54%
The trends in the total number of vehicles at the exhibition sites varies significantly depending on whether or not there are biennial and/or triennial events in the exhibition calendar. The data does not include conventions managed by Fiera Milano and Fiera Milano Congressi.
2020 saw a significant reduction in numbers due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the Covid-19 emergency.
Thanks to the installation of metal detectors with people-counting devices at the entrance gates, a model has been developed as of 2020 to estimate the distribution of means of travel used by visitors, that is to determine the percentage of visitors travelling to Fieramilano-Rho by private and public transport.
Since 2003 the Fiera Milano Group has included the role of company Mobility Manager, whose responsibility it is to optimise the regular travel arrangements of employees, which are monitored every two years through a home-work travel questionnaire. The conclusions and information gleaned from these questionnaires have contributed to the development of the home-work travel plan, which suggests initiatives and ways for reducing the use of private vehicles in favour of public or collective transport solutions, thereby reducing the environmental impact and contributing to the improvement of road safety.
The most recent survey carried out on the home-work travel habits of Fiera Milano Group employees was conducted in December 2018. The next update of the questionnaires, originally scheduled for December 2020, has been postponed to 2021 to allow employees to settle into new mobility habits, which have been significantly affected by the Covid-19 emergency. The survey conducted at the end of 2018 revealed that 73% of Milan and Rho site employees lived in the province of Milan and, of these, 60% lived in the municipality of Milan. In addition:
Regarding the means of travel used for home-work-home travelling, private vehicles are comfortably the most popular means (83%, essentially unchanged with respect to the 2016 survey) compared with public transport or green transport, despite the fact that few employees make a stop during the journey to/from work (approximately 15%, the majority of whom do so to go shopping or pick up/drop off children). Furthermore, 96% of those who use private vehicles are the driver and only 14% carry one or more passengers.
The results of the Home-Work travel survey confirm that the means of transport preferred by the majority of Fiera Milano Group employees remains their private vehicle, mainly because it gives them greater flexibility in terms of their working hours. An increase in the use of private transport to the detriment of public transport is expected in 2021 as a result of the change in transport habits due to measures designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and in keeping with the findings of the AMAT (Mobility and Environment Agency) in Milan and the Metropolitan City. For this reason, during the two-year period 2021–2022, there are plans to introduce a company car pooling scheme and to continue to implement employee training activities and initiatives designed to improve employees' road safety awareness, including a road safety course with Polstrada, brief road safety information bulletins on the company intranet, information point and focus groups to provide training and information on sustainable mobility at work and at home, organisation of/participation in sustainable mobility events, such as car-free days and bike challenges.
In addition to the factors that are strictly environmental, the demand for mobility generated by exhibitions and events can also have a social and economic impact: for example, noise generated that could disturb residents of nearby urban areas, or reduced residual capacity in local transport, or problems for the transport services when the demand for mobility is meets or, as is often the case when big events are held, exceeds the capacity offered by the infrastructure.
Noise pollution activities are not monitored by Fiera Milano Group, since they relate to a relatively small number of events and/or they are connected with operations run by third parties.
At the end of 2012, the Fieraccessibile project was introduced to optimise and ensure the safe movement of disabled people or people with reduced mobility within the Fieramilano exhibition site. In particular, disabled people can park their vehicles free of charge in the Fieramilano car parks and have their parking tickets written off at any parking attendant's office or Fieraccessibile Desk – located in one or more reception areas depending on the exhibition layout – by presenting their ID card and disabled car parking badge. Alternatively, through the presentation in advance of the above-mentioned documents, disabled people can register with Fieraccessibile on the portal http://fieraccessibile.Fieramilano.it/ and get a Fieraccessibile card – valid for two years – which lets them park their vehicle in the car parks free of charge, simply by showing their card at any of the dedicated desks.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disabled parking tickets written off | 260 | 1,464 | 1,493 |
| Fieraccessibile cards issued | 17 | 126 | 116 |
2020 saw a significant reduction in numbers due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the Covid-19 emergency.
The Fieraccessibile procedure is valid for the Fieramilano exhibition site only. Whereas for Fieramilanocity, free parking is available in the covered parking area at pavilions 3 and 4 and in the Scarampo car park for vehicles displaying a disabled parking badge and with a disabled passenger or driver inside.
A dedicated e-mail address is available for further assistance: [email protected].
On the company website there is a section dedicated to mobility, containing, among other things, all the key information that may be of use to disabled people, including:
2020 saw a significant reduction in numbers due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the COVID-19 emergency.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobility scooters hired | 81 | 475 | 451 |
| Wheelchairs hired | 27 | 260 | 228 |
2020 saw a significant reduction in numbers due to the suspension of trade fair activities owing to the Covid-19 emergency.
The exhibition pavilions are completely accessible for disabled people and/or people with motor disabilities. The Emergency and Evacuation Plan includes provisions to ensure that evacuation personnel assist people in difficulty during evacuation operations. A specific procedure exists for the potential evacuation of the Fiera Milano offices, which are situated in high-rise buildings, there are also internal fire-safety personnel who are trained to use the manual chair to enable the evacuation of disabled personnel or those with reduced mobility via the emergency stairwells.
The Fieramilano exhibition site was designed and built in accordance with the provisions of the prevailing legislation with respect to the removal of architectural barriers (Law 13/1989; Ministerial Decree 236/89; Law no. 104/1992; Presidential Decree no. 503/1996; Presidential Decree no. 380/2001). Furthermore, the Fieramilano district meets the standards for the main indicators set out in the EMECA study "Ease of access ease of success" carried out in 2007, done to establish a benchmark standard by analysing the accessibility of infrastructure present at Europe's major exhibition sites.
This paragraph describes the principal risks, either generated by the Group or to which the Group is exposed, linked to sustainability issues, identified through the following types of materiality analysis:
deriving from the Group's activities, its products, services or business relationships, including supply and subcontracting chains, with potential negative repercussions in these areas.
Sustainability risks refer to those risk events which may compromise the achievement of the Group's sustainability objectives in the five areas: environmental, social, personnel, human rights and the fight against corruption, and which could, moreover, result in negative consequences for the whole community. For each relevant risk factor, the related management methods adopted by the Group, in terms of organisational, procedural or other types of measures adopted by the management, are described. These are known as risk response measures.
The identification of sustainability-related risks, with potential environmental, health and safety, social and reputational impacts, was integrated into the more general Enterprise Risk Assessment (ERM) process adopted by the Fiera Milano Group. Such integration enables the more structured and proactive management of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) risks, with positive consequences in terms of safeguarding the Group's sustainability objectives.
A growing awareness at international level of the consequences of climate change, with a broad-ranging impact expected on ecosystems, the economy, human health and well-being, calls for companies to also assess the potential impact on their business which they might have to face in the medium/long-term.
Based on the TCFD (Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure) guidelines, the risk scenario most applicable to the Group's activities is that relating to extreme weather phenomena (TCFD Physical/Acute classification).
Extreme weather events and natural disasters expose the Group to asset and infrastructure damage, which could potentially undermine the proper running of exhibition events and conventions, forcing the Group to suspend or interrupt its activities, with negative repercussions for the Group's finances and assets as well as for its reputation. During 2019, the Group analysed the potential impact of extreme natural events, such as flooding, earthquakes, snow, etc. on its infrastructures identifying a low exposure to these risks overall.
To deal with these events, the Group adopted a "Crisis management" system as of 2019, overseen by an interfunctional Crisis Team, which adopts operational measures in the case of extreme crisis events, including the management of internal and external communication. From a maintenance perspective, various work on the exhibition facilities has begun, including: (i) the renovation of the roofs of the pavilions (in preparation for the installation of photovoltaic panels), improving heat insulation and reducing water infiltration, (ii) the renovation of the downpipes and eaves of the pavilions, and (iii) the installation of a monitoring system using sensors to monitor the elastic behaviour of the steel structures of the canopy.
The Group also has adequate insurance cover (Property Damage and Business Interruption) as part of the Group All Risks Property policy.
The risks connected with non-adherence to the applicable regulations and authorisation permits with respect to the management of facilities which generate waste water and monitor its discharge are considered to be limited, principally because the waste water generated by the two exhibition sites at Rho and Milan is classified as domestic waste water or similar.
The related risk management approaches adopted by Fiera Milano comprise the following types of measures: (i) organisational, in that within the organisation roles have been established with specific environment-related responsibilities and capabilities ("environmental organigram"), (ii) procedural, in that specific procedures (rainwater, sewage, spills) regulate the control of waste water discharge and (iii) insurance, in that the current Group civil liability insurance policy includes coverage for damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution. This coverage also includes damage caused to third parties as a result of air or soil contamination from the emission of substances or spills following the breakdown of facilities and/or burst pipes. The 231 Model includes a special section on environmental crimes.
The atmospheric emissions deriving from the Fiera Milano Group's activities do not include particular pollutants, since there are no industrial processes taking place at the sites and, with respect to the fieramilano district at Rho, the only emissions derive from a natural gas-fuelled heating facility, which is used as a back-up facility for the district heating system, and from company vehicles or those used by third parties at the sites. As a result, any exposure to the associated risks is considered negligible.
The risks connected with non-adherence to the applicable regulations and authorisation permits with respect to the management of facilities that produce atmospheric emissions, and the monitoring of those emissions, are assessed as being low.
The related risk management approaches adopted by Fiera Milano comprise the following types of measures: (i) organisational, in that within the organisation roles have been established with specific environment-related responsibilities and capabilities ("environmental organigram"), (ii) procedural, in that there exists a specific environmental monitoring procedure for the heating system's combustion process (iii) insurance, in that the current civil liability insurance policy includes coverage for damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution. This coverage also includes damage caused to third parties as a result of air or soil contamination from the emission of substances or spills following the breakdown of facilities and/or burst pipes.
Furthermore, with respect to the staging of exhibition events there are also environmental impacts linked to mobility, attributable both to the assembly and disassembly phases of the events as a result of heavy goods vehicles (suppliers, stand fitters) moving in and out of the site, as well as during the events with exhibitors and visitors entering and leaving the exhibition site.
A number of initiatives have been implemented aimed at reducing the environmental impact of aspects related to mobility, these include:
The emission of greenhouse gases deriving from the Fiera Milano Group's activities are either direct (scope 1, deriving from boilers, the company vehicle fleet and the air-conditioning systems), or indirect (scope 2, deriving from the consumption of electricity and from the district heating system).
The risks related to this specific issue, given that Fiera Milano doesn't typically engage in industrial or particularly energy intensive activities, are considered negligible in comparison to other performance indicators.
The related risk management approaches adopted by Fiera Milano comprise the following types of measures: (i) organisational, in that within the organisation roles have been established with specific environment-related responsibilities and capabilities ("environmental organigram"); (ii) procedural, in that there exists a specific environmental management procedure for ozone depleting substances; (iii) insurance, in that the current civil liability insurance policy includes coverage for damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution. This coverage also includes damage caused to third parties as a result of air or soil contamination from the emission of substances or spills following the breakdown of facilities and/or burst pipes.
The waste managed by the exhibition sites principally comprises special waste which is considered to be similar to municipal waste. It belongs to two categories, (i) mixed packaging materials and (ii) unsorted municipal waste. Such waste is sent to the local public waste collection service (ASER in Rho and AMSA in Milan).
Any special waste generated by the exhibition activities, and which cannot be sent to the public waste collection facility, includes special waste (for example, building materials, bulky waste, electrical and electronic equipment and paints) that's been left by the stand fitters and exhibitors, and which the company has to manage as "owner", and other special waste, for example, water used to clean paint brushes, which the company has to manage as "producer". These types of waste are collected and stored in temporary storage areas before being sent to authorised third-party facilities. Then there are other types of waste deriving from ordinary/extraordinary maintenance activities (e.g. neon), the management of which is entrusted to a third-party supplier, who is considered the producer of the waste and must therefore independently manage the subsequent launch of activities aimed at storing and recovering/disposing of it
The risk factors connected with waste management therefore include the abandonment by third parties of materials used for exhibition stands and materials unrelated to exhibition activities at the end of the event and the disposal of special waste (e.g. water for washing brushes, toner, etc.); the related management and mitigation actions for which are described hereinafter.
Fiera Milano launched a waste management operating plan in 2019 to manage a number of aspects, including: (i) the in-situ sorting of waste at the exhibition site (ii) the fight against the abandonment of waste by the stand fitters and/or exhibitors (iii) the establishment of company practices/procedures for optimising waste management flows iv) any documentation compliance requirements.
The implementation of this plan also included the establishment of the role of Waste Manager, whose responsibility it is to define the procedures and approaches for the entire waste management process for waste generated at the exhibition sites, from its production through to its final destination via the collection, transport and treatment (recovery or disposal) phases, all in accordance with current legislation.
On the subject of combating the abandonment of waste, an ad hoc operating instruction for the management and prevention of abandoned waste and covering the following steps was issued in 2020:
Finally, from an insurance standpoint it is worth noting that the current civil liability insurance policy includes coverage for damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution. This coverage also includes damage caused to third parties as a result of air or soil contamination from the emission of substances or spills following the breakdown of facilities and/or burst pipes and accidental spills.
The Group is exposed to the risk that in the current or future market context, certain types of client (mainly exhibition and congress organisers and exhibitors), from sectors which are particularly concerned about and sensitive to environmental sustainability matters, may prefer exhibition companies with better or higher profile credentials, in terms of the ESG certifications they hold, than Fiera Milano.
In order to tackle this potential risk, the Group has taken action on a variety of fronts.
In terms of policy, Fiera Milano adopted a "Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety" in 2020 with the aim of promoting the economic, environmental and social sustainability of events organised and hosted at the exhibition and congress sites, following principles of good management, security, inclusiveness, integrity and transparency.
Fiera Milano obtained LEED ("Silver") certification for its service centre, congress centre and office towers at the Rho exhibition site. During 2019, the MiCo congress centre, managed by the Fiera Milano Congressi subsidiary company, obtained an upgrade of its Healthy Venue certification from the World Obesity Federation, from "Silver" to "Gold"; "Gold" level is awarded to companies that pay extra attention to catering, to the promotion of initiatives and to their employees.
Moreover, parent company Fiera Milano, which was already ISO 9001:2015-certified, continued the process of extending the scope of its Management System to include all phases relating to the design, organisation, implementation and hosting of exhibitions and support services in 2020 with the aim of obtaining ISO 20121:2013 Event Sustainability Management Systems certification in 2021.
The subsidiary Nolostand, which provides stand-fitting and construction services, adopts an integrated management system which includes the following certifications: (i) ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System; (ii) ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System; (iii) OHSAS 18001:2007 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System; (iv) ISO 20121:2013 – Event Sustainability Management System. Migration to the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System standard, replacing OHSAS 18001:2007, is planned for the first half of 2021.
The effects of Covid-19, which were initially felt in China, gradually and then rapidly spread globally, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the infection from Covid-19 a pandemic in March 2020. The event, which was unprecedented in recent history, had a severe impact on the economic cycle and production activity in that the spread of the pandemic has led the governments of the countries affected to adopt strict containment measures including bans on the movement of goods and people, quarantine requirements and other public emergency measures.
Also at national level, the competent authorities have issued a series of tight restrictions since February 2020, such as suspending events with crowds of people, limiting national and international mobility, social distancing and limiting the numbers of people in certain spaces, all of which have had a significant impact on trade fair and conference activities, in order to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Even with the limitations imposed by social distancing, it was possible to hold events, congresses and trade fairs in the period between early September and mid-October, before trade fairs and congresses were again prohibited from the second half of October 2020 due to the worsening health situation. The events held in September and October saw an average drop in attendance compared to previous editions of between 70% and 80%, with peaks of up to 90%, mainly due to the restrictions on international mobility (bans on entry from a number of countries announced by government authorities), which had a negative impact on the potential participation of professionals (exhibitors, buyers, visitors, conference participants, etc.) in such events.
The 2020 financial year saw an overall reduction in revenue of approximately 74% compared to 2019 owing to the cancellation or postponement of scheduled events to later years.
The framework described above has led to operators in the sector accelerating the transition towards new exhibition/congress formats of a hybrid physical + digital nature (the so-called phygital model) and the corresponding activities relating to the development of digital platforms capable of providing new content and services to be made available to customers as part of the new format's value proposition. As far as the proprietary digital platform Fiera Milano Platform is concerned, it is expected to be released by Q2 of 2021.
Some events in the portfolio were therefore held entirely online, such as Miart in September 2020 and Milan Games Week/Cartoomics in November 2020.
The context is currently still uncertain and complex. On the one hand, the availability of the first vaccines (Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca) announced in November 2020 and the start of vaccination campaigns in most advanced countries by the end of December/beginning of January is a concrete step forward in the fight to eradicate the virus. On the other hand, the recent spread of new so-called 'variants' of Covid-19 (English, Brazilian and South African) introduces a further element of uncertainty, the true extent of which has yet to be fully assessed.
Because of this situation, it is not possible to make an exact judgement as to when there might be a return to exhibition and congress operations. This is currently forecast for May-June of the current year, as the government measures on the reopening of the exhibition facilities hinge on how the pandemic develops. As things currently stand, therefore, further postponements and consequent changes to the exhibition and congress calendar for the 2021 financial year cannot be ruled out, and neither, then, can the corresponding economic and financial impacts.
As part of its activities, the company and the companies within the Group process personal data, including special data, relating to natural persons (e.g. employees, customers, suppliers, etc.) and are each, therefore, required to comply with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR"), and any other applicable national and/or EU provisions on personal data protection, including the provisions of the Data Protection Authority. The company, along with the other companies within the Group, is therefore exposed to the risk that the procedures implemented and the measures adopted to protect personal data prove not to be totally adequate and/or that greater supervision of such issues is required in order to avoid possible fines amounting to a maximum of Euro 10 million to Euro 20 million or 4% of the previous year's total annual global turnover, whichever is higher. As things currently stand, the company and the other companies within the Group have adapted to the new regulations set out in the GDPR and adopted the documentation required by the aforementioned legislation. In terms of procedural safeguards, Fiera Milano has adopted a data breach procedure that also applies to subsidiaries and a data protection policy. It has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and identified Privacy Officers within various company departments, who have been given specific responsibilities related to personal data processing in their own departments. Periodic personal data processing activities continued over the course of 2020, as did the updating of registers pursuant to Article 30 of the GDPR.
In the course of carrying out its activities, the Group uses many trademarks in relation to the that are promoted and organised by the Group. The protection of the Group's trademarks and of other intellectual property rights is fundamental to the success and the positioning of those brands in the relevant market. In the case of an infringement of third-party property rights, the Group could be deprived, entirely or partly, from owning and using one or more of its rights, with the possible suspension in the use of those rights with potential negative consequences from a financial and/or reputational standpoint. The Fiera Milano Group manages this risk via an organisational unit which is dedicated to managing its trademarks and domains, and oversees the registration of its intellectual property rights.
The growing use of network-based technologies and business models that enable sensitive information to be sent and shared through virtual spaces (e.g.: social media, cloud computing) has created IT vulnerability and therefore cyber attacks, which have become increasingly more frequent and sophisticated, also regarding changes in the reference context. These attacks can cause delays in business dealings, a temporary or prolonged interruption to activities, the loss of data, personal data breaches with relative requests for compensation, and ensuing financial and reputational harm.
To address these risk factors, the Group has developed a number of procedural, organizational and technical controls, as outlined below:
Furthermore, the Group's IT Security department systematically carries out vulnerability assessments and penetration tests (VAPT) aimed at verifying the robustness of the ICT environment's security measures and there are plans to activate the SOC - Security Control Centre service, managed by a service provider that will provide support in detecting security incidents and implementing the corresponding containment and resolution measures, over the course of 2021.
In organisational terms, the Group has adopted a "Crisis management" system, managed by an interfunctional Crisis Team that manages the operational measures to adopt in the case of extreme crisis events, including the management of internal and external communication.
Lastly, specific periodic training is given to Group employees on the issues of "phishing" and "social engineering" to increase awareness among company personnel of recognising this specific type of cyber attack.
On the insurance front, an insurance policy covering "cyber risk" was taken out in the first half of 2019.
The exhibition and congress sites managed by Fiera Milano Group are considered a target at risk of potential terrorist attacks, given the high number of people that may be present at peak exhibitions and the consequent media attention that an event of this nature would attract. Potential negative repercussions include damage to buildings and people and the consequent inability to continue operating.
To this end, the Group has adopted an effective security system to manage access to the sites; more specifically, also following the recommendations of the competent authorities and consulting with them, the Group has raised the levels of security and access control to the areas where exhibition events and conventions take place by introducing security controls based on those conducted at airports (security checks at entry points using scanners for bags and metal detectors for people), adopting preventive measures in collaboration with the police, and protecting pedestrian areas by placing road blockers and concrete barriers that prevent vehicle access. Furthermore, work on renovating the CCTV system, which will further increase the level of security on the perimeters of the facilities managed by the Group in Rho and Milan, will begin in 2021.
Lastly, it should be noted that the current "All Risks Property" insurance policy includes damage occurring as a result of acts of terrorism. The policy also has a Section for Indirect Damage – Business Interruption, covering all loss of earnings as a result of a terrorist attack.
Risk of a decline in employee motivation and a reduced sense of belonging to the Group as a result of the prolonged suspension of exhibition and congress activities, with consequent fears of loss of income and/or employment.
These negative impacts on the well-being and productivity of the Group's human resources add to the general concern of contracting Covid-19; furthermore, the sudden change in working methods, with the mass and prolonged use of 'home-working', has potentially impacted on people's private lives in terms of increased family pressures and difficulties in striking a healthy work-life balance.
The company implemented a number of engagement initiatives over the course of the period in question and provided Covid-19 insurance cover for all Group employees. Furthermore, the PLM (Performance and Leadership Management) system was extended to the entire company population, with certain amendments designed to account for the exceptional nature of the 2020 financial year.
This concerns the potential poisoning risk deriving from the provision of any spoiled food and beverages by catering facilities operating at the exhibition facilities, which might have a negative impact on the health of consumers, whether they be visitors, exhibitors, employees or any other category of site user.
As such, it's worth underlining the fact that the provision of food and drinks services is outsourced to external companies, therefore the related civil product liability rests with the third-party operator; in any case Fiera Milano conducts monitoring activities, through inspections carried out by independent, qualified personnel, to ensure that third-party catering facilities at the exhibition sites are correctly applying good hygiene (HACCP) practices.
Finally, from an insurance standpoint, the Group's current civil liability insurance policy includes coverage for damages caused by the third-party provision and sale of products.
The activities of the Group, particularly those carried out in the exhibition and congress sites, and the number of persons (employees, suppliers, exhibitors, visitors, congress attendees and those involved in setting up exhibitions, etc.) that transit or work in the exhibition sites, expose the Group companies to the risk of accidents or breaches of the legislation governing workplace health and safety (Consolidated Law 81/2008). Should the laws on workplace health and safety be infringed, the Group could be subject to significant administrative sanctions or, in the case of accidents, could be exposed to litigation with possible negative repercussions for its economic and capital situation and its reputation.
The Group also makes extensive use of suppliers for services connected to the exhibitions that come under the law governing contractors. Although the Fiera Milano Group does not have any relationship with workers of contractors, Group companies could be held jointly responsible with the contractors for the payment of tax and social security contributions for workers carrying out the contracts. Therefore, the Group is exposed to the risk of administrative sanctions (also under the provisions of Italian Legislative Decree 231/2001) and interruption of its business for breaches of the relevant laws, including workplace health and safety and the regulations governing remuneration and social security, by construction companies and unauthorised sub-contractors.
To mitigate potential negative effects of the risk factors listed above, aside from contractual protection mechanisms, the Fiera Milano Group has adopted a series of various types of procedural and organisational oversight mechanisms, including:
§ preparing the Interference Risk Assessment Report (DUVRI) and aligning procedures concerned, in order to comply with Legislative Decree 81/2008;
§ systematically updating Model 231, including the Special Section on Occupational Health and Safety;
In relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent governmental and regional health and safety measures, the Group has (i) adopted an anti-Covid protocol for the conduct of events and conferences, developed according to the guidelines issued by key associations and taking into account current legislation, which governs entry and management methods for visitor flows, from pre- registration to arrival at the exhibition and congress sites, through structured routes that guide the visitor through the pavilions, common areas and refreshment points (ii) prepared in May 2020, a DVR - Biohazard Risk Assessment Document for Covid-19 and (iii) adopted a regulatory Protocol, the latest version of which was published in July 2020, of the measures to prevent and contain the spread of Covid-19 in Fiera Milano S.p.A. workplaces, shared with RSU and RLS.
In the course of the Group's activities, unforeseen damage may occur to property or persons operating or present at the exhibition and congress facilities managed by the Group. The simultaneous presence of numerous workers with different contracts (employees, suppliers and sub-contractors of the Group, exhibitors' suppliers and subcontractors, etc.) also makes any attribution of responsibility very difficult in the event of any damage being caused to property or persons, with potential economic, financial and reputational repercussions.
At an organisational and procedural level, each function managing activities with impacts on health and safety must carry out their activities in the difference stages concerned (e.g.: stipulating contracts, maintenance operations, control of exhibition site areas, employee training, assignment of spaces, etc.). Fiera Milano has also established an internal unit (Exhibition Safety), which is responsible for coordinating the various internal and external parties (e.g. ATS) involved in exhibition safety, ensuring that all current procedures are fully adhered to. Lastly, specific thirdliability insurance policies have been taken out to cover the relevant risk.
The Group relies to a considerable extent on the professional contribution of key personnel and staff with a high level of specialisation, chiefly including (i) members of top management and (ii) exhibition directors, who are responsible for organising single events, based on their specialist professional skills developed in the reference markets of the exhibitions organised; The Group is therefore exposed to the risk of not managing to retain or attract resources with suitable characteristics to carry out its activities and support its strategies, or to the risk of employees currently hold key positions or specialist personnel leaving their posts.
Moreover, with the Digital Transformation process in progress and the growing importance of digital technologies in the Group's growth strategies, there is a potential risk of inadequate change management, i.e. the inability to manage organisational change with negative repercussions in terms of achieving set goals, and a risk of inadequate know-how, in terms of the inability to develop or gain adequate skills, knowledge and technical abilities in order to create value for the Group.
To manage potential problems arising from these risk factors, the Group introduced a PLM - Performance and Leadership Management - system to assess the expertise of its personnel: the system aims to promote the achievement of strategic business targets and evaluate expected behaviours on the basis of a representative leadership model of the Fiera Milano Group. The related incentive schemes aim to permit the Group to enhance performance and increase the loyalty of its human resources and key internal competences in order to ensure enhanced coordination/exchange and sharing of expertise.
Over the course of 2020, the 2018-2019 LTI Plan, a medium/long-term incentive plan based on a mixed cash and performance share structure, was completed. The aim was to refer the incentive process of the Group's managerial staff and key personnel to the actual results of the Company and develop policies to attract and retain talented professionals. The Plan addressees included Executive Directors and Executives with strategic responsibilities as well as some key managers.
A succession & management continuity plan was launched in 2019 to identify potential successors for key positions within the Group. The plan involves identifying high-potential resources, able to replace the managers of some strategic Group areas, in the future, through training and skills development plans.
Lastly, as regards change management, an early, voluntary retirement scheme was adopted in 2019, with the aim of promoting generation turnover and the introduction of new skills, including digital, to support the digital transformation that will involve the entire Group in technological terms to support business processes and the company's operation. In this regard, continual efforts have been made to source the best professionals to join the group, in terms of specific skills (a fit with the positions to be held), and adequacy and cultural fit (to support the change).
The types of suppliers that the Fiera Milano Group employs to provide its services include companies operating in sectors which have a high number of workers (e.g. cleaning, stand fitting, security, catering) with a medium/ high level of risk of being exposed to undeclared working practices.
The actual likelihood of engaging suppliers with issues surrounding illegal working practices is in any event considered low, due to the numerous organisational and procedural oversight mechanisms put into place by the Group, which has refined and implemented controls (i) in the supplier engagement phase, for its reputational and economic/technical qualification, resulting in enrolment in the Group's supplier register, as well as (ii) in the field, in the physical access control phase (check of validity of entry permits by the Security function) and in the phase of executing the contracted services (first-level check by the requesting function and second-level check by the Supplier Quality function).
It should be noted that (i) the Fiera Milano Group's Code of Ethics establishes the basic policies for combating illegal work practices and child labour (ii) the current Model 231 has a specific section on crimes relating to the employment of citizens from third-party countries who do not have resident permits and a specific section on crimes of illicit brokering and labour exploitation, in order to prevent and monitor the aforementioned crimes.
During 2019, Fiera Milano adopted an additional control of the access badges for suppliers with a higher number of workers, thanks to the use of an entrance database managed by the Security department, in order to check people present in the authorised subcontractor area, based on the contract awarded to the suppliers and/or service provider.
In June 2019 Fiera Milano also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Milan Prefecture and some social partners on prevention and the protection of labour in the exhibition sites managed by Fiera Milano: in line with the process already undertaken, the Memorandum aims to combat illegal and irregular work practices through sharing, which strengthens the capacity for intervention and prevention, also thanks to the establishment of a permanent Observatory in February 2020, which promotes the broadest dissemination of the culture of legality.
There is a potential risk that the lack of transparency and integrity in the supplier base (e.g. corruption, undeclared work, infiltration of organised crime), may have repercussions on operations and compromise the Group's reputation, also in consideration of its media exposure. The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and the consequent economic and financial crisis that has impacted businesses potentially have a significant impact on the evolution of the risks of money laundering, corruption and organised crime infiltration, to which businesses and financial institutions are subject.
To protect itself from this risk and the potential negative effects to its reputation and integrity, the Group has prepared and is implementing a broad system of organisational and procedural safeguards that combat both active and passive corruption. On a procedural level, the Code of Ethics forbids corrupt practices, unlawful bribery, collusion, and requests, direct and/or through third parties, for personal or career advantages either personal or on behalf of others. The current Model 231 has two specific sections covering corruption: one for crimes committed against the Public Administration and one covering corruption among private entities, which describe the potential types of crime and the relative control protocols to oversee the sensitive matters in question. The control protocols are part of specific corporate procedures of which the most significant, as regards these risks, are those governing the procurement of goods and services. In addition, every customer and supplier, and more generally all third parties, are informed of the 231 models and the Code of Ethics of the Group companies, as specific clauses are included in the contracts which require the counterparty to respect the principles set forth in Italian Legislative Decree 231/2001 and in the Code of Ethics.
The Group has also adopted a procedure to manage gifts, donations and sponsorships, updated during the first half of 2020.
As regards foreign subsidiaries, guidelines were issued for them in 2019 on Anti-Corruption controls, as well as a Compliance Programme, adopted by the Brazilian company CIPA and the South African company Fiera Milano Exhibition Africa; over the course of 2020, a risk assessment was carried out by the functions responsible for the operational implementation of the aforementioned guidelines and, as a result of this, a series of actions were implemented, including the adoption at both CIPA FM and Fiera Milano Exhibition Africa of a staff search and selection procedure and a procedure for gifts, donations and sponsorships, both inspired by the guidelines of the corresponding parent company procedures.
To ensure the autonomy of the buyers in the Procurement department, the company introduced a rotation system that is linked to new and different categories of supplies and to the importance of the services being purchased. A similar job rotation system was introduced for employees having contact with suppliers of medium/high risk services whereby they rotate their positions at intervals depending on their seniority within the organisation for operating positions, and at increasing intervals for those positions with a more predominantly management component.
Employees also participated in classroom and e-learning training courses specifically dedicated to these matters.
Lastly, the Whistleblowing Procedure governs receipt, analysis and treatment of disclosures, including those made anonymously or in confidence, from third parties or from Group company personnel. The procedure calls for a special internal committee (Whistleblowing Committee) with the task of performing investigations when unlawful events and/or conduct are reported. In performing its functions, this committee collaborates with the Supervisory Board in the case of reports concerning the relevant crimes pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree 231/2001.
The table on the following page shows the ESG risks and the related mitigation actions.
| Environment Risks connected Crisis Management Plan with climate All Risks Property insurance policy (Type PDBI - Property Damage and Business Interruption) change Maintenance work on exhibition facilities Risks associated Environmental organigram with non Waste water discharge control procedures compliant Civil liability insurance policy to cover damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution waste water management Risks associated Environmental organigram with the emission Procedure to monitor the heating system's combustion process of pollutants into Civil liability insurance policy to cover damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution the atmosphere Transfer of the nolostand stand materials storage facility from vittuone to arese Use of hybrid or electric forklifts Implementation of specific services provided by the local police and/or traffic police Risks associated Environmental organigram with the emission Environmental management procedure for ozone depleting substances of greenhouse Civil liability insurance policy to cover damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution gases Risks associated Waste management operating plan with the Establishment of waste manager role abandonment On-site security patrols of waste stand materials and Operating instruction for the management and prevention of abandoned waste the disposal of Civil liability insurance policy to cover damage caused by sudden and accidental pollution special waste Social Risks associated Policy for quality, sustainability, environment and safety with market "Silver" LEED certifications for the service centre, congress centre and office towers at the Rho demands for exhibition site the possession "Gold" Healthy Venue certification for the MiCo congress centre, managed by Fiera Milano of sustainability Congressi certifications ISO 9001:2015 certification for Fiera Milano SpA Integrated Management System for Nolostand with Quality, Environment, Health & Safety and Sustainability certifications Risks relating to Development of digital platforms ("Fiera Milano Platform") capable of providing new content business model and services to be made available to customers as part of the value proposition of new trade sustainability fair/congress event formats of a hybrid (physical + digital, or "phygital") nature as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic emergency Compliance risk Data Breach Procedure regarding data Appoint DPO protection Personal data protection policy GDPR training courses for employees Updating of registers pursuant to Art. 30 of the GDPR Risks associated Organisational unit dedicated to the management of trademarks and domains with the protection of intellectual property rights Cyber risks IT Security policies and procedures, including its cybersecurity management policy, its procedure on data breaches, its policy to manage data security in relations with third parties and policy to classify and manage information Data protection – data protection, back-up and retention solutions E-mail protection – solutions for protecting company e-mails from external threats Endpoint detect & response – solutions for external threat detection and autonomous endpoint response capability Network protection – means of ensuring the infrastructural security of the perimeter network, including firewalls, IDSs (Intrusion Detection Systems) and IPSs – (Intrusion Protection Systems) Identity and access management (IAM) – technologies that manage digital identity for centralised access to the Group's platforms Mobile protection – mobile device protection solutions, physical means of prevention and network protection (firewall, IDS, backup) Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test Cyber security training courses for employees |
Area | ESG risks | Mitigation action | Goals (SDGs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Crisis Management Plan
Insurance policy to cover cyber risks
| Goals | |
|---|---|
| (SDGs) |
| Area | ESG risks | Mitigation action | (SDGs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | Risks of terrorist attacks |
Access checks with scanners and metal detectors Preventative clearance measures in all areas in collaboration with the law enforcement agencies Protection of pedestrian areas using road blocks and new jersey barriers |
||
| Employee commitment, engagement and satisfaction |
Covid-19 insurance cover for Group employees Engagement initiatives on the part of the HR Department Assessment system for the entire company population |
|||
| Risks associated with the provision of food and beverages |
Monitoring inspections to check the application of HACCP practices by catering facilities Civil liability insurance policy to cover damage caused by the third-party provision and sale of products |
|||
| Risks related to the reference |
Monitoring of supplier selection assessment process, with verification of technical and professional suitability |
|||
| legal framework on health and safety |
Documento Unico per la Valutazione dei Rischi da Interferenze (combined risk recognition and interference assessment report, DUVRI) and procedures in accordance with Legislative Decree no.81/08 |
|||
| Ssystematically updating Model 231, including the Special Section on Occupational Health and Safety |
||||
| Preparation and updating of the Piano di Attività per la Sicurezza, la Salute e l'Ambiente (health, safety and environment action plan, PASSA) |
||||
| Adoption and provision to suppliers and exhibitors of the Technical Regulations for Exhibitions Guidelines for the organisation of workplace health and safety at exhibition events taking place within Fiera Milano S.p.A. exhibition sites protocol, signed with Milan's prefecture and local heath authority |
||||
| Adoption of an anti-Covid protocol for exhibitions and congresses, developed on the basis of guidelines drawn up by the relevant associations and taking into account current legislation, which governs entry procedures and the management of visitor flows |
||||
| DVR – Biohazard Risk Assessment Document for Covid-19 | ||||
| Adoption of the protocol for regulating measures to combat and contain the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace at Fiera Milano S.p.A., shared with RSU and RLS |
||||
| Risks connected to third-party liability |
Coordination of exhibition safety aspects by a dedicated function | |||
| Specific civil liability insurance cover | ||||
| Risks connected | Performance & Leadership Management (PLM) | |||
| with reliance on key personnel |
Medium/long-term Incentive Plan for the Group's key managers | |||
| and change | Succession plan & management continuity | |||
| management | Change management plan based on a generational shift and the introduction of new digital and business competences |
|||
| Human | Risks associated | Procedure to evaluate the reputation and technical and economic suitability of suppliers | ||
| rights | with undeclared working practices |
Code of Ethics and policies to prevent illegal employment practices and under-age workers | ||
| used in the Group's supply chain |
231 Model, special section regarding employment offences involving foreign people without the correct residency permits and special section regarding offences involving illegal recruitment practices and worker exploitation |
|||
| Access control and accreditation procedure | ||||
| Second-level audits carried out by the Supplier Quality function | ||||
| Memorandum of understanding regarding prevention and worker protection at Fiera Milano exhibition sites, signed with the Prefecture of Milan and a number of social partners |
||||
| Fighting | Risks associated with the potential repercussions of a lack of transparency in relationships with |
Code of Ethics | ||
| active and passive corruption |
231 Model, special section on relationships with public administration and special section for corruption between private parties |
|||
| Procedure to evaluate the reputation and technical and economic suitability of suppliers | ||||
| Procedure for the management of gifts, donations and sponsorships | ||||
| counterparties | Anti-corruption guidelines and compliance program for foreign subsidiaries | |||
| Job rotation for buyers in the Procurement function and for staff in company functions dealing with suppliers of at risk classes of goods and services |
||||
| Training courses for employees | ||||
| Whistleblowing procedure |
| GRI Standard | Disclosures | Page number | Omission |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Disclosures | |||
| GRI 102: | 102-1 Name of the organisation | Cover | |
| General Disclosure 2016 |
102-2 Primary brands, products and/or services | 6-9 | |
| 102-3 Location of headquarters | 6-9 | ||
| 102-4 Number of countries in which the organisation carries out its operational activities, and countries in which the organisation has activities or in which the activity carried out has a specific relevance to the material elements that appear in the Report |
6-9 | ||
| 102-5 Ownership and legal form | 6-9 | ||
| 102-6 Markets served (including geographical coverage, business sectors and types of customers and recipients) |
6-9 | ||
| 102-7 Size of the organisation | 54-69 | ||
| 102-8 Information on employees and other workers | 54-69 | ||
| 102-9 Description of the organisation's supply chain | 46-53 | ||
| 102-10 Significant changes that have occurred in the reference period in terms of the size and structure of the organisation, or in the supply chain. |
8 | ||
| 102-11 Methods of application of the precautionary principle or approach | It should be noted that the FM Group does not adhere to the precautionary principle in environmental matters |
||
| 102-12 Adoption of codes of conduct, principles and charters developed by external bodies/associations with regard to economic, social and environmental performance. |
40-45 | ||
| 102-13 Membership of national or international associations or organisations which promote sustainability. |
22 | ||
| 102-14 Declaration from the senior manager who leads the organisation. | 4 | ||
| 102-15 Description of the key impacts, risks and opportunities. | 18;100-110 | ||
| 102-16 Values, principles, standards and norms of behaviour adopted by the organisation |
5; 40-45 | ||
| 102-18 Governance structure within the organisation | 40-45 | ||
| 102-40 List of the Stakeholders engaged by the organisation. | 20-21 | ||
| 102-41 Collective bargaining agreements | 60-61 | ||
| 102-42 Principles for identifying Stakeholders to engage | 14-15;20-21; 24-25 | ||
| 102-43 The organisation's approach to the concept of stakeholder engagement, including frequency of involvement by type and group of Stakeholders and indications regarding engagement activities and interactions in the reporting process |
14-15;24-25 | ||
| 102-44 Relevant issues raised through stakeholder engagement and the way in which the organisation responded, including the drafting of the report. List of stakeholder groups that have raised the issues that are subject to analysis |
14-15;20-21 | ||
| 102-45 Entities included in the organisation's consolidated financial statements or equivalent documents |
8 | ||
| 102-46 Process for defining the boundaries and limitations of reporting | 24-25 |
| GRI Standard | Disclosures | Page number | Omission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102-47 Material topics identified in the process of analysis designed to establish the reporting boundaries |
14-15;24-25 | ||
| 102-48 Changes to information included in previous reports and the reasons for these changes |
24-27 | ||
| 102-49 Significant changes in the objectives and limitations compared to the previous reporting period |
24-27 | ||
| 102-50 Reporting period (financial year or calendar year) | 24-27 | ||
| 102-51 Date of last report (if available) | The Report is published annually |
||
| 102-52 Frequency of reporting (annual, biennial) | 26-27 | ||
| 102-53 Useful contacts and addresses for asking for information regarding the financial statements |
120 | ||
| 102-54 Specify the GRI Standards compliance option chosen by the organisation | 26-27 | ||
| 102-55 GRI content index | 112-115 | ||
| 102-56 External certification | 116-118 | ||
| Material topics | |||
| Economic performance | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 11; 34-39 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
11; 34-39 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 11; 34-39 | ||
| GRI 201:Economic performance 2016 |
201-1 Direct economic value generated | 11; 34-39 | |
| Indirect economic impacts | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 10 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
10 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 10 | ||
| GRI 203: Indirect economic impacts 2016 |
203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts | 10 | |
| Procurement Practices | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 46-53 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
46-53 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 46-53 | ||
| GRI 204: Procurement Practices (2016) |
204-1 Proportion of spending on local suppliers | 46-53 | |
| Anti-corruption | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 50-53 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
50-53 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 50-53 | ||
| GRI 205: Anti corruption 2016 |
205-2 Communication and training on anti-corruption policies and procedures | 50-53 |
| GRI Standard | Disclosures | Page number | Omission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 84-86 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
84-86 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 84-86 | ||
| GRI 302: Energy 2016 |
302-1 Energy consumption within the organisation | 86 | |
| Water | |||
| GRI 103: Management Approach 2016 |
103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 84-85; 88 | |
| 103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
84-85; 88 | ||
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 84-85; 88 | ||
| GRI 303: | 303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resource | 88 | |
| Water and Effluents 2018 |
303-2 Management of water discharge-related impacts | 88 | |
| 303-3 Water withdrawal | 88 | ||
| Emissions | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 84-85; 87 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
84-85; 87 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 84-85; 87 | ||
| GRI 305: Emissions 2016 |
305-1 Direct emissions (scope I) | 87 | |
| 305-2 Indirect emissions (scope II) | 87 | ||
| Effluents and waste | |||
| GRI 103: Management Approach 2016 |
103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 84-85; 89-92 | |
| 103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
84-85; 89-92 | ||
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 84-85; 89-92 | ||
| GRI 306: Effluents and waste 2016 |
306-2 Waste by type and disposal method | 92 | |
| Employment | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 55-69 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
54-69 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 54-69 | ||
| GRI 401: | 401-1 New hires and employee turnover | 54; 68-69 | |
| Employment 2016 |
401-2 Benefits provided for full-time workers and not provided for part-time and fixed-term workers divided by main activities |
60-62 | |
| 401-3 Parental leave | 67 | ||
| Occupational health and safety | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 70-77 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
70-77 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 70-77 |
GRI Content Index
| GRI Standard | Disclosures | Page number | Omission |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRI 403: Occupational health and safety 2018 |
403-1 Occupational health and safety management system | 70-77 | |
| 403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation | 70-77; 104-107; 110-111 | ||
| 403-3 Occupational health services | 70-77 | ||
| 403-4 Worker participation, consultation, and communication on occupational health and safety |
70-77 | ||
| 403-5 Worker training on occupational health and safety | 70-77 | ||
| 403-6 Promotion of worker health | 70-77 | ||
| 403-7 Prevention and mitigation of occupational health and safety impacts directly linked by business relationships |
70-77; 104-107; 110-111 | ||
| 403-9 Work-related injuries | 77 | ||
| Education and training | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 54-59; 63-65 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
54-59; 63-65 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 54-59; 63-65 | ||
| GRI 404: Education and |
404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee, divided by gender and category |
64 | |
| training 2016 | 404-2 Programmes for skills development and career advancement | 57-58 | |
| 404-3 Percentage of workers who receive regular performance appraisals and career development reviews |
57-58 | ||
| Diversity and equal opportunities | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 66 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
66 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 66 | ||
| GRI 405: Diversity and equal opportunities 2016 |
405-1 Diversity of governing bodies and employees | 41; 66 | |
| Forced and compulsory labour | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 49 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
49 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 49 | ||
| GRI 409: : Forced and compulsory labour 2016 |
409-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labour |
49 | |
| Socio-economic compliance | |||
| GRI 103: | 103-1 Explanation of the material topics and the boundaries thereof | 40-45 | |
| Management Approach 2016 |
103-2 General information regarding the management approach and the characteristics thereof |
40-45 | |
| 103-3 Evaluation of the management approach | 40-45 | ||
| GRI 419: Conformità socioeconomica 2016 |
419-1 Value of fines and number of sanctions for violation of laws and regulations in economic and social spheres. |
44 |
EY S.p.A. Via Meravigli, 12 20123 Milano
Tel: +39 02 722121 Fax: +39 02 722122037 ey.com
Independent auditors' report on the consolidated disclosure of nonfinancial information in accordance with Article 3, par. 10, of Legislative Decree 254/2016 and with Article 5 of Consob Regulation adopted with Resolution n. 20267 of 18th January 2018 (Translation from the original Italian text)
To the Board of Directors of Fiera Milano S.p.A.
We have been appointed to perform a limited assurance engagement pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 10, of Legislative Decree 30th December 2016, n. 254 (hereinafter "Decree") and article 5 of Consob Regulation adopted with Resolution 20267/2018, on the consolidated disclosure of non-financial information of Fiera Milano S.p.A. and its subsidiaries (hereinafter the "Group" or "Fiera Milano Group") for the year ended on 31st December 2020 in accordance with article 4 of the Decree and approved by the Board of Directors on 15th March 2021 (hereinafter "DNF").
The Directors are responsible for the preparation of the DNF in accordance with the requirements of articles 3 and 4 of the Decree and the "Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Standards" defined by GRI – Global Reporting Initiative (hereinafter "GRI Standards"), identified by them as a reporting standard.
The Directors are also responsible, within the terms provided by law, for that part of internal control that they consider necessary in order to allow the preparation of the DNF that is free from material misstatements caused by fraud or not intentional behaviors or events.
The Directors are also responsible for identifying the contents of the DNF within the matters mentioned in article 3, par. 1, of the Decree, considering the business and the characteristics of the Group and to the extent deemed necessary to ensure the understanding of the Group's business, its performance, its results and its impact.
The Directors are also responsible for defining the Group's management and organization business model, as well as with reference to the matters identified and reported in the DNF, for the policies applied by the Group and for identifying and managing the risks generated or incurred by the Group.
The Board of Statutory Auditors is responsible, within the terms provided by the law, for overseeing the compliance with the requirements of the Decree.
We are independent in accordance with the ethics and independence principles of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, based on fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and diligence, confidentiality and professional behavior. Our audit firm applies the International Standard on Quality Control 1 (ISQC Italia 1) and, as a result, maintains a quality control system that includes documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable laws and regulations.
EY S.p.A. Sede Legale: Via Lombardia, 31 - 00187 Roma Capitale Sociale Euro 2.525.000,00 i.v. Iscritta alla S.O. del Registro delle Imprese presso la C.C.I.A.A. di Roma Codice fiscale e numero di iscrizione 00434000584 - numero R.E.A. 250904 P.IVA 00891231003 Iscritta al Registro Revisori Legali al n. 70945 Pubblicato sulla G.U. Suppl. 13 - IV Serie Speciale del 17/2/1998 Iscritta all'Albo Speciale delle società di revisione Consob al progressivo n. 2 delibera n.10831 del 16/7/1997
A member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited
It is our responsibility to express, on the basis of the procedures performed, a conclusion about the compliance of the DNF with the requirements of the Decree and of the GRI Standards. Our work has been performed in accordance with the principle of "International Standard on Assurance Engagements ISAE 3000 (Revised) - Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information" (hereinafter "ISAE 3000 Revised"), issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) for limited assurance engagements. This principle requires the planning and execution of work in order to obtain a limited assurance that the DNF is free from material misstatements. Therefore, the extent of work performed in our examination was lower than that required for a full examination according to the ISAE 3000 Revised ("reasonable assurance engagement") and, hence, it does not provide assurance that we have become aware of all significant matters and events that would be identified during a reasonable assurance engagement.
The procedures performed on the DNF were based on our professional judgment and included inquiries, primarily with company's personnel responsible for the preparation of the information included in the DNF, documents analysis, recalculations and other procedures in order to obtain evidences considered appropriate.
In particular, we have performed the following procedures:
With regard to these aspects, we obtained the documentation supporting the information contained in the DNF and performed the procedures described in item 5. a) below
Furthermore, for significant information, considering the Group activities and characteristics:
Based on the procedures performed, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the DNF of Fiera Milano Group for the year ended on 31st December 2020 has not been prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the requirements of articles 3 and 4 of the Decree and the GRI Standards.
Milan, 29th March 2021
EY S.p.A. Signed by: Federico Lodrini, Auditor
This report has been translated into the English language solely for the convenience of international readers.
Registered office: Piazzale Carlo Magno, 1 – 20149 Milan, Italy Operational and administrative headquarters: Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 – 20017 Rho (Milan) Share capital Euro 42,445,141.00 fully paid up Tax code and VAT no. 13194800150 Economic Administrative Register 1623812
Phone +39 02 4997.1 Fax +39 02 4997.7379 e-mail: [email protected]
For further information and any clarifications, please contact [email protected]
March 2021 This document can also be viewed on the website www.fieramilano.it
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