Sustainability

Support the company in achieving its strategic and operational objectives; prevent or limit the consequences on company performance due to unexpected events, using suitable strategies for identifying and managing risks and opportunities; check that acceptable risk levels defined
during planning are not exceeded; ensure compliance of company activities with current laws and regulations; ensure the correctness and transparency of information within the company and as concerns third parties.

These are, in a nutshell, the objectives of the Internal Control System (ICS), the totality of the activities performed by all subjects who, throughout the various levels of the organisation, help to ensure business management is sound, appropriate and consistent with objectives, thus offering the maximum lasting value for each company.

The activities relative to the Internal Control System are thus not entrusted to an independent and specific department but are coordinated by different company departments, primarily the Internal Audit and Risk Office.
In addition to the Board of Directors and the Internal Control Committee, the principal players in the Internal Control System are two figures: the Executive Director in charge of overseeing the Internal Control System and who coordinates
the activities of the relative departments dedicated to identifying the principal company risks, periodically subjected to examination by the Board of Directors and Head of Internal Control.

Administrative Responsibility

As concerns the administrative responsibility of entities (former Legislative Decree 231/2001), the company follows a Code of Ethics and an Organisation and Management Model – which are periodically updated in order to ensure compliance with regulatory, company and organisational modifications - and appointed a Supervisory Body including an Independent Director in the role of Chairman, an Internal Audit Director and a Risk Office Manager.

This body is responsible for verifying compliance with the Code of Ethics, monitoring the correct and effective operation of the so-called “Model 231” and coordinating updating operations.

A new model for managing financial information

ERG adopted an Accounting Administration Organisation Model consistent with the “Savings Law” (Italian Law no. 262/2005) and the relative best practices. The Model – which is updated yearly and assessed by the Internal Control Committee - aims to ensure the faithful presentation, reliability, accuracy and timeliness of financial disclosures and requires that all company structures comply with it.
The Manager responsible for preparing the company’s financial reports is responsible for implementing administrativeaccounting procedures, monitoring their application and, together with the CEO issuing legal attestations.

Evolution underway: the Enterprise Risk Management approach

The fundamental principal on which the “cultural” change that takes place within the Group is based is the consolidation of a "modern" conception of risk, no longer considered exclusively as a potential “threat”, but also as a possible opportunity to identify, evaluate and eventually exploit.
This evolution is consistent with the fact that ERG has always identified and evaluated the risks associated with its activities, adopting appropriate risk management methodologies, with the double objective of managing these in the best way (conscious acceptance, elimination, reduction, transfer) and safeguarding shareholder value.

In line with the evolving complexity of the competitive context in which it operates, beginning in 2009 ERG began to develop an integrated risk management model based on the internationally shared principals of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) , referencing in particular the CoSO framework (promoted by "The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission").