WIIT CONTINUES IN THE EFFORT TO DEVELOP AN INCREASINGLY INTEGRATED BUSINESS MODEL WITH ESG ISSUES

Milan, 12 July 2022 – WIIT S.p.A. (“WIIT” or the “Company”; ISIN IT0005440893; WIIT.MI), one of the leading European players in the Business Cloud Computing services market, focused on the provision of continuous Hybrid Cloud and Hosted Private Cloud services for critical applications, a company listed on the Euronext STAR Milan segment of the Euronext Milan market, organised and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A., announces the publication of the 2021 Sustainability Report.

The 3rd edition of the Sustainability Report bears witness to the Group's commitment to developing a business model increasingly integrated with ESG issues. WIIT's path towards sustainability integration stems from the awareness that observing and interpreting the complexity of the context of operation has become an indispensable competitive factor today. Facing the challenges posed by phenomena such as climate change, the development of new technologies, evolving ways of working and changing social relations has become a necessary prerogative for a company that wants to operate responsibly.

With the 2021 edition of “Sustainability beyond Cloud” WIIT intends to highlight the activities and achievements within the thematic areas of the Group's sustainability strategy: WIIT4Data, WIIT4Climate, WIIT4Innovation, WIIT4People, which represent the dimensions towards which the Group is focusing its commitment and which generally concern data security, environmental protection, innovation and people management. However, none of the actions in these areas would be effective without what we call The Premium Cloud, the systematic consideration of ESG criteria in the Group's growth process and corporate governance system.

The publication of the Sustainability Report is also the first opportunity to communicate to the outside word the progress of the 2030 ESG Plan launched by WIIT in 2021. The plan represents the sustainability commitment that the Group undertakes between now and 2030, an ambitious path consisting of 18 long-term, measurable goals with intermediate targets for 2025, designed in harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the United Nations as part of its 2030 Agenda.

In 2021, WIIT achieved 5 out of 18 intermediate ESG targets, ahead of the target deadline of 2025. In particular, all three targets defined within The Premium Cloud pillar were exceeded, on the level of gender diversity in the Board of Directors and Senior Management of WIIT S.p.A, as well as the integration of ESG targets in the MBOs of Senior Management. In addition to these, WIIT4Climate has set two 2025 targets on energy intensity for data storage in data centres and purchased electricity produced from renewable sources to bring the Group's indirect emissions to zero (scope 2), so as to get as close as possible to Carbon Neutrality.

“While institutions remain committed to encouraging digital transformation, WIIT continues to strengthen its position as a strategic partner to support companies in creating value over time.” Says WIIT CEO Alessandro Cozzi. “In order to do so – in addition to strengthening our leadership in the Hybrid Cloud field – we have chosen to focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability as another driver of the growth of our business and that of our customers”.

WIIT's 2030 ESG Plan

 

The Premium Cloud
2030 target		2021		2025 target	2030 target
Women on the Board of Directors	45% of the Board of Directors of WIIT S.p.A. is composed of women	3 of 9 WIIT Board members are women	33%	30% ✓	45%
Women in Senior Management	30% of the Senior Management of WIIT S.p.A. is made up of women	2 of 8 Senior Managers are women	25%	20% ✓	30%
ESG goals in Senior Management MBOs	100% of Senior Management with at least 1 ESG goal in their MBOs	5 of 8 Senior Managers have one ESG goal in their MBOs	63%	50% ✓	100%

 

WIIT4Data
2030 target		2021		2025 target	2030 target
Security Assessment	100% of Top50 customers with cybersecurity assessments according to the WIIT Security Universe (WSU) model	An increasing sensitivity among a portion of Top50 customers to identifying their own cybersecurity posture was seen in 2021	20%	70%	100%
Fault-tolerant IT infrastructures	1,500 kW of certified fault-tolerant (TIER-IV) IT infrastructure	The construction of the second DC in Milan has been awarded Uptime TIER IV Design certification	300 kW	1,000 kW	1,500 kW
TIER IV coverage in WIIT Countries	75% of Countries with Cloud Facilities covered by at least one TIER IV Data Centre within 2 years of corporate acquisitions	The construction of the second DC in Milan has been awarded Uptime TIER IV Design certification	50%	n.a.	75%

 

 

WIIT4Climate
2030 target		2021		2025 target	2030 target
Energy intensity	50% reduction in energy consumption for data storage in the Group's data centres	Today WIIT consumes 56.9 MWh per petabyte of data stored in its data centres	-34%	-20% ✓	-50%
Green energy towards 0 emissions[1]	100% of electricity purchased produced from renewable sources to reduce the Group's indirect emissions to zero (scope 2)* * The scope will include Companies acquired more than 24 months ago	Among the companies present in the group for more than 24 months, only ICT Watchers does not use energy from renewable sources	97.82%	70% ✓	100%
Green corporate fleet	70% of the company car fleet consists of hybrid/electric cars	Of 67 company cars, 4 are hybrids	6%	30%	70%
Second life of IT assets	80% of replacement technology materials for high schools and academic and social institutions	During 2021, high-tech equipment not readily available to schools or charities was replaced	0%	25%	80%

 

WIIT4Innovation
2030 target		2021		2025 target	2030 target
Process automation	Launch of new automated processes dedicated to accelerating our customers' time-to-market	WIIT extended the myLoc automation platform to Etaeria to manage the market place for channel	1	6	15
Co-innovation	More than 100 among companies, suppliers, start-ups, students, institutions and academics involved in co-innovation initiatives (e.g. hackathons or coding contests) to stimulate the search for innovative solutions in the field of Cloud services	WIIT involved a major international law firm and a leading kitchen manufacturer in two co-innovation projects. The two projects were submitted on 21 June 2021 and were selected as finalists for the Digital 360 Award for innovation.	2	40	>100
Digitalisation of Non-Profits	1% of annual revenue allocated to digital services for non-profit organisations	WIIT began to collaborate with ITS Rizzoli of Milan, where it carried out cybersecurity training activities	<0.02%	0.5%	1%
Scientific research	Funding of at least 10 scientific research initiatives in the Digital/Cloud area	During 2021, WIIT contributed to the financing of the activities of the Monitoring Centres of the Polytechnic University of Milan	1	3	10

 

 

WIIT4People
2030 target		2021		2025 target	2030 target
Upskilling and Reskilling	100 people who participated in a multi-year mini-master's degree course organised by WIIT Academy aimed at upskilling and reskilling in technical and managerial fields[2]	During 2021, 3 mini-master's degree courses were launched for specific categories of employees considered particularly strategic (executives, managers and team leaders and sales delivery personnel), for a total of 46 people involved who will achieve certification in 2022/2023	0	30	100
Knowledge Intensity	20% of technical personnel obtain at least one technical-specialist certification each year (ITIL, PMP, SAP, Microsoft, etc.)	By 2021, 10% of technical personnel have earned at least one technical-speciality certification	10%	15%	20%
ESG co-creation	Implementation of at least 1 ESG project per year proposed by employees and funded by the Group	In 2021, the Innovation Award was held, with the collection of a series of ideas suggested by employees also in the ESG area, implementation of which will be assessed in 2022	0	4	10
Job Path* * Procedure to be applied for paths within the Group within 24 months of acquisition of the Company	100% of the employees of the Group's Companies on a Job Path for internal growth after 24 months from acquisition	During 2021, the Job Path was extended to all employees of the Italian companies of the WIIT Group, with the possibility of intra-group growth	61%	75%	1

The Group's sustainability commitments are part of a strategy that focuses on listening to and involving stakeholders, an essential lever to test the Group's ability to understand the complexity of the scenario. In 2020, the first Stakeholder Day was held, involving a group of more than 15 different stakeholders to identify “material” issues – i.e. sustainability topics that are priorities for stakeholders, managers and the Group. One year later, in 2021, a new stakeholder panel met for a discussion on the definition of sustainability targets to 2030, an opportunity to gather valuable suggestions on how to improve the targets and courses of action identified in the ESG Plan. Finally, in 2022, 4 external Key Opinion Leaders were identified to be interviewed in order to integrate the 2021 Sustainability Report with a privileged view of the relevant scenario for the 4 thematic pillars of the strategy.

Finally, the Group is aware that the sustainable transition represents an unprecedented source of opportunities for companies – a real strategic business lever, driven by finance and institutional push. In this context and against the backdrop of the Group's continued growth and internationalisation, WIIT is working to anticipate the regulatory obligations on sustainability issues imposed by the European Commission, in order to best meet the challenges and opportunities of the coming years.

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WIIT S.p.A.

WIIT S.p.A., a company listed on the Euronext Star Milan (“STAR”) segment, is a leader in the Cloud Computing market. The company has a pan-European footprint and is present in key markets, such as Italy and Germany, positioning itself among the leading players in the provision of innovative Hosted Private and Hybrid Cloud technology solutions. WIIT operates 15 of its own Data Centres – 3 in Italy, 2 of which are Tier IV-certified by the Uptime Institute, and 12 in Germany – and has 6 SAP certifications at the highest specialisation levels. Its end-to-end approach enables the company to provide its partner companies with customised, high value-added services with the highest security and quality standards for the management of critical applications and business continuity, while guaranteeing maximum reliability in the management of the main international application platforms (SAP, Oracle and Microsoft). (www.wiit.cloud)

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