Terna provides the Country with the electricity transmission service through the high voltage electricity grid.
Environmentally, the most evident impact is the physical presence of the lines and power stations and their interaction with the surrounding environment, natural and man made.
This is the premise of Terna’s environmental policy, whose commitment is to continually improve all significant environmental impacts, such as visual clutter, noise, electromagnetic fields and waste.
With a responsible approach towards the important theme of climate change, Terna also monitors its greenhouse gas emissions, that is however reduced due to the nature of its business that does not include the production of electricity.
Terna’s attention to the environment is reflected in the following features:
Building new infrastructures is addressed by Terna with a precautionary approach that takes into consideration the environmental impact already from the stage of strategic planning. Attention to the environment and to the territory is implemented in cooperation with the
local authorities (Regions, Provinces, Municipalities, Park authorities and others) aimed at identifying the best location of the new lines.
The technical instrument used is the SEA- Strategic Environmental Assessment that Terna has been adopting - also for single projects - since 2001, way before the SEA became mandatory by law, for the ten year development plan of the electricity grid.
With regard to the existing lines and their management, Terna has developed a
System of Environmental Management,
obtaining, since 2007,
the UNI EN ISO 14001 Certification. This certification, renewed in October 2010 for the period 2011-2013, regards all of Terna’s activities and covers the entire transmission grid (stations, lines) and offices.
Attention to the environment and biodiversity is the subject of specific cooperation agreements in
collaboration with the principal environmental organizations (WWF, LIPU) designed to emphasize nature conservation in the planning activities and maintenance of the electricity grid.
Terna’s commitment to the environment is also reflected by the costs incurred for environmental reasons, both as operating expenses and investments. This
separate presentation of environmental costs was drafted for the first time in 2009, following a project in which Terna’s general and industrial accounts were reinterpreted.