Prysmian S.p.A.
Company Double Materiality Analysis
This one-page analysis examines a company’s products, services and operational practices and whether they positively contribute or detract from sustainability goals. Our analysis relies on quantitative indicators, leading industry frameworks and covers topics most relevant to the company’s industry.
Prysmian S.p.A.
Ticker: PRY IT
ISIN: IT0004176001
Market Cap: €9.355 billion
GICS Sector: Industrials
SICS Industry: Electrical & Electronic Equipment
Country: Italy
SMS theme: Achieving the Energy Transition
SMS sub-theme: Sustainable Infrastructure
Contribution to theme: Positive
Company Description
Prysmian SpA engages in the development, design, manufacturing, supply, and installation of cables. It operates through the following segments: Energy, Projects, and Telecom.
Revenue exposure by country/region: USA (28.4%), Italy (9.9%), other Europe (32%) and Canada (5.1%).
Contribution to the sub-theme objectives:
Prysmian Group is a manufacturer and installer of cables, which are used to transmit electricity. Power grids are the skeleton of an energy system dominated by renewables and, therefore, must be extended as electrification across the world increases. Prysmian’s products are essential to electrification and the shift to a lower carbon economy.
Operational Performance
(Laggard, Aligned or Leader)
Material Topics for Electrical and Electronic Equipment: energy management, hazardous waste management, product safety, product lifecycle management, materials sourcing, business ethics.
Assessment: Leader
Prysmian reports on total energy (9,971,915 GJ in 2022) and also energy used per product. Their most energy intensive product is power cables (at 3.57 GJ/Ton in 2022). The energy intensity of its products had declined each year for the 4 years except for power cables in 2022. Emissions intensity has fallen each year since 2019.
Hazardous waste increased in 2022, in line with increased product production (i.e. waste intensity unchanged). In 2021, 71% of total waste was recycled and 21% went to landfills, slight increase from 2021.
Percent of Prysmian plants certified ISO 14001 rose to 97% and 73% for OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001.
Prysmian maintains a conflict minerals policy and code of business & ethics. The company is a large consumer of aluminum, copper and lead, consuming about 2-3% of global copper production and 7% of copper used in the electrical and electronic sector. Given the highly fragmented copper market, Prysmian is a leading player in the sector.
CONTROVERSIES: The cable industry is prone to antitrust cases. Prysmian was fined EUR105 million in 2014 for anticompetitive practices by the European Commission.
Product/Service Impact
(Negative, Neutral or Positive)
Assessment: Positive
Cable technology for energy transmission and telecommunications is critical to the development of new network infrastructures required for the energy transition.
€114 million investment in R&D in 2022, over 50 partnerships for innovation and 5,760 patents filed.
Prysmian’s ambition is to be the main technological player in the transition to low-carbon energy.
Launched the industry’s first green label (with ECO CABLE), an internally developed label based on internationally recognized criteria, measuring the carbon impact of products.Â
SDG Alignment:
A downloadable version of the Double Materiality Analysis of Prysmian S.pA. is available in the pdf attached.
