- What's the point of this graph?
- How is my position on the graph calculated?
- How is Enel's position on the graph determined?
What's the point of this graph?
For Enel, corporate social responsibility (which we also call more simply "corporate responsibility" or "sustainability") is based on the relationship among the three aspects that it comprises: economic responsibility, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility.
Economic responsibility includes all the publics and stakeholders that have a direct relationship with a company in economic, financial, and/or commercial terms (shareholders, providers of capital, customers, suppliers, employees, and in - to a certain extent - institutions). Social responsibility represents our relationship with so-called society at large and regards the communities that live around and near our industrial plants, society in general and the associations that represent it and, again, shareholders, providers of capital, customers, suppliers, employees, and institutions, viewed as components of society at large. Finally, the privileged references for environmental responsibility are the future generations, the associations whose mission is the protection of the environment, institutions, and citizens in general.
In each of these areas of responsibility, Enel has made a commitment that can be summarized in three key concepts:
- in the relationship between economic and social responsibility, the Company undertakes to pursue fairness and transparency;
- in the relationship between economic and environmental responsibility, we undertake to pursue growth strategies that are environmentally sustainable;
- the aim is to ensure that the areas inhabited by the individual communities and society at large are as livable as possible.
Finally, another element of our corporate responsibility is the additional link in terms of charity, with which Enel amplifies the relationship between economic and social responsibility.
Enel Cuore, a not-for-profit organization set up by companies belonging to the Enel Group, is entrusted with the task of returning wealth to communities where the latter is generated in an amount exceeding six million euros a year, supporting projects in favor of children, the elderly, the deprived, the ill, and the handicapped. Thus, there are responsibility and keeping agreements, but also concern, listening, and consideration.
How is my position on the graph calculated?
Your position on the graph is the point at which the forces of attraction towards the three vertices of the triangle are in equilibrium. These forces are modeled as ideal springs, with no friction and minimum elongation equal to zero. The physical model is described below.
The 24 questions are divided according to the components (society, economy, environment), with each question regarding one and only one component.
The questions are phrased in such a way that each answer - on a linear scale from "not at all" to "extremely" - changes the force of attraction that the component to which the question belongs exercises on the user (the spring pulls with varying force).
Going into greater detail for those who are interested:
every answer changes the force of attraction according to this simple scheme:
• not at all = NO CHANGE
• not very = +1
• fairly = +2
• very = +3
• extremely = +4
Because of how the model is constructed, as far as your position on the graph is concerned, the absolute units of measurement do not affect it. It's the relative values of the forces of attraction that count.
When all the answers have been given, the resulting three values of the forces of attraction k1, k2, and k3 are inserted in the physical model and the resulting system of equations can be solved simply, indicating your position on the graph in terms of coordinates x and y.
The equilibrium position is:
• x = (k1*x1 + k2*x2 + k3*x3) / (k1 + k2 + k3)
• y = (k1*y1 + k2*y2 + k3*y3) / (k1 + k2 + k3)
Where (x1,y1), (x2,y2), and (x3,y3) are the coordinates of the three vertices of the triangle.
Description of the physical model
A mass is linked with three springs to the three vertices of an equilateral triangle: P1(x1, y1), P2(x2, y2), P3(x3, y3).
Each vertex corresponds to one of the poles of attraction: Environment, Society, and Economy. The elastic constants of the three springs are different (k1, k2, k3), are determined by the user's answers to the questions, and reflect the attraction that the user feels towards each pole. The procedure by which these three values are determined by the user's answers will be described later.
The position of the user who answered the questions is the static equilibrium position P(x, y). Decomposing the forces along the two axes x and y, the system of equations for equilibrium becomes:
• -k1(x - x1) - k2(x - x2) - k3(x - x3) = 0
• -k1(y - y1) - k2(y - y2) - k3(y - y3) = 0
Which has a simple solution:
• x = (k1*x1 + k2*x2 + k3*x3) / (k1 + k2 + k3)
• y = (k1*y1 + k2*y2 + k3*y3) / (k1 + k2 + k3)
Thus, once the positions of the three vertices and the three elastic constants have been given, it is possible to determine the equilibrium position of the mass.
How is Enel's position on the graph determined?
Enel designs and controls its strategy and its CSR actions through more than 450 indicators (http://www.enel.it/azienda_en/sostenibilita/identita_e_governo/ex_eneldata/questi_numeri/). 45% of these indicators regard economic responsibility, 35% environmental responsibility, and 20% social responsibility.
In our sustainability control system, these are the "weights" that, based on the algorithms underlying this system of evaluation, put us in this position.