2011 Annual Report - Italcementi Group

Risks and uncertainties
Italcementi S.p.A.’s management of risks (internal and external, social, industrial, political,
financial) is an integral part of Group growth strategy and a key element of the continuous
process of evolving the governance system. Risk management, in part through
improvement of rules of conduct, aims to respect the environment, protect stakeholders
(employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders), and protect corporate assets.
Italcementi operates in a sector exposed to risks and uncertainties of various kinds
(connected with external factors, operational, financial, organizational, compliance with
regulations, etc.).
In May 2010, Italcementi S.p.A. formed a Risk Management Department, reporting to the
Chief Executive Officer, to improve its ability to create value for stakeholders by optimizing
enterprise risk management (ERM). The mission of the function is to guarantee a
structured approach to risk management, integrated with the Group growth strategy, and to
support the improvement of Group performance by identifying, measuring, managing and
controlling key risks.
The creation of the Risk Management Department is part of the “Risk & Compliance”
program set up in 2008 and consists of the following phases:
1. identification of the main areas of risk for Group strategic goals and development of
methods and tools to analyze and assess the correlated risk events;
2. assessment, at country level and at aggregate level, of identified risk events in terms of
impact, probability and timeframe, in order to acquire an overall vision of the Group risk
portfolio;
3. selection of priority risks and definition of response strategies, Group governance rules
and action to integrate and improve risk management systems;
4. implementation of defined mitigation strategies and action and development of the
Enterprise Risk Management process;
5. reporting to Top Management and the governance bodies on the main risks, and their
management and evolution; in this phase quantification of risks and opportunities is
integrated with the enterprise management process, for example in the budget, in
results forecasting reviews and in assessment of strategic projects.
Sustainable development and risk management: protection of people and assets
Sustainable development favors a corporate approach that balances economic growth,
protection of the environment and social sustainability. By constantly pursuing an optimal
balance among these elements and ensuring that benefits extend to everyone involved,
companies enhance their long-term value, ability to survive and competitive advantage,
thus helping to prevent industrial risks.
The Group checks that its protection and prevention programs are consistently applied to
all personnel in production sites (employees and other) and to all operations in its
companies.
Regulatory limits and Group sustainable development goals and initiatives are examined in
a special report (Sustainability Report) and also summarized in a specific section in the
consolidated annual report.
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