Consolidated external costs

In 2021, the Group’s consolidated external costs totalled about € 2.46 billion (+23.9% compared to 2020). The largest increase is due to the electricity and gas item of € 1.72 billion (about € 1.33 billion in 2020), which had the greatest impact on distribution of expenses. There is an increase in the services item equal to around € 437 million (€ 378 million in 2020), influenced by the change in the scope of consolidation.

Procurement of goods, services and works related to the Group Companies subject to reporting are managed centrally by the Pur- chases and Logistics Function of the Parent Company⁸¹, with the exception of GORI, AdF and Gesesa, which independently manage their business. The total value of the order recorded in 2021, including the amounts of non-centrally managed water companies⁸², rises to more than € 2 billion, with an increase of about 66% compared to the previous year (about € 1.2 billion in 2020). With regard to the centrally managed companies, the value of procurement in 2021 is more than € 1.7 billion, compared to € 1.1 billion in 2020.

⁸¹For the NFS scope, see Disclosing sustainability: methodological note. With respect to this scope, neither the water companies GORI, AdF or Gesesa, which manage their
procurement independently, nor the Berg or Demap companies or the photovoltaic companies (with the exception of Acea Solar and Acea Sun Capital, which are managed
centrally) are managed at a centralised level.
⁸²The data of the three companies operating in the water sector that manage procurement activities independently are aggregated here with those managed centrally in order to
represent overall relations with suppliers in the year under review. The figures for Berg and Demap and the photovoltaic companies (except Acea Solar and Acea Sun Capital)
have not been included, as these companies recorded costs for materials and services of less than 2% of those incurred by the companies in the NFS scope.