Voluntary environmental certifications
“Infinite growth is not possible on such a finite planet where natural resources are non-renewable”: this idea, conceived at the beginning of the 1970s, is at the heart of the concept of sustainability, a term that is now found everywhere, in both the private and business domains. Companies are challenged to increase, optimise, and improve their production processes in order to guarantee working well-being, and product quality through environmental certifications, but also to respect local areas and the surrounding communities. For this reason, the Pittini Group not only complies with current regulations but is also fully committed to responding to the requests of all stakeholders involved in the Group’s activities, often more stringent than the applicable legislation.
In order to give value to the term ‘sustainability’, environmental performance is measured through numerical indicators in line with important European standards.
The Pittini Group voluntarily adheres to the European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), with the aim of assessing, improving, and communicating the environmental efficiency of its processes. Disclosing sustainability is a key point for the reputation of the company, and also contributes to the awareness and transparency towards all its stakeholders. The Acciaierie di Verona and Ferriere Nord plants were awarded the EMAS certification in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
EMAS certification
As stated above, the EMAS certification is completely voluntary and refers to a plant’s production facilities. Certified auditors attest that the company places importance on the continuous improvement of its environmental performance, monitoring and evaluating it in a systematic and periodic manner. In this way, the company’s commitment to the territory is made more visible to the outside world.
The EPD environmental product declaration
While EMAS focuses on plant engineering, there are standards designed exclusively for products: where is the raw material sourced to manufacture them? What is the environmental impact of shipping to the customer? Will the product still be valuable at the end of its life cycle? The EPD, Environmental Product Declaration, is an environmental statement based on the concept of life cycle assessment and is used to keep track of all of these issues, involving not only the upstream and downstream departments of production, but also suppliers, carriers, and consumers. This is important in order to have a complete picture and to ensure that the latest sustainability criteria are met. Having a certified EPD is enough to guarantee the products compliance with the CAM (Minimum Environmental Criteria) decrees and to be acknowledged at a European level thanks to mutual recognition agreements between National program operators.
What are CAM?
The Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM) were introduced in Italy in 2015 as part of green procurement in public administrations, with the aim of promoting measures of the green economy based on criteria of energy and environmental sustainability. The most important CAM decree for the Pittini Group is the one concerning construction materials for public buildings.
