Fedrigoni Environmental Report 2008: committing to the environment and safety

The group has been committed to improving its efficiency and quality for many years, always bearing the requirements of safety and of environmental impact in mind. In fact, Fedrigoni coherently applies its ethical code of conduct by prioritising environmental questions during the phases of designing, implementing and running new activities, processes, plant installations, services and products. Testifying to the attention paid to environmental issues by the group is the process of certifying its management systems, which has led it to acquire the following certifications: UNI EN ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), UNI EN ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) and BSI – OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety in the Workplace Management System). In addition, 70% of the papers produced by the group also hold FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody Mixed Source certification, while the Fedrigoni Freelife system of environmentally-friendly papers can also boast the highly-prized European Ecolabel.

Focusing now on its cellulose supplies, the Fedrigoni Group has long been committed to acquiring its fibrous raw materials from none but suppliers who practise sustainable forestry management, are capable of exhibiting third-party certification to that effect and use very low environmental impact processes to generate TCF (Total Chlorine Free) or ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) cellulose. In addition, Fedrigoni also practises a wide range of forestry maintenance policies, among other things by using cellulose fibres derived from such annual plantations as bamboo, hemp, kenaf, cotton and linen, or high quality de-inked secondary pre-consumer and post-consumer fibres.

In order to keep its environmental impact and energy consumption down, the group has installed methane-powered co-generation systems (methane combustion gives off no hydrogen sulphide or sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere and drastically reduces the emission of ash and fine dust compared to other fossil fuels), which enable the company to generate its own electricity and thermal energy in a single combined process. When the amount of fuel used is reduced, this also translates into an almost proportional cut in CO2 emissions and substantial reductions in the losses of electricity brought about by energy transmission and distribution.

Lastly, it is also important to underline that the steps taken are not restricted to the production facilities alone, but apply to the entire product chain, from the raw materials right through to product distribution. The group’s awareness of environmental issues can truly be described as covering all 360°.