Investments in the circular economy, production efficiency, energy efficiency, energy self-production, purchasing from renewable sources and market diversification to cope with the global crisis
The dedication and care for people and the world in which they live and work clearly emerges from the Lucart 17th Sustainability Report, the first to be endorsed by a certifying body. In pursuit of the ambition to promote a sustainable way of producing paper, Lucart has reduced specific CO2 and NOx emissions by 14.9% and 47% respectively, cut specific energy consumption by 13.2% and totalled 80% of recovered waste since 2014. Specific water consumption decreased by 23.3% compared to 2013.
The 2021 Report, presented in Lucca during an event entitled “Carta Canta – Essere Green Heroes” (that translates loosely as “Paper speaks volumes – Being Green Heroes”), highlights the achievement of a turnover of more than € 540 million (+6.5% compared to 2020), confirming the company’s continuous growth in a year marred by the pandemic and the global economic crisis that resulted from it.
100% of recyclable and/or compostable packaging
Lucart is continuing on the way of ecological transition in the paper industry by anticipating the 2025 target of using 100% recyclable and/or compostable packaging and is working to increase the use of packaging made from renewable materials (79%) made entirely or partly from recycled raw materials.
A second life and new business opportunities from waste beverage cartons
Lucart is as committed as ever to Natural, the ambitious circular economy project launched in 2010 by the R&D department for developing the use of alternative fibres to virgin pulp, to recover all the materials contained in Tetra Pak® type beverage cartons. From 2013 to 2021 in the scope of the Natural project, Lucart contributed to:
- recovering more than 7.6 billion beverage cartons, a quantity capable of covering the circumference of the Earth 44 times
- avoiding the use of more than 3.3 million trees, a quantity sufficient to cover more than 11,200 football fields
- preventing the emission of more than 195,000 tons of CO2, equivalent to the quantity that would be generated by 1,542,208 car journeys from Rome to Milan
The Natural project and the Tetra Pak® recycling activity led to creating an industrial symbiosis between Lucart and CPR System with the foundation of Newpal S.p.A., a subsidiary dedicated to the moulding of high-quality pallets made of recycled plastic coming from the Borgo a Mozzano plant. Newpal S.p.A. will be involved in an investment of about € 7 million for the creation of an industrial hub in the Ferrara area equipped with an innovative moulding plant for recycled plastics. It will be fully operational by January 2023 and completely close the circle of Tetra Pak® type carton recovery. It is expected to create great advantages for the environment and new business opportunities.
“During 2021, there was a rebalancing of demand for goods between consumer and Away from Home products, in a context of strong economic recovery, especially in the second half of the year. However, the year was characterised by a steep rise in the prices of all raw materials, both fibrous and auxiliary materials, and energy prices sky-rocketed in the last quarter of 2021, aggravated by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022”, – commented Massimo Pasquini, Lucart CEO.
“Sustainability continues to be the inspiring element of our innovations and relationships with our stakeholders to build a better future. The macroeconomic framework for raw materials and energy prompts us to expedite the actions we have already taken in recent years and which see us determined to invest in the circular economy, production and energy efficiency, self-production and purchase of renewable energy, and market and product diversification, with particular attention to the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP), under which the Lucart Group has submitted several projects.”
The #GreenHeroes nomination by Alessandro Gassman
The commitment to sustainability has led Lucart to join the #GreenHeroes initiative launched by the popular Italian actor Alessandro Gassman in January 2019. Created with Annalisa Corrado and with the scientific support of the Kyoto Club, the project brings together the stories of companies and entrepreneurs who demonstrate how it is possible to create value and employment by also taking care of the world in which we live, investing in the future instead of postponing the day of reckoning with the planet.
The complete report can be downloaded from the following address:
https://www.lucartgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Lucart_RS_2021_ENG.pdf
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