Press release
, François-Xavier Branthôme
For the sixth consecutive year, Casalasco presents its sustainability report; for the first time, the 2023 Edition integrates in a single document the contributions of its subsidiaries, all of which play an essential role in its organization and are fully aligned with its values and objectives.
Casalasco, the first integrated tomato supply chain in Italy specializing in the processing of tomatoes, packaging and marketing of its derivatives, confirms its commitment to the environment, the territory and people and presents the 2023 Sustainability Report, the first that also involves the results of the subsidiaries Emiliana Conserve Spa, SAC Spa, De Martino Srl and Pomì USA.
Environment, Innovation, Research & Development, People and Supply Chain are the five pillars on which Casalasco's sustainable strategy is based, which adopts a transparent approach respecting all its stakeholders with the common mission of building an efficient and solid chain for value creation.
To guide the Group's strategic sustainability plan, for the first time in 2023, a Steering Committee was created that launched the ambitious "Road to net zero emissions" project. The aim is to minimize the impact during all phases of the supply chain, by defining the carbon footprint and therefore the development of energy efficiency projects, the reduction of climate-altering emissions and the transition to renewable sources.
In this context, Casalasco has developed and is implementing a structured investment plan at all its sites that is structured around three main axes:
Reduction of methane gas consumption through the installation of 7 new evaporators using MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) that will lead to savings of approximately 1 million cubic meters of gas and 2 thousand tonnes of CO2 for each plant and for each processing campaign; Increased efficiency in electricity production through the installation of two high-efficiency cogeneration systems;
Production of energy from renewable sources, in particular through the agrivoltaic system (see also related articles below), currently under development, which will extend over an area of approximately 2 hectares. These interventions, designed and launched in 2022, are well advanced from 2023 and will be completed in 2025.
Energy consumption and the resulting carbon emissions related to production constitute a significant impact of the agri-food processing industry. For this reason, in 2023, the Casalasco Group has committed to purchasing almost all of the energy used (94%) from renewable and non-fossil sources, with an increase of +369% compared to 2022.
Precisely thanks to the increase in the use of energy from renewable sources, market-based Scope 2 emissions decreased in 2023 by 91% compared to 2022, for a total of 2,677 tons of CO2 emitted. Consolidated Scope1 emissions, related to the use of methane, diesel, LPG and refrigerant gases, also decreased by 3% thanks to the commissioning of the two new MVR evaporators at the Gariga and Fontanellato plants.
Regarding wastewater, water recovery systems have been set up at all production sites in order to limit its use. In fact, thanks to the installation of cooling towers, dry coolers and recirculation systems, it is possible to reuse the cooling water for the same purpose or for the unloading and hydraulic transport of tomatoes.
In 2023, thanks to a one-off differentiation, 97% of waste was intended for recovery. The proper management of production residues has enabled the recovery of 20,915 t of by-products used as animal feed and biomass.
Innovation, research and development are at the heart of all phases of the supply chain from the field to distribution and involve a multidisciplinary team composed of agronomic, food, legal and industrial expertise. In particular, last year, Casalasco's Research & Development department developed 104 projects (93 in 2022), to create new products in terms of recipe, production process and packaging. Of these, 35% were successfully concluded and 25% are still in progress. In 2023, construction also began on the Innovation Center, a multifunctional project intended to carry out agronomic experiments and raw material processing tests to evaluate special varieties. The completion and therefore the inauguration are expected in the first half of 2025.
Great attention has always been paid to people, the heart and driving force of Casalasco. Last year, the average number of employees was 1,212, with a peak of 2,078, during the months of the harvest campaign. An equal gender distribution is confirmed with 46% women and 54% men and a rich ethnic diversity with 68% Italian workers and the remaining 32% coming from 66 different nationalities.
Finally, to maintain a safe and stimulating environment, Casalasco has carried out important training projects with over 17,127 hours reported or 14.13 hours per people, in addition to social projects aimed at supporting the well-being of employees with free courses and visits for the promotion of healthy lifestyles, the prevention of oncological diseases and the encouragement of sustainable mobility.
“Despite a very dynamic business context, characterized by significant changes and new challenges, the attention paid to the planet, the territory and its community remains an essential point of reference for us and the results documented in this report are confirmation of this – said Costantino Vaia, CEO of the Casalasco Group. “Results of which we are proud and which for the first time we wanted to represent in a single document that also includes the subsidiaries to underline the importance and the perfect integration of all the components of the Group in terms of values and objectives, defining a common path towards the ambitious goal of the Road to Net Zero Emissions”.
Some complementary data
For further details about sustainability at Casalasco, click here.
Sources: casalasco.com, corriereortofrutticolo.it
