Sustainability Report 2022

DEAR STAKEHOLDERS,

We have now reached the third edition of the Sustainability Report, which contains an overview of the management of the main sustainability impacts of Irplast in 2022 with a look at the implementation of the sustainability strategy undertaken for some years now. 2022 was marked by multiple challenges and changes. On the one hand, we gradually managed to leave the emergency situation caused by Covid-19 behind us, on the other we had to deal with the repercussions of the geopolitical tensions linked to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the consequent increase in raw material prices and the significant increase in energy. Added to this was a slight decrease in demand from the final consumer, due to the reduced purchasing power due to inflationary pressure.
To the current difficulties are added the increasingly urgent challenges related to the environment and, specifically, to climate change, the consumption of resources and pollution, which make innovation from a sustainable perspective necessary in order to mitigate the impacts and align the evolution of society and the regulatory pressures in place. This transformation cannot be separated from technological progress, considering that the means available to date, albeit advanced, still do not guarantee sufficient levels of reliability and safety, thus slowing down the implementation of environmentally virtuous projects.

In this complex context, we took the opportunity to imagine an increasingly sustainable future by placing respect for the environment, which has always been present in company policies, as the cornerstone of Irplast’s strategy. In fact, aware of our fundamental role in the sector, we have chosen to make a concrete commitment to promoting a new way of doing business, combining the reduction of environmental impacts with the economic aspects. Our decision has made it possible to lay solid foundations for an ecological transition to the benefit of all players in the value chain. We have chosen to decline sustainability through the circularity of both products and processes. Our Company, in fact, through the Research and Development Departments, works constantly with the aim of rationalizing and enhancing the inputs entering the production cycle and maximizing the recyclability of the products. To this end, various solutions are being put in place starting from the design of products with less plastic material, passing through an optimization of single-material solutions, and leveraging a more recyclable and recoverable offer. Furthermore, the Company invests in the valorisation of manufacturing process waste which, through mechanical recycling actions, is reinserted into the production cycle.

Furthermore, in choosing raw materials, Irplast is committed to the progressive increase of plastic material from alternative sources such as renewable sources or chemical recycling, so as to reduce the impact on fossil fuels, while minimizing the emissions associated with the product.

Irplast’s commitment has been welcomed by the market, resulting in an increase in the sale of ecocompatible products and products made from recycled raw materials; in recent years, in fact, our customers have shown an ever greater sensitivity towards the issue of sustainability. As a result, the Company is concentrating its efforts on ensuring products that meet specific needs, improving the sustainability of the solutions offered.

Moreover, the recognitions from the market were not long in coming: in 2022, Irplast entered the list of the 100 Italian companies that have distinguished themselves for their commitment to sustainability, as part of the 2nd edition of the Sustainability Award. The goal achieved by our company therefore constitutes, a confirmation of the solidity of the path taken, while at the same time strengthening the competitive positioning of Irplast among the most virtuous companies on the market.

We are aware that people are a key factor for success in a Company that aims to achieve ever more ambitious goals in terms of quality and product sustainability; for this reason, we intend to provide our collaborators with a stimulating and educational work environment, in which everyone’s needs are listened to and where talents are cultivated and valued, with the aim of growing together.

Despite the progress achieved to date, we continue to have the ambition to make Irplast increasingly innovative, able to make the issue of sustainability increasingly central and integrated into the company strategy with the aim of facing the challenges of the sector as a protagonist of the plastic. The contents of the 2022 Sustainability Report highlight our efforts and our results in the research and application of solutions that produce a positive impact on the environment and on the community as a whole.

Fausto Cosi
Chief Executive Officer