Twenty years of Sustainability Report for RadiciGroup

The RadiciGroup Sustainability Report reaches an important milestone this year: twenty years have in fact passed since the Group published its first Social Report in 2004, qualifying it as one of the pioneering companies in the realisation of voluntary non-financial reporting. The document measures the Group’s achievements and the actions it has taken to reduce its environmental impact, respect social values, and implement good business management practices. Over the years, the Report has steadily evolved and is now a true sustainability report that considers all ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) aspects, showing how they are also central to the company's business strategy. Over time, many new topics have been covered, the accuracy of the data has improved, and the scope has expanded to include all Group companies: over 30 sites across Asia, the Americas and Europe.

"Over the past 20 years, the Sustainability Report has been a benchmark for developing our Group's sustainable approach. Measuring was in fact the first step to knowing, knowing was the first step to deciding how to improve on a daily basis”, commented Angelo Radici, President of RadiciGroup. "Year after year, the Sustainability Report has provided a detailed overview of the strategies and actions undertaken by RadiciGroup to reduce its impacts and seize the opportunities that optimal management of environmental, social and governance aspects can offer. Today, it is a true added value that fuels the Group's reputation among all stakeholders. Naturally, our journey continues: we are in fact preparing for the mandatory reporting required by the European CSRD.”

The information contained in the Sustainability Report shows RadiciGroup's strong commitment, starting with the investments made: between 2019 and 2023, 278 million euros were allocated to support the competitiveness of the Group's companies, of which 45 million euros in 2023 alone; the amount invested in the environment in 2023 and earmarked for the introduction of Best Available Techniques and performance efficiency reached 4.2 million euros.

Twenty years of reporting have also allowed RadiciGroup to measure the results of the investments it has made, to such an extent that in 2023 it already achieved the first goal of its "From Earth to Earth" Roadmap to 2030, i.e., a Group-wide reduction of 83% in direct CO2 equivalent emissions compared to 2011. "To reduce our emissions", Angelo Radici explained, "we have implemented a multi-year investment plan of over 12 million euro in the Specialty Chemicals area alone, which has enabled us, step by step, to drastically reduce our environmental impact”.

A significant contribution to this result came from the commissioning of an EnviNOx plant at the Radici Chimica plant in Germany, which, thanks to this technological innovation, greatly reduced its direct greenhouse gas emissions (-92%).

The focus on responsible use of natural resources continues: in 2023, the share of electricity from renewable sources used for production processes was consolidated at 59%. The percentage of water resources saved through the practice of water recycling was also raised to 79%: some of our plants in fact reuse the same water up to 60 times and then return it to the environment. The theme of circular economy remains a cross-cutting one in many of the innovation projects, often also in a collaborative perspective with the rest of the supply chain. In particular, all Radicigroup companies work to contain the generation of scrap and waste through rigorous process management: 73% of all non-hazardous waste was recovered in 2023 and 56% of this was destined for internal recovery.

"Most of our production waste becomes a resource for the creation of new products," emphasised Angelo Radici, President of RadiciGroup, "such as, for example, Renycle, our brand for recycled products. RadiciGroup's commitment to the recovery of pre- and post-consumer waste has been an established practice for over 40 years and is now also encouraged by growing market demands and European policies.”

Even in the product area, measurement is fundamental, which is why RadiciGroup has long used Life Cycle Assessment studies to objectively calculate the environmental impact of its products and introduce environmental footprint mitigation solutions. This commitment is also evidenced by the numerous environmental certifications obtained by RadiciGroup plants.

With a view to promoting collaboration with customers, suppliers, scientific partners or independent experts in order to develop innovative and sustainable technologies or materials, RadiciGroup has strongly promoted open innovation projects: opportunities to stimulate a Group culture increasingly open to change and contamination with different fields of knowledge.

Regarding its employees, the Group has placed significant emphasis on training, particularly in fostering ESG awareness. In fact, in 2023, it organised its first large-scale training program focused on sustainability and circularity, engaging around 240 employees and delivering a total of 1,500 training hours. In addition, an internal human rights survey was launched, the results of which will form the basis for the formulation of a company policy on human rights and diversity.