When we started our path of sustainability we wondered what “weight” environmental sustainability could have in the publishing business, a business closely related to the production and use of paper as a raw material. And yet it was clear that we could not limit ourselves to quantifying this aspect, but that we had to survey our energy consumption and try to quantify the environmental impacts that each phase of our activity produces: inside the company, upstream and downstream in the supply chain. Thanks to this survey we understood that it was not so much the “magnitude” of these impacts that was important as the possibility of reducing them.

Our Sustainability Committee, composed of the main corporate and business functions, is responsible for the Group’s environmental strategy. By identifying possible areas for improvement, it formulates strategic guidelines for the implementation of our environmental policy.

In particular, our main commitments for the future can be summarized in the following points:

  • to reduce energy consumption, through, among other things, measures on energy efficiency and business travel management policies;
  • promoting responsible use of natural resources by encouraging the use of eco-compatible materials through, for example, the use of certified paper for the printing of our products;
  • improving the management of waste, both from our locations and from product distribution activities;
  • influencing our suppliers through the use of environmental sustainability criteria within the selection and management process, in order to orient the chosen suppliers to act consistently with this environmental policy;
  • raise our customers’ awareness of environmental issues, using our own products as a means of promoting sustainability;
  • involve our employees through communication and dialogue to increase corporate awareness of environmental issues and promote responsible behavior.

Our joint commitment to these issues is part of a broader vision regarding the fight against climate change, which we consider a key point for our environmental strategy.

Our environmental policy is part of a broader context of management of sustainability issues, which we communicate, both internally and externally, through the drafting and annual publication of the consolidated non-financial statement, through the company’s intranet, institutional website and Group social accounts. We are committed to disseminating and communicating the environmental policy to our stakeholders, in particular to employees, customers and suppliers, and to ensuring the periodic review and updating of the Group’s policy, strategy and objectives with regard to environmental and sustainability issues.

Our environmental policy outlines the commitment to the achievement of objectives for the reduction of environmental impacts. It constitutes the reference framework for the company’s strategy and areas of intervention in the environmental field.

The process for the definition of the environmental policy is divided into the following steps:

  1. analysis of requests received from our stakeholders;
  2. analysis of material issues related to environmental issues;
  3. definition of the Mondadori Group’s vision and objectives with regard to environmental protection;
  4. the Sustainability Committee draws up the formal document.

See section 4 of our Consolidated Non-Financial Statement for further details.

The Group’s direct emissions (Scope 1) are derived from:

  • the consumption of natural gas for heating offices, stores and warehouses;
  • the combustion of fuel used by the cars that make up the Company’s fleet.

Consumption

The emission reporting process implemented in recent years by the Group has enabled the consolidation of calculation methods, and has acted as a baseline for raising internal awareness about possible policies for the reduction of greenhouse gases generated by its operations. In this regard, the Group has already launched a number of projects to cut its emissions, both in 2021 and in the past; these include the implementation of energy efficiency measures in buildings, the efficient use of paper for printing, and the replacement of the car fleet with lower emission models.

The consumption of natural gas – Italy*

Type of energyUnit202120202019
Natural gas


GJ

363,999


12,842

367,939


12,981

428,985


15,144

*Natural gas consumption is converted into GJ using the conversion factors sourced from “National standard parameters published by the Ministry for the Environment and Land and Sea Protection” published for the respective years (2021, 2020, 2019). The 2020 figure includes a partial estimate, not the actual figure on the consumption of natural gas by one of Mondadori Retail’s offices, owing to a malfunction in the measurement system.


In Italy, the Group’s gas consumption remained at last year’s levels, decreasing by 1.1% versus 2020. This year’s figure confirms the downward trend versus 2019, due primarily to site closures during the lockdown period. Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions derive from electricity consumption, which is sourced from the national electricity grid for the use of: lighting, air conditioning (heat pumps), and equipment (e.g. PCs, printers) in offices and stores; lighting and equipment in warehouses; recharging electrical vehicles (Segrate) and forklift trucks (warehouses).
Electricity consumption – ItalyUnit202120202019
Total electricity purchased from national gridMWh


GJ

10,488


37,756

10,941


39,387

12,860


46,295

The trend in electricity consumption in Italy has been steadily falling over the past three years: the approximately 18% reduction between 2019 and 2021 is due to the energy saving measures and actions implemented over the three-year period and, with regard to last year, the closure of offices during the lockdown period.

Consumption of other materials (in tonnes)

The tables show the consumption of the main materials used by Mondadori (according to a conservative approach, these materials are considered as direct consumption also in the case of outsourcing).
As regards Italy, the figures include the materials used in the shipment of books (from Verona and from Stradella), dailies and magazines (Press-di).
Raw materialDetail2019
WoodPallets ¹687
CardboardCardboard boxes and packaging materials
PolyethyleneFilm206
PolyethylenePackage filling
PolyethylenePallet coversn.d.
PolypropyleneTapen.d.
PolypropyleneStrappingn.d.
Expanded polystyrene foamFilling of packages with polystyrene
The Group’s other indirect emissions (Scope 3) derive from: paper production; business travel by employees; delivery of magazines to local distributors.

Toner and printing paper consumption (offices)
Raw material (tonnes)

202120202019
Paper for printouts202961
Toners for printouts0.590.31
Among the measures taken to reduce the environmental impacts of Group offices and bookstores, efforts have been made in recent years to raise awareness of the responsible use of toners and paper for printing in offices. Over the last three years in particular, the Group has managed to reduce the consumption of printing paper by approximately 67%. Toners also saw a reduction over the three-year reporting period, due to both printer replacement policies applied over the years and office closures due to the pandemic.

Waste

Waste generated
Segrate head officeUnit of measurement202120202019
Hazardoust.0.36 (0.31%)0 (0%)2.738 (1.14%)
Non-hazardoust.116.1 (99.69%)141.247 (100%)238.158 (98.86%)
Total240.896
The commitment to reducing the environmental impact also applies to waste produced. Given the specific business of the Mondadori Group, only a small part of waste produced by special products falls in the “hazardous” class. Segrate, the only site at the moment where the amounts of waste disposed of can be accurately measured, saw a slight increase in the production of hazardous waste between 2020 and 2021, which however remains below the levels of 2019.