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:
- analysis of requests received from our stakeholders;
- analysis of material issues related to environmental issues;
- definition of the Mondadori Group’s vision and objectives with regard to environmental protection;
- the Sustainability Committee draws up the formal document.
See chapter 4 of our Consolidated Non-Financial Statement for further details.
Initiatives to reduce the environmental impact
In 2022 too, as we gradually left the pandemic behind us, that had forced urgent interventions and emergency management measures, the attention to energy saving remained high, with initiatives involving mainly the Segrate headquarters.
These interventions, coupled with a more careful plant management, have made it possible to obtain ultimate final savings also in connection with the changes to working activities on-site brought about by smart working.
In 2022, as part of the action taken to increase energy efficiency in Retail, the following activities were implemented:
• all the old, energy-intensive air conditioning systems have been replaced by new ones using low energy consumption VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume) technology;
• remote control has been started of the air conditioning systems, using smart technology to control temperatures, times and anomalies in the plants.