We are food producers, an activity that entails great responsibility, a commitment taken on by ICAB with self-denial and seriousness. The sustainability report is not a legislative obligation, nor a mere market requirement: attention to environmental and social, as well as economic, sustainability has always guided our production and organizational choices as a shared value. Therefore, we experience the compilation of this first sustainability report as a new opportunity to present our work in a structured way and to measure the impacts of our reality in social, environmental and economic terms. Aware that we are part of a journey common to companies, institutions and citizens in a complex era, we feel invested with the responsibility to build not only a document, but a vision of the future, respectful and authentic.
The last three years have been very difficult to deal with, although economic indicators suggest otherwise. The years 2020 and 2021 were marked by the Covid-19-related health emergency and subsequent extreme uncertainty, which made any forecasting and planning complex. If retail sales increased because people, forced at home, spent that newfound time in the kitchen, the Horeca channel experienced a very heavy forced pause. Planning investments required an optimistic and hopeful outlook, bordering on a gamble. In 2022, war and unexpected disproportionate increases in energy and gas costs tested us again, so much so that I was forced to report in the national media an unsustainable risk situation, especially in the long run. In order to safeguard jobs and employees' salaries, we were forced to raise the selling price, while still guaranteeing the accessibility of the product.
In spite of these difficulties, with a resilient spirit, already in 2021 we made major investments in Industry 4.0 machinery and equipment, which produced an optimization of production capacity, both in terms of cost and time; and then continued in 2022 with investments aimed at energy and water saving: suffice it to say that today the new washing water recovery plant allows us to reuse it up to 50%, and that 60% of the electricity needs are self-generated.
Again, in the last two years, we have implemented blockchain technology to track every stage of production-an effort that required significant investment in human and professional resources, which allows us to communicate more effectively about our supply chain. By pointing to the QR Code on the label, today our customers access data on geographic origin, quantities processed, packages produced, batches, and certifications of each product. La Fiammante is constantly promoting information campaigns to enable consumers to gain more awareness and knowledge about the products and the tomato supply chain.
We have always been particularly attentive to supply chain relations: we promote workers' rights from the fields to the production lines, we guarantee fair compensation and decent working conditions for all our employees, protecting their health and safety, and we invest in training, convinced of the value and centrality of human capital.
We believe in supply chain transparency, taking on the burden if necessary of tough confrontation with large-scale retailers to protect the quality of products and the interests of the farm and agricultural supply chain. To cite a recent example, we were the first to denounce in 2016 the practice of double-discount auctions on food products, which cascades to all actors in the supply chain, a business-to-business sales tool now banned in Italy by legislative decree implementing the European Directive of the EU Parliament and Council on unfair commercial practices in relations between companies in the agricultural and food supply chain.
Our next investments will be geared toward the realization of a true circular economy system, in which we reintegrate biological materials into the biosphere, and revalue or reuse technical ones. Our ongoing commitment remains firmly aimed at promoting transparency and authentic relationships, from farmer to consumer, persuaded that we are acting in Society as well as in the Market.
This Sustainability Report represents ICAB's first sustainability reporting exercise covering the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. Data for the previous two-year period are also reported. Financial reporting also covers the period from January 1 to December 31 each year. ICAB Industrie Conserve Alimentari Buccino SpA is a joint stock company with its registered office in Buccino.
The purpose of this document is to share with all our stakeholders our progress and achievements to date in the area of social responsibility, as well as the opportunities, actions and policies we intend to take to continuously improve our company. In this way we give evidence of our economic, environmental and social performance and promote understanding of the impacts our company has on the economy, the environment and society and how we seek to ensure presidium on the issues considered most relevant in relation to sustainable development.
This Report involved all the main corporate functions, as well as the collaboration of DNV Business Assurance Italy S.r.l.
The entire ICAB SpA company is to be included in the reporting scope, and data has been presented for the three-year period 2020-2022 in order to give evidence of the corporate sustainability path and thus allow all ICAB stakeholders a comparison of trends over time.
The Report was prepared in accordance with the 2021 "GRI Standards," which came into effect on January 1, 2023, after the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) updated the previous version in 2016.
To make it easier for the reader to read and trace the information within the document, the GRI Table of Contents is provided on page 63.
The GRI principles of relevance, inclusiveness, sustainability context, and completeness were the fundamental basis for identifying and reporting the information contained in this ICAB Sustainability Report.
This Annual Report is not subject to External Assurance.
Questions regarding this Report can be sent to: quality@lafiammante.it, amministrazione@lafiammante.it.
We wish you good reading.
