Scm Group’s CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility gets under way with the launch of projects aimed at improving the quality of life in the company. In the space of a few months, thanks to collaboration with the Figli del Mondo Association and the involvement of voluntary employee groups, innovative social, environmental and territorial support projects have been launched. These proposals were put before the Group’s Management Board and technical and financial aspects studied in more detail. Most of them were approved and will gradually involve all the plants in Italy, from Emilia-Romagna to Tuscany, from Veneto to Lombardia.

Reducing the volumes of refuse generated in the company: Some of the key aspects which the Scm Group employees involved in the Corporate Social Responsibility programmes are concentrating on, include focus on the environment and improving the service in the canteen and break areas in the various Italian plants with a view to becoming “plastic free” and “green”.

The first tangible activity came to a conclusion with the distribution of more than 3,000 glass water bottles to all the plants in Italy. The aim is to gradually eliminate the use of plastic cups and bottles and there is currently a move to increase the number of drinking water dispensers in offices and replace the single-use plastic cup with washable glasses in company canteens throughout Italy. Taking into consideration only the canteen in Rimini and Villa Verucchio, we have calculated that an annual reduction in the use of 178,500 plastic cups can be achieved, for a total of 394 Kg.

Paper napkins on trays will also be eliminated, with a saving of 1.3 tons which equates to almost 20 trees a year being saved (source Hera).

Another new project aimed at giving new life to timber. All the pallets disposed of in the plants will be salvaged, including those that can no longer be used. For the plants in the province of Rimini alone, this equates to an annual cut of 190 tons of refuse and 36 lorry trips to the pulping plant, with a considerable reduction in Co2 emission.

Other eco-sustainable activities include increasing recycling in offices, updating drinks and snack vending machines in the break areas to make them even more “plastic free” and “energy-saving” and the gradual replacement of the current coffee vending machines with machines equipped with a special stand-by mode for evening and holiday time slots, resulting in an estimated saving of 8,400 kW per year. A state-of-the-art sensor system has also been introduced which can identify whether the user already has a cup, thus avoiding the use of the traditional plastic coffee cup. Overall, the aim is to eliminate 1,300,000 single-use plastic cups in all the plants.

Healthier eating and less waste in the canteen. A healthier style of eating producing less waste is also finding its way into the company canteen where almost all Scm Group employees eat their lunch on working days. Thanks to the Corporate Social Responsibility projects introduced in this area, the new menu involves the use of “organic and Km zero products” from top quality companies in the food and farming industry and local producers with a high social impact. Another tangible, trailblazing activity in the canteen at the Rimini plant, organised in collaboration with Summertrade, involves the donation to Caritas in Rimini of meals that have been cooked but not served when the canteen stops serving.

The Scm Group employees involved so far can be thanked for coming up with ideas of a high social and environmental impact, which can be an example for the surrounding area – comments Scm Group’s managing director, Andrea Aureli -. We are, therefore, proud to support and divulge these ideas to all our industrial sites in Italy”.

The strength of a large international Group, but above all, a large family which holds respect for people as one of its key values.