It is quite difficult to summarize the idea of sustainable development since it is a complex and broad concept. However, there is a universally recognized definition dating back to 1987 when the Brundtland Report was released and sustainability was discussed as necessary to “ensure the satisfaction of the needs of the present generation without compromising the possibility of future generations to meet their own”
In recent decades, the idea of sustainability has shifted from purely environmental to more global aspects including those related to the economic and social spheres.
With no doubt, this is a dynamic concept just as the relationship between the ecological system and the anthropic system, also increasingly mediated by technology that can tip off the balance especially regarding the use of energy sources.
ESG and digital innovation are currently the strongest levers to stimulate the transformation of companies with the purpose of using the available resources and educate to reduce waste thanks to a rethinking and reprogramming of water consumption.
Franchi Umberto Marmi has embarked on a path towards an authentically sustainable business model and has adhered to the ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance – principles which aim to make company management and the entrepreneur increasingly ‘aware’ also thanks to the introduction of an important series of environmental measures that concretely make it ‘virtuous’. The aim is to generate, internally and externally, not only wealth but also well-being for society, the environment and people.
Among these measures, the management of water resources appears to be of vital importance today because the responsible use of water and its protection constitute a factor that dignify business management.
So how does Franchi Umberto Marmi behave with respect to this aspect?
Let’s start by saying that water taken within the Company is mainly used for producing ancillary services, whereas river or well water is used for sawing and polishing. An owned well and a watercourse can supply the water necessary to carry out the operations mentioned above.
This water comes from the production sites and are then allowed to flow into the public sewerage. This water includes not only waste and rinse water but also runoff water coming from the stockyard and from covered areas and cooling water.
Talking about numbers, during the reporting phase water consumption dropped from 24288 cubic meters of water withdrawal in 2019 to 15955 cubic meter in 2021 with a decrease of 35%.
To improve as a company, Franchi Umberto Marmi engages to install meters to measure water discharges coming from the different marble operation phases in the following years, aiming to increase control.
It is important to notice the reduction in water intensity measured on the basis of the square meters of slabs sold: from 65.8 litres in 2019 to 41.9 in 2021. In just two years, this represents a very revealing indicator.
This management based on integrated system allows FUM to precisely control evey year both the consumption and the quality of water withdrawn and discharged.
Finally, we can say that FUM broadly respects the values imposed by its own environmental authorizations both for water withdrawals and discharges in compliance with the Environmental Act Legislative Decree 152/20026 and subsequent amendments.
