ALMA has been making needle-punched carpets entirely made in Italy since 1976 and has earned a leading position in Italy and the world with a fully integrated cycle, from fibre production to the finished product, which is mostly used in exhibition centres.
ALMA has always been committed to working ethically and reliably. With this in mind, it has decided to invest in an entirely new sustainable, top-performance production line, which will be operational as early as September 2023. Diletta Ranaldo, business developer at ALMA S.p.A., told us more about it.
- What certifications and protocols does ALMA refer to for the sustainability project?
We began by working with a firm specialising in Carbon Footprint calculations to quantify the impact of our products through a methodology compliant with ISO regulatory requirements. Then, we selected a project that complied with the internationally recognised verification standards of the leading certifiers of the voluntary carbon credit market.
To generate CO2 credits, offset projects must be implemented, verified and certified by appropriately qualified organisations and bring about environmental, economic and social improvement in the area where they are developed (we chose Peru). After verifying the soundness of the project, the organisations issue credits that are then traded on special international platforms, which offer a system that increases transparency, efficiency and scalability within the global credit market. Once issued, credits are entered in special registries, which are an essential tool for the global management of emission reduction credits and offer the guarantee of their traceability, as well as their certification.
- Why did ALMA choose Peru as the area to develop CO2 offsetting projects with carbon credits?
We chose Peru because we are interested in a project that is consistent with the directives of the 2005 Kyoto Protocol which require industrialised countries to carry out projects in developing countries that produce environmental benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and economic and social development. In addition to this, we wanted a project that was in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 17 points the UN has set itself to achieve by 2030.
Like the UN, we strongly believe that sustainability does not just mean being green but has a much broader meaning, including economic and social impacts. Therefore, the project chosen focuses on the 5 Ps of sustainable development on which the SDGs are based: People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership and Planet. This forest conservation project allows us to work on 10 of the 17 aspects of the SDGs.
- What advantages does Alma offer its customers and partners in terms of environmental protection?
The benefits of this CO2 offsetting project for Alma and all those customers who decide to accompany us on this journey are many.
First of all, it is only fair to point out that companies operating in our sector are not obliged to offset their emissions, so this is a voluntary adhesion, which makes it all the more worthwhile for us to undertake this journey together.
The subject of sustainability is a very sensitive issue in the times in which we live, but despite this, there is still a lot of superficiality about how it is handled and treated. ALMA interprets the concept of sustainability from all aspects. Sustainability is about creating and maintaining jobs. It is about developing ethical business. It is about working seriously and transparently with customers and suppliers. It is about protecting the planet’s natural resources and climate for future generations. With this project, in addition to the other actions we are undertaking, we have the ambition to assert ourselves as the promoters of this very concept. In other words, we believe that being sustainable does not mean “not producing” or “producing less” but rather “producing responsibly”, offsetting the emissions that, despite all the improvement actions we can put in place, manufacturing inevitably brings with it.
Furthermore, our adhesion to a virtuous project like this is a valid and practical support for our customers in obtaining compliance with the ISO 20121 standard and facilitates the certification of the entire event, which will be carbon-neutral in terms of CO2 emissions as far as the flooring is concerned. CO2 offsetting is a further path of improvement that substantiates the well-established environmental compliance with the EMAS Regulation and ISO 14001, which places ALMA as a partner with rewarding characteristics also according to the new legal provision (MITE Decree of 19/10/22) that contains the Minimum Environmental Criteria for the organisation and realisation of events.