Acciaierie Venete: the Padua plants obtain the EMAS certification

The Group’s other production plants are also on their way to becoming certified

The Acciaierie Venete plants in Padua (located in Riviera Francia, Via Olanda, and Via Pellico) have obtained the EMAS certification.

The certificate was issued on 25 March by the EMAS section (Ispra) of the Ecolabel Ecoaudit Committee following the go-ahead from Regional Environmental Protection Agency and RINA certification body.

Acciaierie Venete had embarked on this journey in late 2020, involving the executive managers and the production and administration heads.

A thorough analysis has helped identify and verify numerous performance indicators related to the steel and iron production process’s environmental aspects. Such aspects range from raw material preparation (scrap) to cold rolling, from the steel mill to treatments outside the furnace, continuous casting, and rolling mills.

The involvement of corporate figures and the desire to improve environmental performance has led to the definition of a set of measures to protect human health and the environment.

All workers have received a presentation explaining the goals and methods of this certification, as well as a list of performance indicators used as a reference for EMAS.

The Group’s other plants are also on their way to becoming certified. The goal is to certify other three or four plants by the end of July and the remaining ones by the end of the year.

EMAS - Eco-Management and Audit Scheme

This scheme started when the European Union issued Regulation No. 1836 of 23 June 1993 (EMAS I), allowing voluntary participation by organisations in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme.

The EMAS III regulation was enforced on 25 November 2009 and set out sustainable environmental management requirements by organisations.

In addition to setting out the Environmental Management System criteria, this scheme verifies legal compliance (carried out by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency). Moreover, all environment-related results (planned and achieved) must be publicly available through an official statement. 

This scheme has created a solid structure to control and manage environmental impact; however, its real innovation (which sets it apart from ISO 14001:2015) is its focus on communication and transparency, thereby improving relations between organisations and auditing bodies, institutions, and citizens.

Padua, 1 April 2021