Taking care of water from source to table, reducing environmental impact, supporting economic and social development and contributing to a future of health and well-being for people. These are the commitments illustrated in the second report on the creation of shared value, by Sanpellegrino, a leading company in Italy in the mineral water and non-alcoholic drinks sector, with approximately 1.500 employees and products exported to over 150 countries worldwide.
The Sanpellegrino Group pursues a company policy oriented towards sustainable growth and the creation of shared value. In fact, bottling mineral water is a non-relocatable activity that creates value in local communities, with positive effects in economic, environmental and social terms.
Bottle-to-bottle and Bio-PET approach
The issue of the end of life of products is increasingly relevant in Sanpellegrino's approach to the circular economy, one of the first companies to have joined Coripet - a voluntary consortium for the recovery and recycling of PET containers for liquid foodstuffs - which aims to transform a potential waste into a resource to re-enter it in the production cycle.
The report also reflects the commitment of Sanpellegrino, which has been working for years, upstream and downstream of the supply chain, to reduce the environmental impact in packaging, reducing the weight of packaging, using recycled material and focusing on raw materials of plant origin. Working on light weighting, or on lightening the packaging, from 2008 to today the Group has saved 6.000 tons of PET. Sanpellegrino was also the first company in Italy to use recycled PET, progressively increasing its use: 2017 tons of recycled PET were used in the 3.200 to produce Nestlé Vera bottles, which contain all of them over 20%.
The company was also the first to use bottling materials of plant origin, such as BIO-PET produced from sugar cane surpluses, which allows us to offer a bottle 100% recyclable, light, unbreakable, perfectly hygienic and suitable also to the gasate. In the last year about 700 tons of Bio-PET were used for Levissima, adopted on 100% of the liter format and in over 16% of the one and a half literate format.
Sustainable Logistics
Use of rail transport and load optimization, production closer to consumers with the multi-sourcing model and collaboration with operators equipped with cutting-edge equipment and low environmental impact, are the concrete actions developed by Sanpellegrino to promote sustainable logistics. Choices that have led to a decrease of 14,8% of the carbon dioxide emitted per liter of water transported, from 2012 to 2016.
The Group has always favored the use of rail transport: in 2017 the 36% of the mineral water was transported by train and ship, with a shortening of the average routes for entry into operation at full capacity of the Castrocielo plant. Thanks to the adoption of the multi-source model that contributes to enhancing local water resources, bringing the bottling site closer to that of consumption through the distribution of the springs on the national territory, again this year the average distance traveled by the Nestlé Vera water in the 2017 was less than 300 km.
During the first months of the 2018 the pilot phase of the Green Router project was completed, which focused on the Levissima brand, with the aim of measuring the CO2 emissions of the logistics channel, to optimize flows and reduce environmental impact. The systematic use of the railway avoided the emission into the atmosphere of 8.268 t. of carbon dioxide, which correspond to the average annual emissions of 591 families. The use of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) powered vehicles, on the other hand, has allowed 15% to reduce carbon dioxide, 70% nitrogen oxides and 99% of fine particles released into the atmosphere. Currently for the transport of the Levissima water 36 vehicles are used at LNG, which will become 46 within the 2018 and that correspond to over a quarter of the entire fleet used by the Group.
Protection of water resources and energy efficiency
Aware of the deep relationship between land protection and sustainability of its activities, Sanpellegrino is constantly committed to safeguarding water resources, including through their optimization in industrial processes. In the 2017, the Group has saved 115 million liters of water compared to 2016, and has further reduced the consumption of water in production processes to 1,76 liters per liter bottled (-2,2% compared to 2014).
The company is also committed to adopting the Alliance for Water Stewardship in Italy, that is to follow the AWS standard, an international reference point that promotes the sustainable management of water resources in the world, to safeguard it and make it available to future generations. The Nestlé Waters Group joined this initiative in 2017 by committing to certify all its factories by 2025. In Italy, Sanpellegrino will begin to certify the Nestlé Vera site in Santo Stefano Quisquina (AG), subsequently involving the other 5 plants where its mineral waters are bottled: S.Pellegrino in Sanpellegrino Terme (BG), Levissima in Cepina Valdisotto (SO), Nestlé Vera source In Bosco in San Giorgio in Bosco (PD), Acqua Panna in Scarperia (FI) and Nestlé Vera Naturae in Castrocielo (FR).
The energy performance of the Sanpellegrino Group is also constantly improving. From 2011 all plants use 100% of electricity purchased from renewable sources, while CO2 emissions have decreased by 50% in the last 7 years.
Commitment to correct hydration
The report also highlights the Group's commitment to consumer health, by promoting the principles of healthy and proper hydration, especially for children and families, of which the Group brand is aimed at families, Nestlé Vera . In the 2017, educational programs for children and families continued, while the pediatricians continued to promote the first Italian children's hydrolation guide, made in 2016, which has now reached more than 28.000 paediatricians.
The Report on the creation of shared value is available on the website sanpellegrino-corporate.it
SAN PELLEGRINO
Sanpellegrino is the leading company in the beverage sector in Italy, with mineral waters, non-alcoholic aperitifs, cold drinks and teas. Its products, a synthesis of well-being, health and balance, are present in over 150 countries through branches and distributors spread across the five continents.
Sanpellegrino, as the main producer of mineral water, has always been committed to the enhancement of this primary asset for the planet and works with responsibility and passion to guarantee this resource a quality future. A commitment that also passes through the promotion of the importance of proper hydration: Sanpellegrino in fact supports and spreads the principles of psycho-physical well-being linked to the correct consumption of water, becoming the spokesman of "education to hydration" through a program that promotes the daily consumption of the correct amount of water, according to different needs and lifestyles.