Sustainability


A key element that has always guided our innovation and business strategy and characterized every aspect of our work

We are a Benefit Company certified B Corporation, leader in the bioplastics sector and in the development of bioproducts and biochemicals of vegetable origin, that are biodegradable and compostable and conceived as solutions to specific problems strictly connected with the quality of water and soil. Our mission is to develop materials and bioproducts through the integration of chemistry, environment and agriculture, by setting up biorefineries that are integrated into the territory and by providing applications that ensure efficient use of resources throughout the life cycle, with social, economic and environmental advantages to the system

Our development model, aimed at regenerating territories, is oriented towards the creation of bridges between different sectors through the collaboration with all the players in the value chain, from agriculture to research, from industry to waste management sector, from local institutions to civil society.

Guided by these principles, and with the ambition to "do more with less", we promote a circular approach to bioeconomy based on territorial regeneration, going beyond the simple concept of recycling and moving towards the eco-design of products, redesigning the way products and applications are generated, consumed and recycled, and encouraging the development of virtuous local value chains. This is achieved also by revitalizing production sites from deindustrialized areas through leading-edge technologies, without consuming land, thus resulting in new value chains, products and jobs.

 

SUSTAINABILITY POLICY AND COMMITEE

In 2020 we adopted a Sustainability Policy, the document that formalises the principles and actions through which we aim to "make a significant contribution to the circular economy, by promoting a bioeconomy model with roots in the territories, the goal of which is to protect and regenerate soil and waters”.
 
For further information please read NOVAMONT’s Sustainability Policy.
 
At the same time, in order to ensure an increasingly integrated sustainability management in our business, we have established the Sustainability Committee. The Committee works in synergy with all corporate functions and contributes to raising strong awareness and integration of sustainability issues in all business activities.


OUR COMMITTMENT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Since 2017 our principles and committments are guided by the wider and challenging framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, the global action plan launched in 2015 to promote a fully sustainable development of our planet by 2030 and articulated in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its goals have become ours and guide all our concrete actions.


SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

Since 2008 we have published the Sustainability Report, the way we present ourselves to internal and external stakeholders through our commitments, strategy, management approach and the results of our corporate activity, broken down into its three main elements: economic, environmental and social.

In order to comply with the most recent normative evolutions in non-financial reporting, since 2019 we have chosen to voluntarily elaborate our Sustainability Report in accordance with the requirements of the Italian Leg. Dec. 254/2016 concerning the disclosure of information of non-financial nature, implemented by the European Directive 2014/95/EU. Consequently, the document can also go by the name of Consolidated Voluntary Non-Financial Statement, hereafter, also “NFS”.

The NFS includes information relating to environmental, social, personnel, human rights and anti-corruption issues, useful to ensure the understanding of the activities carried out by our group, its performance, results and the impact produced by them.
 
The main elements that characterise the Sustainability Report 2020 are related to: 
 
  • reporting standards: GRI Standards are our reference standards and the compliance with the framework has been confirmed;
  • the structure: each chapter of the Report addresses each of the nine material topics of the NOVAMONT group;
  • the 2021 commitments: the chapter on NOVAMONT group' s commitments and their correlation to the SDGs will be part of the 2020 Impact Report required as Benefit Company, which represents a separate document from the Sustainability Report;
  • the Principles of the UN Global Compact: in order to ensure that the contents of the document comply with the requirements of the UN Global Compact we joined in 2020, a correlation table has been added between the UNGC Principles and the GRI Standards we adopted;
  • the graphic: it has been designed to be easily accessible on the web. The illustrations and pictures are integrated with the document to provide a clear reading of the data and a complete view of our reality and our products.

 For further information, please write to csr@novamont.com
 

Sustainability Report

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Download also our Report in a nutshell.


 

UN Global Compact 

Since 2020 we have been committed to the UN Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative and its principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.
NOVAMONT's commitment is stated in the Letter of Commitment and at www.unglobalcompact.org.
Download our Communication On Progress (COP) Advanced, through which companies, that have joined the UN Global Compact, provide annually valuable information to stakeholders about their activities and achievements in regards to the integration of the Ten Principles.

 

EcoVadis

Founded in 2007, EcoVadis is an independent CSR rating agency committed to fostering improvements in sustainable supply chain management. EcoVadis' main tool is an online platform that allows companies to monitor and evaluate their sustainability practices and share the results. The assessment methodology includes several international sustainability standards (Global Reporting Initiative, UN Global Compact, ISO 26000) and is based on 21 CSR criteria grouped into four categories: Ethics, Environment, Labor Practices and Human Rights, and Sustainable Procurement.
NOVAMONT has been using the EcoVadis platform since 2015, renewing the assessment of its sustainability practices annually. In 2020, the rating was extended to the group level and resulted in a score of 76/100: an excellent result that places the group among the top 1% performers in its sector. For this reason, NOVAMONT has been awarded the Platinum medal, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the scope of EcoVadis CSR assessment.
 

PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

We believe that sustainability is possible only if shared and that the interconnections between companies, associations, research institutes, institutions and civil society are fundamental to accelerate the development model. Therefore, we decided to join some of the key national and international Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Discover more.