Radici Chimica, a RadiciGroup chemical company engaged in the production of polyamide 6,6 (Radipol) and related chemical intermediates (Radichem), signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry for the Environment earlier this month, to apply a new method to its production chain, on an experimental basis, to determine the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF).

This method was recently set out in a Communication by the European Commission on how to improve the availability of clear, reliable and comparable information on the environmental performance of products and organisations, with the goal of harmonising the different measurement methods available today.

“The Ministry’s environmental footprint determination programme, which RadiciGroup has just joined with this voluntary agreement, has already been adopted by more than 200 Italian companies,” Corrado Clini, general director of the Department of Sustainable Development, Climate and Energy of the Ministry for the Environment said. “The enterprises we collaborate with have come to realise that staying competitive on the international market requires innovation capabilities aimed at improving environmental performance.”

Agreement for sustainability

The agreement between the Italian Ministry for the Environment and RadiciGroup, signed by Corrado Clini, and Pio Gazzini, site manager of Radici Chimica, defines the work plan that the Group chemical site will implement for the measurement and analysis of greenhouse emissions associated with the production of PA 6,6. The plan will be set out in accordance with the ISO Series 14040 standards and the European Union PEF and OEF methods.

The agreement  falls within the public-private partnership initiatives promoted by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, which have among its participants the main Italian manufacturers (textiles, agriculture and foods, cosmetics, tourism, ceramics, infrastructure, big distribution, and more).

“This collaboration with the Ministry for the Environment is perfectly aligned with the sustainability objectives of our 2011-2014 improvement plan,” Gazzini explained.

“Included among these objectives are the almost total reduction, by 2014, of nitrogen protoxide and NOx emissions from our adipic and nitric acid production process. The path to establishing corporate policies that embrace social and environmental, as well as economic considerations, is always a complex one. For Radici Chimica, this agreement is a further testimony to its commitment to achieve a fair balance between industrial activities and sustainability by integrating chemicals and the environment.”

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