Gruppo Romani publishes its first Sustainability Report

The Italian ceramic tile producer’s sustainable development policy focuses on environmental protection, support for the local economy and human well-being.

Gruppo Romani (Casalgrande, Reggio Emilia) has published the first edition of its Sustainability Report entitled Future for Life. The report outlines the ceramic tile manufacturer’s economic and financial performance as well as the environmental and social impact generated by the organisation and its business activities.

As revealed in the report, the company has made significant investments to reduce its gas and electricity consumption. In particular, the new gas turbine with a nominal output of 6 MW is capable of producing around 35 million kWh/year of electricity and recovering exhaust gases in the form of thermal energy in two spray dryers. It has also installed 3.5 MWp of photovoltaic systems with an expected production of 4 million kWh/year of electricity. Solar panels have been installed on practically all suitable surfaces so as to fully exploit the current potential for clean energy production.

In addition, 100% of waste materials and wastewater are recycled within the production process.

“Like the Sassuolo ceramic district as a whole, our group has been investing heavily for years in improving the sustainability of our production processes,” note Giorgio and Paolo Romani, respectively the group’s Chairman and CEO. “Despite being classified as a hard-to-abate industry, we have achieved excellent results in terms of emissions in relation to product life cycle. We are naturally proud of these achievements, but will continue to work towards ever more ambitious goals.”

A series of plant upgrades implemented across various production departments have raised the overall technological standards, improved quality and efficiency, and at the same time reduced the volume of production waste.

In the reporting year 2022, Gruppo Romani produced 7,545,362 sqm of porcelain tiles and 247,465 tonnes of spray-dried powder. It purchased 211,416 tonnes of natural raw materials for ceramic body production and 5,787 tonnes of glazes and additives. It also used approximately 64,000 tonnes of recycled material, around 23% of the total quantity of material used in the production process.

The group is also committed to supporting the local economy by directing 46.5% of its overall expenditure to suppliers located in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena. A further 50.6% of its expenditure was allocated to other Italian suppliers, while the remaining 2.8% of materials were sourced from elsewhere in Europe.

“The decision to source materials, products and services preferentially from local markets also aligns with the company’s declared commitment to promoting environmental and social sustainability beyond its operational boundaries,” states the Green for Life chapter outlining the group’s greenification efforts.

The chapter entitled Humans for Life offers an insight into the group’s attention to its employees. It maintains a strong focus on professional, managerial and technical training, with a total of 1,237 hours of courses – including one devoted specifically to Cyber Security – attended by 180 internal employees.

Gruppo Romani has 54 years of experience in the production of 100% Italian-made ceramic surfaces across three production facilities. Its products are sold in 86 countries worldwide and generate a total turnover of €148 million.