SUSTAINABILITYREPORT

Dear Stakeholders,

in the occasion of the issuing of the 12th edition of our Sustainability Report, we feel important to underline that transparency is the principal assumption on which we build our fact-based approach to sustainability.

Our commitment is proven also by the importance Alcantara gives to the opposition to the widespread of ‘greenwashing’, identified as the worst enemy of sustainability causing deception and damage to the consumer, generating situations of unfair competition and addressing investments, otherwise devoted to sustainability projects, to activities opposite to the goal.

In fact, Alcantara has had and continues to have an extreme attention to the best practices in the field of sustainability demonstrated by its pioneering role having been the first Italian company, and among the very first in the world, to reach the status of Carbon Neutrality certified by TÜV SÜD in 2009.

This year we want to underline as key elements that distinguish Alcantara’s approach to sustainability the following:

• Alcantara adopts a fact-based approach, i.e. based on scientific evidence and certifications, and not controversial ‘greenwashing’ practices without foundation. Our sustainability journey is very serious: we have certified our Sustainability Report and our Carbon Neutrality by TÜV SÜD since 2009.
• As a clear, self-determined and direct action to fight climate change, every metre of material produced and marketed by Alcantara has a net CO₂ emissions balance of zero, with a cradle to grave approach, including not only the production process, but also the use and disposal phases of the product itself, therefore the overall lifecycle of the product.
• After the reduction process, Alcantara’s residual emissions are offset through Certified and Verified Offsetting Projects, validated and proved by an accredited third party, following the application of rigorous verification processes to which all offsetting projects are subjected. Offsetting is an option that is regulated at an international level and also demanded by the Kyoto Protocol.
  Our Sustainability Report includes a description of the offsetting projects, aimed at expanding the use of renewable energy resources and improving the health and social conditions of people in the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of the world, while offsetting all CO₂ emissions produced. In the past 12 years, Alcantara supported over 40 projects (i.e. hydroelectric, biomass, wind power, photovoltaic, cogeneration etc.) which involved more than 20 different countries (India, China, Eritrea, Taiwan, Uganda, Ghana, etc.).
• Methodologically we followed a rigorous strategy, certifying every step of our path towards sustainability, seeking maximum transparency, staying away from false declarations. Every year with the Sustainability Report we give an overview of what we do and what our future plans are. It’s a fact that our pioneering method has been followed after several years by large multinationals both in terms of Carbon Neutrality and analyses of the entire life cycle of the product.
• Alcantara is carrying on strong stakeholder engagement activities to raise awareness and encourage dialogue among international experts in different business sectors and crossfertilization in issues of sustainability. Through organizing and promoting these events, we want to create engagement from stakeholders by increasing the awareness on sustainability and creating a shared culture.

On proceeding with Alcantara’s long-term decarbonization plan, we have accelerated our serious path towards special versions of our material mated with increasing amounts of bio-based polymers and recycled polyester. To this regard, we pay extreme attention to utilize recycled polyester produced in Europe by post consumers scraps, recycled through a mechanical process, being traceable and certified. Due to the rapid growth of false statements on the use of recycled materials, for Alcantara these are the fundamental elements to distinguish recycled polyester. With this 12th edition of the Sustainability Report Alcantara wants to highlight how much sustainability remains a core value in its corporate culture, an important growth driver and a spur to developing its business strategy. Now, more than ever, we are convinced that sustainability is a value beyond cost: a value for our Company, our brand, our people and our stakeholders. A value for the future.

Andrea Boragno
Chairman and CEO of Alcantara S.p.A.