april 17, 2024 - Florim

CarbonZero: Florim's Carbon Neutral Surfaces

For over sixty years, Florim has been producing ceramic surfaces while respecting the environment and people. This sensitivity is reflected in significant investments that have been transparently reported in the Sustainability Report since 2008, a faithful spokesperson of a sustainable and virtuous production approach.

Florim continues to invest in reducing the impact generated by its activities and has included in its Benefit Corporation statute the commitment to pursue the goal of net zero emissions. Until technological innovation allows for their complete elimination, it has decided to voluntarily offset the emissions of the “CarbonZero” product range.

Aligned with its strategy that embraces a business paradigm beneficial to the planet, Florim, certified as a B Corp since 2020, promotes “CarbonZero”: the Carbon Neutral surface project that offsets the CO2 emissions generated by their production and life cycle.

Florim measures the environmental impact of its products throughout their entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to disposal (EPD Certification issued by EPD Italy).

To limit the impact of its activities, the company reduces the use of natural resources and invests in making the process more sustainable. For years, it has recovered 100% of raw production waste and 100% of wastewater. In both Italian plants, rainwater collection tanks are present for precipitation recovery. Florim is now able to self-produce up to 100% of the electrical energy required for the operation of its Italian sites thanks to a unique plant setup – particularly 2 cogeneration plants and photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 12.3 MWp installed on an area of 127,000 sqm. When the self-produced energy is not enough, since 2021 the company purchases electricity only from certified renewable sources, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.

From 2023, Florim offsets the remaining emissions by purchasing certified carbon credits from renewable energy projects in developing countries (CDM Register Project number 1259).

The “CarbonZero” project is a further and tangible effort to counteract the excessive exploitation of natural resources. It is a piece of a production strategy historically founded on three inseparable drivers: beauty, innovation, and sustainability (more insights on florim.com).

In addition to being certified as a B Corp, ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 50001 for energy management, and ISO 45001 for health and safety management, the company boasts over 20 international product certifications. Among these is ISO 17889-1 - which defines for the first time a series of international parameters that allow for the objective measurement of the sustainability of the ceramic tile - with a score of 129 points out of a maximum of 130 for 6 mm thick slabs and 128 points for all other Florim materials.