Sustainability Report

Maurizio Marchesini - Chairman

Dear stakeholders,

In our ninth Sustainability Report, we first and foremost confirm our vision of development, with the conviction that the human dimension must be central to the business model. Focusing our daily and medium-long term operations on respect for people’s wellbeing, starting from our staff, customers and suppliers and local communities, is the only approach we know, and we intend to keep pursuing it in order to grow, not because we are obsessed with expanding but because this will give us solidity and make us better prepared to face the challenges that await us. These challenges relate to all the main areas we discuss in this Report: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. Not forgetting the challenge of technological innovation, which is proceeding at a breakneck pace. We’re ready to face them all with drive and a fair degree of irrepressible optimism. However, there’s no denying the complexity of this moment in global history. Our Group is inevitably part of the system: we’re not an island and we have to deal with instability and help to govern change. With firm roots and the strong values reflected throughout our history, we are open to the world: today we sell to 116 countries and have organisations in 68, with 16 subsidiaries in key markets, and export figures that constantly hover around 85% of sales confirm our impressive vocation for international business. As already mentioned, 2023 was a year of instability and serious tensions on the global stage. Focal points were the war between Russia and the Ukraine, with peace seemingly still a long way off, and the tragic events of 7 October, which marked the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel. As we all know, wars bring destruction, suffering, tragic human and social consequences, and economic repercussions. 

Zooming in to a more local level, 2023 also left its painful mark close to home, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna Region, where the company was founded in 1974. The exceptionally heavy rainfall in May caused two weeks of floods and landslides, especially in Romagna and around Bologna, with loss of life, thousands of people forced to leave their homes, and difficulties for the production system. The unexpected scale of these events underlined the urgent need to tackle the effects of climate change. We are behind schedule in our response, and everyone must play their part. So this is one of the key points of this 2023 Report. We’ve already taken significant steps forward in environmental sustainability, as the data collected demonstrate: conservation of natural resources; reduction of energy waste; reduction of the impact of the production cycle; research into more eco-friendly packaging solutions; and the regeneration of used machines, together, for example, with effective practices for the recycling of aluminium.

This is the direction we’re working in, and we’re determined to do more. We’re convinced that technological innovation will be an invaluable aid in achieving more and more ambitious goals. We believe strongly in new technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence: they’re going to transform all our lives and industry too, while also helping to promote sustainable development. The Report also details the Group’s commitment to training, with more than 60 thousand hours in 2023. Constant training of our employees is essential, especially with regard to young men and women and the talents we have a duty to cultivate wherever we find them. We deploy a large number of initiatives, fundamental for a business’s “happy growth”. We never forget the importance of looking beyond the gates of our plants and becoming an active part of the society around us. Since 2021, we’ve assigned this task to Fondazione Marchesini ACT, through social solidarity projects that give back to local communities at least some of what we have received over the years. In 2023 we’ve again set out to provide tangible assistance to communities and people by supporting non-profit organisations and targeted projects in the areas of welfare, health, innovation and culture. The Fondazione’s focus is both local, as in its support for those harmed by the floods, and international, as in its response to the Syrian earthquake emergency. We will continue to care for people and local communities, fostering personal and professional development through programmes intended to grow individual skills and competences, to drive better collective growth. There’s no change in our core values: integrity, honesty, passion and collaboration. We look to the future with confidence and responsibility.