The Vicenza-based industrial group, leader in the first agro-food transformation, presents the sustainability objectives achieved in 2023, the year of its 40th anniversary, confirming its commitment to the five strategic pillars of the 2022-2025 Sustainability Plan.
Generated a Distributed Economic Value of €1.6 billion in FY2023, of which 5% retained and 95% distributed.
Camisano Vicentino (VI), 26 March 2023 – Cereal Docks, an Italian industrial group leader in the first agro-food transformation and Benefit Company since 2021, has published the Sustainability Report relating to the 2022 fiscal year-2023; the non-financial reporting tool aimed at collecting and describing the Group's environmental and social performance in line with the 5 strategic pillars defined by the company for its own Sustainability Plan 2022-2025.
The first edition of the Cereal Docks Sustainability Report dates back to 2014. Initially, the document was published every two years, while since 2019 it has been published annually. The aim of this reporting document is to further strengthen the link between the Group and its stakeholders, applying the principles of transparency and responsibility, always been a cornerstone of the company, in reporting the results achieved in terms of sustainability.
An important piece of data that emerges from the 2023 Sustainability Report concerns the Distributed Economic Value, growing compared to the findings of the last two years, which stands at €1.6 billion in FY2023, of which 5% was retained and 95% distributed. Distributed Economic Value represents an essential element to evaluate the economic and social impact of the Company, as well as the creation and distribution of wealth to the different categories of subjects (employees, capital providers, public administration, shareholders, communities) who, as primary stakeholders, have contributed to its generation.
The growth of the Cereal Docks community over the years, which today counts more than 400 collaborators, 18 thousand farmers involved in the supply chains, over 1.200 customers and 300 product categories on the market, went hand in hand with a greater focus on the crucial role that sustainability plays in the Group's business model.
The path undertaken by Cereal Docks in the field of sustainability began in 2011 with the introduction of the first traceable and sustainable supply chains with the Green System and Alimento Italia brands. The transformation into a Benefit Company, which took place in 2021, has made this commitment even more concrete, accompanied by the creation of good practice implemented in recent years: from the extension of the system Weight 4.0 for increasingly efficient, digital, sustainable and intermodal logistics, to the attention paid to corporate welfare for the Group's employees, to a series of initiatives aimed at increasing the level of stakeholder involvement.
With the definition of the Sustainability Plan 2022-2025, Cereal Docks has defined 5 strategic pillars, with 49 improvement objectives: Governance (where 100% of the company population was reached in training on the Group's Code of Ethics), HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment), Client experience, People, community and territory (with a plan of 150 thousand euros di annual investments in community projects) and, last but not least, the Responsible supply chains.
As for the scope HSE, the reduction of the Group's environmental impact is reflected in a series of important initiatives already completed or at an advanced stage. During 2023, the initiative “paperless”, i.e. the program for raising awareness and optimizing the use of paper. Already in 2023, by doing so, paper consumption thanks to the digitalization processes implemented has been reduced by 20% compared to 2021. Another important project, currently being completed during 2024, consists of the i50% increase – compared to 2022 – of self-produced electricity from PV.
The Group also reserves constant and continuous attention to its customers. clients, guaranteeing them sustainable, traceable and quality products: this is achieved through appropriate controls and by preferring, when possible, local service providers.
Another central aspect for Cereal Docks is the scope that concerns the well-being of people, the community and the territory in which it operates. The Group is implementing training projects (for example through the introduction of the Learning Management System, aimed at improving the skills of their collaborators). Furthermore, they have already been completed, ahead of 2025, two important objectives in terms of corporate welfare: the investment of at least 250.000 euros per year in welfare and benefits for employees and the achievement of at least the 95 % of total employees using the tools made available.
Last but not least, the theme of emerges Responsible supply chains: the conception and implementation of the'App Green System, together with the supply of digital services to the collaborating agricultural companies of Cereal Docks, are just some of the objectives achieved by the Group. These efforts are part of a broader program, aimed at enhancing the traceable and sustainable Italian agricultural supply chains, through a variety of activities, including training and dissemination in the field, at the agricultural company Home Felicity, and in the classroom, through the Mantegna Academy, the business school of the Cereal Docks Group.
“In the year of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of Cereal Docks, we are happy to present the fourth edition of our Sustainability Report” says President Mauro Fanin. “For Cereal Docks, as a company and as a Group, sustainability has three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Our goal is to maintain and grow these three dimensions in harmony. In a word: maintaining a fair balance, challenging ourselves every day for constant improvement of production processes, accompanying the commitment to sustainability with significant efforts in terms of resources for innovation and the essential investment in human capital and generational transition. The publication of the Sustainability Report each year offers us a picture of the objectives achieved and those to come, with the awareness that these strategic factors will be able to help us on a path of healthy, structured and – above all – sustainable growth”.
The full Sustainability Report is available at the following link: https://bit.ly/3IHWl5N
More information about the Cereal Docks Group is available at: https://www.cerealdocks.it/
