PARMA (ITALPRESS) – The Barilla Group continues to improve technological processes while contributing to the well-being of the Planet. On International Forest Day and World Water Day, the company renews its long-term commitment to environmental protection. Barilla looks at sustainability in every aspect: from the production chains to packaging and the management of natural resources. All with the goal of offering high-quality products with low environmental impact. One of the most tangible examples of Barilla’s sustainable philosophy is its focus on packaging. Pasta Barilla’s packaging is designed to ensure food safety and quality while reducing food waste and environmental impact. The company uses nearly 160,000 tons of paper and cardboard each year for packaging, sourced from responsibly managed forestry supply chains. Emblematic of this commitment is the Blue Box, the iconic pack that distinguishes the Barilla brand, made from virgin fiber cardboard. A choice that ensures “sustainable forest management,” based on environmental protection, respect for cultural rights and traditions, and promotion of the economic sustainability of forestry activities.
Added to this is the use of low-odor inks, which further improves the recyclability of packages in the paper supply chain. Another significant step has been the phasing out of the plastic window from packaging, which has reduced the amount of unnecessary plastic entering the market by a total of about 126,000 kg less each year. Barilla’s commitment goes beyond packaging: drawing on nature to create its products, it is also dedicated to giving back to it an equally great value. Starting in 2022, in the heart of the Parma countryside, next to the pasta-making plant, stands AgriBosco: a project dedicated to biodiversity and environmental education, born out of collaboration with Legambiente and AzzeroCO2. On an area of 23 hectares, sustainably cultivated soft and durum wheat fields alternate, along with a forest with 3,000 native trees, planted thanks to the support of the KilometroVerdeParma Forestry Consortium, in order to restore local biodiversity and enrich the landscape.
Essential for life and food production, water is a resource that must be managed carefully and responsibly with a view to long-term sustainability. Thanks to investments in innovative technologies, the company has reduced water requirements per ton of product by 21 percent compared to 2010, constantly monitoring consumption on a monthly and annual basis in its 30 plants to identify and implement new efficiency solutions. A real-life example of this commitment is the interventions carried out, for example, in the Pedrignano Comprensorio, where the adoption of the latest generation of water-cooled refrigeration units and evaporative towers has resulted in annual savings of 65,000 cubic meters, water recovery from direct cooling and vacuum pumps has ensured 46,000 cubic meters of water saved each year, and the replacement of water-cooled compressors with air-cooled machines has resulted in a further reduction of 40,000 cubic meters annually. In addition, the introduction of a combined-cycle potabilization plant has reduced waste to less than 3.5 percent of the total captured, while the implementation of circulating water pumps superheated to 160°C without disposable cooling has generated an additional 4,500 cubic meters of annual savings. In 2023 alone, the company reused as much as 112,029 Mega liters of water, or 5 percent of the total volume withdrawn, in a circular and responsible manner.
(ITALPRESS).
-Photo: Barilla press office-
