With its 2,000 workers operating in 15 plants, 11 of which are located in Italy and 4 abroad in Brazil, Indonesia, Tunisia and Mexico, Gruppo Mastrotto is today one of the leading global players in the production and processing of bovine hide for upholstery, footwear, leather goods, car interiors, boating and aviation. Its products are exported all over the world, the result of an articulated and comprehensive strategy of product and geographical diversification. The company has always developed its business by looking at a corporate culture based on attention to customers, suppliers and all stakeholders, to its own people, and to respect for the environment. For this reason, it has built its business model over the years with determination, considering those environmental and social aspects necessary for sustainable development as central, through significant and targeted investments.
“Sustainability, next level” has therefore become for Gruppo Mastrotto much more than a claim created to bring together under one umbrella a series of concrete actions of social responsibility, but the manifesto of a founding value, whose ultimate objective is to be able to make a concrete contribution to building a better world for new generations.
For Gruppo Mastrotto, the publication of its first sustainability report is the natural progression of a path that it began many years ago.
“The global crisis caused by the pandemic – comments Group President Chiara Mastrotto – which has had a profound effect over the last two years and will continue to have an impact in the near future, has forced us, as a company, to reflect further on what kind of development model we intend to pursue, highlighting, if ever there was a need, how fundamental it is to create a new economy that focuses not only on profit, but above all on people and the environment. Gruppo Mastrotto will continue to pursue this objective vigorously, and we intend to bear witness to it also through the publication of our sustainability report. We are in fact convinced that in order to achieve the ambitious goals of the UN 2030 agenda, we need everyone’s contribution and the business world can and must drive this change”.
Gruppo Mastrotto’s sustainability model
Gruppo Mastrotto’s sustainability model has identified a number of specific priorities: the creation and distribution of value for stakeholders; the sustainable management of suppliers; the environmental impact assessment of its products; ethics and safety in the workplace; corporate welfare; social inclusion; the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and better management of water and energy resources. As part of this model, specific actions have also been implemented, of which the following are some concrete examples, illustrating the articulation and organic nature of the initiatives aimed at making the company increasingly sustainable.
A code of ethics for the company and its suppliers
The first element that emerges strongly is that of the code of ethics: in fact, for over 10 years the Group has been using a code that formally expresses general principles and rules of conduct that must be adopted by directors, employees, collaborators and all those who work in the name of and on behalf of the company, as well as third parties in their contractual relations with the company. In particular, this code, inspired by the main existing national and international regulations and guidelines, pays particular attention to protecting the dignity and psychophysical integrity of workers, promoting high standards of work and environmental protection, encouraging policies to reconcile work and family life, and promoting and protecting the cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity of workers with a view to inclusion. This code of ethics has also been extended by Gruppo Mastrotto to its almost 400 suppliers, who are therefore required to observe it.
People at the centre: social inclusion
Gruppo Mastrotto has devised a path of social and work inclusion dedicated to disabled persons of working age. In fact, it has created a production department for the assembly of the colour cards of the Gruppo Mastrotto Express leather collections, employing five disabled employees on a stable and continuous basis, with the aim of achieving a level of productivity that will make the department sustainable over time. The project allows disabled people to achieve human and professional fulfilment by interacting constructively with the company and their colleagues.
People at the centre: corporate Welfare
Gruppo Mastrotto has designed and implemented a plan of initiatives to support workers and their families, increase their involvement and sense of belonging to the company. Numerous activities have been put in place: services and benefits for employees ranging from shopping or fuel vouchers to free flu vaccination campaigns; from the company canteen to scholarships for employees’ children; from support for education expenses to assistance for children, the elderly and the non self-sufficient, to culture, health, wellness and entertainment. To give continuity to these measures for its employees, Gruppo Mastrotto has set up an IT platform that gives access to all the benefits provided for by current legislation. The results bear witness to the success of the initiative: more than 85% of the recipients have used their plafond. The most requested services were personal services (47%) and shopping vouchers (26%). The project has received several prestigious awards, including the 2019 “WelfaRevolution” award as the best plan for personal well-being and inclusion.
Environmental sustainability: saving water and electricity resources
In order to reduce water consumption, Gruppo Mastrotto has made significant investments in recent years in systems for the hydraulic regulation of discharges and monitoring of environmental parameters, aimed at reducing water consumption. The trend in total energy consumption also shows a downward trend in the three-year reporting period 2018-2020 of -22.1%. In addition, energy intensity, i.e. energy consumption per unit of product, also decreased by about 10%. Furthermore, the percentage of self-produced energy from the cogeneration plants present in various sites guaranteed just over 15% of the overall energy requirements in 2020. Various management actions for the efficient use of electricity and gas were implemented at company plants, aimed at saving and optimising energy resources: replacement of traditional lighting devices in the factories with LED systems; energy optimisation and reduction of losses in compressed air distribution systems; replacement of some spraying systems and electric motors of production machinery with more energy-efficient solutions; construction of 4 cogeneration plants, which allow the recovery of thermal energy; construction of a new factory in Santa Croce sull’Arno, equipped with the latest generation technological systems that minimise energy consumption. A 500kW photovoltaic system is also installed on the same site.
In continuity with the efficient management of resources, from this year 100% of the electricity acquired by Gruppo Mastrotto is certified from renewable sources. This investment allows the reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 5,000 tons/year, equal to 21% of the total. This reduction in emissions by Gruppo Mastrotto is equal to the action of 250,000 trees in absorbing CO2.
