Those who have chosen EPDItaly tell their story: Cementi Rossi S.p.A

What are the main reasons that pushed you towards the voluntary EPD certification?

The Cementirossi Group has been working concretely for several decades to ensure ever greater environmental sustainability of its business.
In this sense, it promotes an increasingly rational, safe and sustainable use of the resources that man requires of the planet for its sustenance and pursues consequent policies, as specified in the environmental standard UNI EN ISO 14001, with a view to the so-called “Circular economy “.
Consequently, it was quite natural to use the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) as a reference document with the aim of communicating information about the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of cements that are as complete and verifiable as possible with the aim of expand environmental communication and the value of sustainability.
The EPD must be a further stimulus to research and development of products and the use of more sustainable technologies and materials.

Which product of your company has obtained the EPD? What are its main features?

Cementirossi has obtained EPD certification, type III environmental labeling regulated by ISO standards
14025, which is issued as an ecological quality mark, for gray cements produced in the factory located in Piacenza (PC).
Cement is a construction material (Construction Products Regulation – EU Regulation 305/2011), produced in accordance with the harmonized standard UNI EN 197-1, finely ground inorganic, composed of essentially different materials of natural origin, but of composition statistically homogeneous.
It is a hydraulic binder which, when properly dosed and mixed with aggregates and water, reacts giving rise to a progressively hardening mass, characterized by the property of binding aggregates, such as sands and gravels, to
form cementitious conglomerates, premixes and mortars, basic components of every building construction.
The LCA study was performed using the “cradle to gate” approach, whose system boundaries include only the product phases ranging from the extraction of raw materials, their transport to the production site, up to the production of cement ; therefore, every impact generated from the start was considered
from the extraction of raw materials to the shipment of the finished product.

What are the main advantages obtained from the publication of the Environmental Product Declaration? What are the repercussions on the final consumer?

The main advantages obtained from the publication of the Environmental Declaration of
Product can be summarized as follows:
– Guarantee a transparent, objective and comparable communication of the environmental performance of the products
– Optimize production processes within the company, monitoring the improvement over time of the environmental performance of products
– Ensure compliance of products with the “Minimum Environmental Criteria for the award of design services and works for the new construction, renovation and maintenance of buildings and for the management of construction sites
public administration “(CAM-Edilizia).
The repercussions also concern the final consumer, who, through the Environmental Product Declaration, can know and compare the environmental performance of the products and consciously orient his final choice on products with the lowest environmental impact.

Do you think that EPDItaly can contribute to spreading the culture of product sustainability?

Certainly and we believe that the path taken is correct, but the challenge of the coming years is to make it an even more effective communication tool to increase the awareness and sensitization of all actors.
involved in the construction chain.

How important, in your opinion, is the presence of sustainable Italian products within a
Program Operator who makes the international network one of its strengths?

It is certainly important in order to be able to discuss the sustainability of products on a global level.