We are pleased to present to you this 2022 Sustainability Report with the confidence that we have kept our promise. We told you that standing still, for us at Erion, was not an option, that we would continue to move forward, staying true to the building blocks of our DNA: concreteness, evolution, authoritativeness and determination. And so it has been.
In our third year of existence we have continued to grow, together, as a System, establishing a new Collective Scheme, strengthening the union of the original ones, employing new professionals, expanding our range of services and network of stakeholders. We have gone beyond what are the tasks of an Extended Producer Responsibility Organization by investing in high quality environmental training, information and awareness initiatives, enthusiastically supported by our 2,505 Member Companies and by an increasingly large public of citizens.
Having achieved these results, and others that you will discover in the following pages, was an important milestone. Having done so in 2022, represented an added value to the commitment with which we do our work. The year that we all expected to be the one of the great recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, fell short of expectations from its very first months. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the resulting increase in energy prices, have stifled industries and increased the level of uncertainty in the global economy, already marked by phenomena such as the raw materials crisis, widespread inflation and climate change.
All difficulties that we at Erion have taken up as new challenges, moving with the strength of our experience and the authority of a System capable of looking to the future with vision and constructive spirit. We have never limited ourselves to passively witnessing the transformations of society. Rather, we have chosen to measure ourselves against them, interpret them and try to steer them on the path towards ecological transition and the preservation of resources for the next generations. We have invested time and ideas in this direction, in a year that has seen our participation in various institutional working tables, public events, conventions, meetings in schools and European research projects. We have launched nationwide communication campaigns to spread a culture of sustainability and raise awareness among citizens – especially the younger ones – about virtuous practices for the protection of the environment and the development of the circular economy, such as the proper disposal and recycling of waste. Together with prestigious consulting firms, we have carried out high-level studies and surveys on challenging issues which have a direct bearing on all production sectors, such as the supply of Critical Raw Materials, the impacts of the new European Regulation on batteries, the level of Italians’ knowledge about WEEE and WBA.
A deep understanding of the economic environment in which we found ourselves operating in 2022 enabled us to make strategic choices that led to decidedly positive results for all stakeholders. During the year, we managed 257,705 tonnes of waste, of which 246,246 tonnes was Household WEEE. Their proper management generated considerable environmental benefits, which allowed us to avoid emissions of 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (corresponding to those produced by a car that travels about 200 thousand laps around the equator), save more than 380 million kWh of energy (equal to the average electricity consumption of about 140 thousand Italian households in a year), and reintroduce more than 220 thousand tonnes of Secondary Raw Materials (89.4% of Household WEEE managed) into the production cycles.
These, as always, are the numbers that we care most about, the result of a year that has made us even more aware that we are a multiple Collective Schemes System capable of creating connections, inspiring people, reflecting on small and big changes. We can do this because we have the opportunity, and the certainty, of being guided by five structured organizations. Five industry Collective Schemes that act and operate on different sectors, but that share, together with ECO, a common goal: to represent excellence in the landscape of Extended Producer Responsibility Organizations for all their stakeholders. That is why, this year, we have chosen to entrust this thought, and this Report, to the theme of constellations, to remind you (and us) how the ideas and actions of individuals gain more strength if placed in a master plan.
This is the case for the Erion System and the five Collective Schemes that make it up: Erion WEEE, Erion Professional, Erion Energy, Erion Packaging and Erion Care. In the chapters dedicated to them, you will be able to learn about the operational performance achieved during the year and the high value of the services and initiatives they have implemented by best interpreting the commitment to sustainability of the Producers they represent. You will discover, in the cases of Erion Packaging and Erion Care, the process that led the first to be officially accredited by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security as an autonomous system for the collection, recovery and recycling of Packaging Waste, and the second to become the first EPR Organization in Italy committed to combating the littering of cigarettes butts and the improper disposal of Waste tobacco products in the environment.
These are results we are proud of and that we have achieved thanks to the implementation of a winning and shared strategic vision, which has led us to become a reference player in Italy and an important presence on the European scene.
Strengthened by three years of excellent results, but certain that there is still a long way to go, we will continue to work with the same dedication and passion to improve further and, above all, to continue to do good to the world.
