All-round sustainability

In 2021 the Alfa Acciai Group adopted the Sustainability Report as a tool for the transparent reporting of company performance, in line with its corporate culture and commitment to sustainability that has always featured in its DNA and company strategy. This decision further completes and strengthens its commitment to managing environmental, social and economic topics and aspects, and aims to facilitate clear communication and fruitful engagement with all stakeholders.

The scope of reporting includes all companies operating within the Alfa Acciai Group i.e. Alfa Acciai, Acciaierie di Sicilia, Tecnofil and Ferroberica. The most significant impact in terms of raw materials, consumption and energy efficiency, emissions and waste mainly concern the Group's two steelworks (Alfa Acciai and Acciaierie di Sicilia). Compared with these the other companies have a considerably lower impact, by several orders of magnitude.

Two production plants, two cities at the opposite ends of one country, and one organisation.

Two of the Group's companies which stand out are Alfa Acciai and Acciaierie di Sicilia stand out in terms of size and impact, with the former stretching over more than 350,000 m² and well-established near the industrial city of Brescia, and the latter smaller plant situated in Sicily, in the district of Catania.
Despite a distance of more than 2000 km separating them, company policy and steelmaking operations are common to both, as is the passion for steel at their core. As a result Alfa Acciai and Acciaierie di Sicilia are viewed as one organisation which is continually evolving under different perspectives:

Investment in new technologically-advanced systems that guarantee high level environmental performance, keeping impact to a minimum;
Specific ongoing monitoring based on various environmental matrices;
Process performance and control to produce high-quality products;
Use of the best information technology to control the multiple aspects of the business, optimising data usability and improving the integrated management of the production cycle;
The implementation of environmental mitigation measures;
An ongoing focus on employee health and safety.

The excellent quality of the finished product isn't the only strength these companies possess. "Quality can't exist, nor employee health and safety can exit, without safeguarding the environment. There's no future without sustainability."

This responsible, sustainable economic strategy that has always underpinned the Quality, Safety & Environmental Policy of the parent company Alfa Acciai, embodies the core values on which the company was founded, and is essential for business continuity and achieving lasting success.

A tireless commitment to achieving environmental objectives is evident in the significant investment made, ongoing process improvement, and the training provided for our personnel.

Among the numerous projects completed or underway, outlined below are the principles which, thanks to the latest system and information technologies, emphasise the continued and increasing focus on corporate sustainability, defined as balancing the growth expectations of company value with safeguarding the environment and employee health and safety, while respecting our customers:

Efficient systems to reduce emissions created in all phases of the process, including blowing activated carbons to reduce dioxins to below the legal limit, and the latest atomising guns in the slag shed;
The latest generation furnace offgas filtering system and a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) to monitor emissions into the atmosphere;
Modern soundproofing technologies for structures and machinery;
Optimising water management, including an upgraded collection system in the scrap area;
High level of computerisation for environmental controls relating to production processes;
Continually striving to increase efficiency and product range with technical modifications to hot rolling lines and the installation of 2 cutting-edge cold rolling lines;
Increasing focus on customer satisfaction with the introduction of 2 fast, cutting-edge shears;
Maximising personnel safety with the possible use of exoskeletons;
Intensifying radiometric monitoring with high-precision fixed radiometric portal monitors;
Optimising logistics in all phases of the process, for example by organising and expanding the billet warehouse, restyling additive systems and upgrading the billet evacuation plate.

SMART GRID PILOT: Banco EnergETICO
Alfa Acciai is researching and developing an innovative and efficient system for recovering heat from its production plant and feeding it into the district heating system already serving the town of Brescia.

In line with sustainable development principles, Alfa Acciai and Acciaierie di Sicilia obtained Integrated Environmental Permits over a decade ago, and various certificates, which can be downloaded from this website.

Alfa Acciai fully engages with the area in which it operates, and consequently is active in various associations to ensure ongoing improvement in terms of environmental impact, cooperation with local government and the surrounding community, which is facilitated by liaising with other production plants.