Sustainability in Zato

OUR JOURNEY TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

We have always associated sustainability and circularity with our work. We want to go beyond the simple concept of the sustainability budget and turn it into an opportunity for growth, seeking the balance between the benefits we bring and the negative impacts we may cause, embracing the challenges of climate and social change.

This is why we present our commitment to circularity and the five strategic sustainability themes that guide the journey of our entire team. We recognize that some goals are yet to be fully defined, but our goal is to turn sustainability into responsibility, day by day.

Experiencing circularity

PHASE 1: RAW MATERIAL

Increase the use of recycled steel in machinery manufacturing by working with suppliers for greater traceability and certification of material origin.

Promoting a circular economy through innovative design of machines, components and materials. Use of software for rapid analysis of machine data.

The use of scrap as the main raw material to produce iron, aluminum, steel, copper and rubber allows us to contribute to the ecological transformation of the steel industry.

The five themes
of our
strategy
sustainable

CLIMATE
& ATMOSPHERE

PRIMARY MATH.
& (ECOSYSTEM)

(RE)GENERATION
OF RAW MATERIALS

GROWTH AND
NEW SKILLS

WELLNESS
AND INVOLVEMENT

CLIMATE & ATMOSPHERE

We are committed to decreasing our impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, both direct and indirect.

Our ambitions

Decrease energy consumption and phase out fossil fuel.

Building a adaptation plan to climate change.

  • Machinery Efficiency: reduced energy consumption during material processing.
  • Zato technology: use of advanced blades for finer shredding of recycled metal material, reducing the energy required in remelting processes.
  • Energy sources: 100% renewable
  • Monitoring: calculated all scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for the first time-now we know where to improve.

  • Analyze Corporate Policy: examine current sustainability and energy efficiency practices.
  • Interact with logistics providers: assess their commitments to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
  • Internal energy consumption audit: identifying internal behaviors and areas for improvement.
  • Establish internal guidelines: formulate internal protocols for efficient energy management.
  • Select renewable energy suppliers: choose suppliers that offer sustainable options.
  • Seeking sustainable production alternatives: exploring possibilities for responsible production.
  • Conduct risk analysis and mitigation plan: identify energy risks and define mitigation strategies.

RAW MATERIAL & (ECOSYSTEM)

We recognize that collaboration and communication are key to building a better ecosystem.
We work closely with our suppliers, sharing our sustainability expectations and establishing a relationship of mutual trust.

Our ambitions

By 2025, use at least 50 percent of steel from recycling in the production cycle.

Decrease the amount of packaging used for machinery storage and transportation.

Developing a RESPONSIVE SUPPLY CHAIN for components and supporting materials.

DECREASE AND MITIGATE the generation of hazardous waste during production processes.

FIRST MATH.

  • Categorization and Exploration of Materials: Completed the categorization and exploration of incoming material flows.
  • Raw Material Circularity Analysis: Completed the analysis to improve the circularity of raw materials used.
  • Survey of Steel in the Supply Chain: Investigated the steel supply chain to determine the ratio of material from recycling to virgin raw material
  • Application of Approach to Semi-Finished Materials: Extended the same analysis method to semi-finished materials to increase transparency in the supply chain.

WATER

  • Reduced in-house water consumption through technological efficiencies in maintenance activities and improvements in machine design, which led to a decrease in the use of pressure washers in after-sales services.

WASTE

  • Waste Management Approaches: Adopted methods to contain/save resources in the production cycle, reduce waste production, and promote sustainable behaviors among employees.
  • Collection Points for Sorting: Installed specific collection points for municipal assimilable waste in each department, with clear directions on sorting
  • Drastic reduction of internal plastic consumption of water bottles

  • Analyze Corporate Policy: Examine current sustainability and energy efficiency practices.
  • Interact with Logistics Providers: Assess their commitments to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
  • Internal Energy Consumption Audit: Identify internal behaviors and areas for improvement.
  • Establishing Internal Guidelines: Formulating internal protocols for efficient energy management.ì
  • Select Renewable Energy Providers: Choose providers that offer sustainable options.
  • Seeking Sustainable Production Alternatives: Exploring possibilities for responsible production.
  • Perform Risk Analysis and Mitigation Plan: Identify energy risks and define mitigation strategies.

(RE)GENERATION OF RAW MATERIALS

We produce and strive to constantly improve machines that are affordable to all, smaller, simpler, more responsible, and operate with proximity economy, making recycling and recovery activities more widespread.

Our ambitions

Making accessible machinery to more markets.

INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY of our machinery.

FORMALIZING COLLABORATIONS for innovation.

  • Collaboration with Polytechnic University of Milan: Initiating research to assess the environmental impact and energy-saving benefits in the ferrous scrap melting process processed with Zato machinery.
  • Improved Recycling through Shredding: This technology enables the processing of any type of ferrous and nonferrous scrap, preparing it for the recycling stage by volume reduction, which allows space optimization at the melting furnace feeding stage resulting in savings in energy and production costs.
  • Improving Recycling through Efficient Separation: using magnetic, optical, and alternating current systems, we are able to obtain clean and homogeneous materials from shredding, ensuring strict control of different shredded materials further improving cost control at the melting stage.

  • Expand Distribution: Increase machine presence in global markets by offering more efficient, cost-effective and easy-to-install machines.
  • Development of Advanced Machinery: Improve the efficiency of machinery to increase the quality of recycled material, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy consumption.
  • Improved Maintenance: Implement preventive and predictive maintenance processes to reduce the need for spare parts, maintain high operational efficiency, and extend the life of machinery.
  • Industry Collaborations: Intensify collaborations with experts in the metallurgical industry for the development and research of innovative products and services.
  • Feasibility Study for Alternative Energy Sources: Initiate a feasibility study to evaluate the use of alternative motorization to power Zato machinery.
  • Partnership with Milan Polytechnic: Formalize the collaboration with Milan Polytechnic to strengthen the existing partnership.

GROWTH AND NEW SKILLS

We are committed to being the enablers of a (re)generative future.
We believe in the potential of our industry and the immense possibilities for application, this for us translates into leading the market to develop jobs and skills to support the transition in which we operate.
We are committed to ensuring that each and every function within our reality feels part of this change and we wish to support them on a path of professional growth.

Our ambitions

Increase the attractiveness of the company as an employer.

Focusing on the development needs organization.

Transfer SUSTAINABILITY COMPETENCIES. to employees.

Increase the COMPETENCES of each person to improve each department.

  • Working Group on Sustainability: Specific training for participants in the corporate group responsible for developing the sustainability strategy and budget, covering both general and specific topics related to corporate activities.
  • Knowledge Dissemination: Plan to extend training in sustainability to all employees of the company.
  • Competency Mapping: Creation of competency cards for each employee as part of ISO 9001 system development, with assessment of competency adherence in collaboration with department heads.
  • Specific Employee Training: Completion of mandatory CCNL courses for all employees, courses related to job-specific skills, and language courses.

  • Professional Development Pathways: Designing professional development pathways to understand the needs of new generations of workers.
  • Elements of Organizational Development: Analyze the essential elements of organizational development and evaluate an implementation plan.
  • Staff Involvement: Getting all employees to participate in the goals of the Sustainability Report, promoting the development of specific skills in sustainability related to the business context.
  • Definition of Green Job: Establish what “green job” means for the company and what skills are needed to achieve it.
  • Training and Classification Plan: Implement a comprehensive training plan and define internal roles at all levels of the organization.

WELL-BEING AND INVOLVEMENT

We strive to become a model for other local businesses by promoting the well-being of our people and the company’s involvement with local society.
We believe that only through a proactive commitment to the health and work-life balance of our employees can we achieve mutual trust.
We believe that only by supporting and protecting the environment and society can we get the local community interested and begin to work together for common goals.

Our ambitions

Decrease the turnover corporate.

Maintain zero injuries.

Expand services for the employee welfare.

Increase the Involvement of the local area.

  • Occupational Safety Figures: Appointment of safety officers with objectives to improve health and safety, assess risks and take preventive and corrective action.
  • Occupational Medicine Services: Annual coordination between the responsible parties, including RSPP, company property, Workers’ Safety Representative and Medical Officer.
    Annual medical examinations and risk assessment for employees.
  • Metasalute Fund: Enrollment of all employees with access to medical services and reimbursement for medical services.
  • Occupational Health and Safety Training: Inclusion of every new employee in a mandatory training course, with monitoring and updating of courses, including fire fighting and first aid.
  • Community Support: Commitment to sustainability through mitigation of environmental impact and promotion of economic, employment and social growth.
    Creation of a working group to select significant issues and establish an annual budget for relevant projects.

  • Governance and Community Support: Creation of a governance system to define areas of intervention in the community, based on perceived needs and social and territorial development issues.
    Formation of a working group to monitor the impact of supported projects and evaluate improvements.
  • Corporate Demographic Knowledge: Insight into employee demographics to better understand their needs.
    Analysis to improve work space, including the creation of a break room and locker rooms.
  • Safety Plan: Continued evolution of the safety plan to keep accidents at zero.
    Collection of information on near miss incidents to involve employees in risk analysis and create a knowledge transfer system.
  • Safety Protocols for Installations: Implementation and evaluation of protocols to ensure safety during off-site installation of machinery and equipment

We enable circularity

Ferrous scrap, having reached the end of its life cycle, can be processed again through specific smelting processes. Before this process takes place, the company’s machinery allows the scrap to be properly prepared through some basic steps:

  • Size reduction to facilitate casting and avoid furnace damage
  • Cleaning and separation according to chemical characteristics: to improve the quality of casting and atmospheric emissions

SHEARS
FROM DEMOLITION

Zato Blue Devil

TWIN SHAFT
SHREDDERS

SINGLE-SHAFT
SHREDDERS

HAMMER MILLS

SCRAP CLEANING PLANTS

Want to learn more about the impact of our actions, the data behind them, and the approaches we take?

You can find all this information, in more detail, in our sustainability report!

If you have any questions regarding our commitment to sustainability, please do not hesitate to contact us: esg@zato.it