ZERO EMISSIONS, CUTTING-EDGE PRODUCTION AND WELL-BEING ACCORDING TO THE IRIS CERAMICA GROUP

2019-04-05
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The commitment that Iris Ceramica Group makes towards ethical and sustainable production growth is well-known and dates back to the company’s origins. "Ecology=Economy” is the motto coined and promoted by founder and President Romano Minozzi who, with a forward-thinking approach and the support of his daughter and CEO Federica Minozzi, has always paid particular attention to well-being, taken to mean an environmental awareness and protection of the health of the customers, employees and communities that make up or accommodate Group companies.

This meant that, back when no one could have imagined, in a setting in which unchecked industrial production ignored any potential future environmental impact, those companies that now make up the Iris Ceramica Group were already taking steps towards more conscious production, integrating systems to recycle waste glazes and sludge in the early 80s, before progressing to EMAS certification and the pursuit of LEED and green building parameters in the early 00s. It is not only production but also the product that must be designed to safeguard and, where possible, increase the well-being of its users, hence the creation of Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic™, the world's first ISO-certified antipollution and antibacterial ceramic for flooring and cladding.

On a journey marked by seemingly impossible challenges, which have nevertheless been successfully overcome, Iris Ceramica Group is now proud to announce a new milestone, the ZERO EMISSIONS project. It is launched to further encourage conciliation between production and the well-being of those who operate in and reside close to the production facilities, ensuring great efficiency in abating the smelly, volatile organic molecules expelled from the stacks as the decorated slabs are baked.

Although all Group plants already fully respect the limits of the law, comprehensive technological research has nevertheless been carried out, followed by the installation, at the Castellarano factory, of the first three plants with a “regenerative thermal recovery combustor”. An enormous investment, and a first for the ceramics district, as well as the achievement of a pre-set goal, namely to reduce the emissions from volatile organic compounds expelled from the Castellarano factory stacks to zero.

This conscious decision to protect workers and the local community is part of a complex and ambitious programme aimed at limiting water consumption and encouraging circular recovery so as to also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

To learn more about the ZERO EMISSIONS project, visit Iris Ceramica Group website

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