The national tree day was celebrated by Salvatore Ferragamo with the creation of a new urban woodland at the Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino, in the metropolitan city of Florence.
Offsetting the emissions generated by shipments of products sold via e-commerce, LEED Platinum energy certification, sustainable mobility strategies for optimising corporate travel, professional development for employees, research into and use of innovative low-environmental-impact materials, a Sustainability Report. These are just some of the good practices implemented by Salvatore Ferragamo that reflect the innovative processes involving all areas of the company's operations.
Not mere adjustments to new market demands, but rather deep-rooted values that underpin the Group — one of the leading players in the luxury sector and a symbol of Made in Italy worldwide — in its commitment to placing sustainability and social responsibility at the heart of its development policies. For the Group, creating sustainable value for the future of the planet and of people represents a challenge that translates into concrete actions in support of the local area, craftsmanship, culture, and environmental and social protection.
In keeping with its own ethical principles, and among the various actions in its calendar, Salvatore Ferragamo decided to celebrate this year's national tree day on 21 November with an initiative aimed at regenerating the local area: the creation of the Parco delle Idee, an urban woodland within the Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino that involves the planting of around two hundred native species such as field maple, holm oak, ash and Turkey oak.
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According to the Group's President, Ferruccio Ferragamo, "this new commitment, not only on the part of the company but also of the employees who voluntarily took part for a day in the tree-planting operations, is a further source of pride for everyone. Our company has always been engaged in numerous initiatives aimed at protecting Italy's historical, cultural and environmental heritage — and in particular that of Tuscany and Florence, to which we are bound by longstanding ties of affection and gratitude. The Parco delle Idee therefore represents an effective and tangible way of expressing our gratitude towards the community to which we owe so much of our international success, and at the same time the expression of a virtuous approach that every modern company has a duty to adopt towards the local area and the social fabric in which it operates."
The result of a collaboration with LifeGate, Italy's leading sustainability reference point, which since 2000 has been promoting a sustainable lifestyle by engaging a community of over five million people and supporting the sustainable development of businesses, and in technical partnership with Carbonsink, an academic spin-off of the University of Florence specialising in the development of climate change mitigation strategies and CO2 emissions offsetting, the Parco delle Idee project will be able to welcome students from local schools for recreational and educational activities in the fields of biology, ecology and nature conservation, and will bring numerous social and environmental benefits to the local area — not only regenerating the urban landscape, but improving air quality and contributing to the enhancement of local biodiversity.
"We are proud of this project, which underlines the importance and effectiveness of urban green spaces and their benefits for the health of people and the territory. This is a current challenge to make cities increasingly resilient. The collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo is a virtuous example of how a brand that is a symbol of Made in Italy around the world can at the same time have a positive impact on the territory and the local community, taking care of its own roots and strengthening the social and environmental fabric," said Enea Roveda, CEO of LifeGate, on the initiative.