Not just a pasta producer: Pastificio Garofalo is also a player rooted in the territory of Gragnano, one that demonstrates a genuine commitment to the environment and its employees. Over the years it has worked, and continues to work, to improve its performance through know-how, new technologies, corporate welfare initiatives for employees and circular economy projects for the benefit of the environment. Sergio De Gennaro, quality & safety system manager at Pastificio Garofalo, told us everything.

Can we identify a moment in Pastificio Garofalo's history when the company launched its journey towards environmental sustainability?
I couldn't point to a specific event, but I can say that we have been pursuing sustainable development for years, and we do so with the backing of third-party bodies: in 2003 we obtained ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems, and in 2017 ISO 50001 for energy management systems. We use photovoltaic panels to generate energy, we have replaced all neon lighting with LEDs, and we have a trigeneration plant powered by natural gas that allows us to optimise energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions. Over the past fifteen years we have worked on energy efficiency, progressively improving every stage of the production chain, while in the near future we will be engaged in projects to contain water consumption and reduce the amount of water used per tonne of pasta produced.

And when it comes to social sustainability?
In 2010 we obtained SA 8000 certification for corporate social responsibility, covering respect for human and workers' rights as well as safety and healthiness in the workplace. In 2017 we also achieved the standards of OHSAS 18001 certification relating to occupational health and safety management systems. Our corporate welfare programme includes, for example, preventive health initiatives (such as breast cancer screenings) to make employees feel protected and safe. The psychological wellbeing of our staff also matters greatly to us: we try to ensure that everyone feels part of a project, part of a community, smoothing over tensions where they arise and with particular sensitivity towards issues of diversity. This is reflected in the company's inclusion, in March 2019, among the 20 finalist brands at the Diversity & Inclusion Award.

What are the main sustainability-related projects you have launched over the years?
First of all, our processing waste is not discarded but channelled into the animal feed sector, where it is turned into nutrition for livestock, or directed towards biogas production. Secondly, for our product packaging we use recycled paper sourced from Campanian landfills and reprocessed in Campania. In 2018 alone, this enabled a reduction in CO2 emissions of 958 tonnes, as well as savings of over 56,000 cubic metres of water and almost 3.5 million kwh/ton of energy. It can be described as a short-supply-chain recycled paper project: recycled paper is already sustainable in itself, but it is even more so when it travels fewer kilometres to be transformed and reused. We should also bear in mind that this is an initiative that started fifteen years ago, when Campania was in the midst of a full-blown waste emergency: it was a way of being present in the territory and making our contribution, just as joining the Consorzio pasta di Gragnano Igp was — a choice that is less obvious than one might think.

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You also operate with a circular economy mindset and are mindful of the problem of plastic and of animal welfare…
Yes, we tried, for example, to reuse processing waste to create pasta straws, as an alternative to plastic ones. Once used, these straws can be collected, sent back to our plant and reused for biogas production. We also collaborated on the I'mpasta project to develop an innovative leavened dough mixture made, once again, from pasta processing waste. We also chose to produce our fresh pasta exclusively with eggs from free-range hens: it was something that was feasible in production terms, so we did it. The curious aspect is that consumers are generally becoming increasingly careful when buying eggs from free-range hens, yet they have not yet developed the same awareness when purchasing products made with eggs, such as fresh pasta. We went one step further — a sign of consistency with our own values. All the initiatives I have listed demonstrate an intention, a will to move in a specific direction, and send out a clear message of sustainability.

You also produce organic pasta — another sustainability choice.
To be precise, we process semolina obtained from organic wheat. When in 2009 we decided to produce wholemeal pasta, we wanted it above all to be good — that is, capable of meeting certain nutritional values, but also pleasing to the palate. And from the outset we chose to make it organic. We also produce classic organic pasta, in fact in considerably larger quantities than the wholemeal variety, but it is a product we sell mainly in the United States, Canada and Germany. In Italy there is not yet a strong inclination to buy organic pasta, unlike what happens, for example, with fruit and vegetables or meat. It is also a cultural matter.

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How does a company manage to be sustainable?
Sustainability is a matter of awareness: it does not necessarily translate into costs for the company; on the contrary, it proves to be an opportunity for growth and for improving one's performance. Pursuing it requires expertise, technological support and innovation, but also the ability to seize the right moments to make certain choices. In recent years our company has seen a continuous growth trend: every time there has been a need to make changes, we have tried to seize the opportunity to improve. The conditions were there to do so, and these choices proved to be an opportunity — but had they been made at the wrong moment they might have yielded different results. It takes a certain degree of rationality and balance, as well as the will.

LifeGate's sixth national observatory on sustainable lifestyles found that sustainability is a priority for 36 million Italians, something that is increasingly reflected in purchasing habits too. Do consumers reward sustainable choices?
Consumers are certainly becoming ever more aware of and sensitive to issues of environmental and social sustainability, animal welfare and organic production, but we wish to stress that Pastificio Garofalo's constant commitment to the greatest possible sustainability is the result of respect for our values first and foremost, rather than a communications interest. We do it above all because we believe in it, not to sell one more packet of pasta.