MILANO (ITALPRESS) – In 2023, CONAI generated a total business volume in Italy surpassing 3 billion and 300 million euros. This amount is composed of three key figures: a direct turnover of 1 billion and 289 million euros from the Environmental Contribution CONAI (CAC) and the income from the sale of materials; an indirect impact of 1 billion and 701 million euros associated with the activation of supply chains; and an induced impact of 346 million euros, coming from the consumption patterns of workers and suppliers’ families. This business volume is comparable to the value of the entire passenger air transport sector in Italy.
The revenues solely from CAC amounted to 718 million euros, indicating that each euro of environmental contribution generates 4.6 euros in economic value for Italy.
This is the main finding highlighted in CONAI’s new Sustainability Report, which annually quantifies the economic and environmental benefits of packaging recycling in Italy.
“Every euro of contribution generates over four and a half for the economy: it’s increasingly clear that the use of recycled materials instead of virgin resources has significant impacts on our economic system – comments CONAI President Ignazio Capuano (in the photo). – Our commitment to sustainability is an institutional mandate but also a vision for a future where the planet’s resources are utilized more efficiently, ensuring environmental protection. For the first time, we have adopted a new calculation methodology to account for the value generated by the proper management of packaging: the benefits encompass both economic and environmental aspects. This is certified by a new study carried out by The European House – Ambrosetti, which we presented as a preview at Ecomondo and is now fully included in the Report.”
The actual contribution of the CONAI system to the national GDP, or the added value generated, was 1 billion and 924 million euros.
Lastly, regarding employment impact: in 2023, the system supported a total of 23,199 jobs across direct employment (workers continuously engaged in structures and processes managed directly by the Consortium), indirect (thanks to the activation of related supply chains), and induced (mainly concerning the waste management, industrial manufacturing, and transport sectors).
11 million and 724,000 tons is the amount of virgin material that was avoided at the national level thanks to packaging recycling in 2023. This equates to the weight of 800 Leaning Towers of Pisa.
Recycling also proves to be an important factor in reducing CO2 emissions to combat climate change. The CONAI Sustainability Report shows that in 2023, over 10 million tons of CO2eq emissions were avoided due to recycling, corresponding to emissions from over 8,000 flights around the world.
This figure represents the balance between the avoided greenhouse gas production due to the prevented production of primary materials and the emissions generated solely from recycling preparation operations, which include the transportation and treatment of used packaging waste into new raw materials.
The contribution of Italian companies to the proper management of packaging waste also results in primary energy savings, which refers to energy generated from fossil fuels that would otherwise be necessary for producing all the primary materials conserved. This figure, starting this year, was refined to account for primary energy consumption related to recycling preparation operations and the transportation of packaging waste.
In 2023, it is estimated that 50 terawatt-hours were saved, equivalent to the annual household consumption of half of Italian families.
“For years, the Report has served as an important vehicle for a documented approach to environmental protection, based on figures and results as well as tangible improvement prospects – states CONAI General Director Simona Fontana. – Sharing it represents a moment of transparency that demonstrates how the work of the Consortium can and indeed wants to be measured and assessed, fostering synergy among all actors and stakeholders in the supply chain. However, it is a document that goes beyond measuring results and attests to a deeper commitment: promoting an environmental culture that permeates the social fabric is an essential part of our assigned tasks.”
– photo courtesy of the CONAI press office –
(ITALPRESS).
