Prysmian issues its first environmental report

Significant results in the improvement of the enviromental impact of industrial activities, with a decreasing consumption of energy, water and solvents.

Prysmian, a worldwide leading Group in the sector of cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, has published its first environmental report. It conveys the Group’s commitment to a clear accountability towards its stakeholders also with regards the environmental results of its activities.

The report, that analyses the latest three years data, highlights significant results in the improvement of the environmental impact of the industrial activities, mainly in relation to decreasing consumption of energy, water and solvents, and garbage disposal. In particular, in 2009 the overall electricity consumption of the Group’s energy cables factories declined compared to 2007, from approximately 3.3 million Gigajoule per tonne of product to approximately 2.9 million. In the same period the solvent consumption in the telecom cables activities decreased from 1.07 kilogram per tonne of product to 1.02. Also the water consumption dropped: in the energy cables it shifted from 8.4 cubic meter per tonne of product to 7.2.

The commitment to match growth in financial results with a reduction in the environmental impact of its activities has always been part of Prysmian’s mission, even when it was in the Pirelli Group. Business sustainability is an increasingly critical issue for every company and the Group intends to give an account of its work and results in this area, particularly to its customers and business partners, to the financial markets, the shareholders and the institutions.

The Group’s commitment to environmental sustainability is realized both in the production processes and in the product innovation processes, supported by the continuous investments and the activities of the 7 worldwide R&D centres, that employ 400 experts. As member of Europacable association, Prysmian is one of the promoter of the “Cable Manufacturers Environmental Code of Practice”.

With regard to product innovation, in the last few years Prysmian has achieved significant successes. For example lead has been replacing by more eco-friendly aluminium in the shielding of many cables and, in submarine cables, the use of cross-linked polyethylene extruded insulation (XLPE) has been extended in place of traditional oil-impregnated paper insulation.
Environmental product innovation also aims to adopt solutions that satisfy customer needs. For example the innovative P-Laser cable, which in addition to be produced entirely with eco-friendly materials is easier to install and offers flexible, efficient and reliable performance. These specific characteristics allowed P-Laser to receive the recently product approval from the Italian utilities ENEL and Acea, which after an experimental phase have included it in their related internal specifications.