Dalterfood Group publishes its second sustainability report

DalterFood Group, leader in the production, portioning, packaging, and distribution of Parmigiano Reggiano, as well as in the selection, portioning, and packaging of the best Italian DOP mature cheeses and other Italian cheeses and excellences, has published its second Sustainability Report.

The report, redacted according to GRI standards and involving all company’s stakeholders, continues the path of reporting on ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues undertaken last year to communicate in a clear and transparent way how the company translates its commitment towards sustainability and its core values into its everyday work.

It does so by providing a clear picture of both the progresses made by the group during the past year, and its vision for the future: from the reduction of plastic consumption (-31% compared to 2021) to investments in renewable energy and sustainable packaging. From cutting its environmental impact to its projects for the growth of the local community, up to empowerment of the group’s workforce, with a focus on both job security and safety, as well as on continuous learning.

The report traces the 45-year history that has led DalterFood Group to be a symbol of Italian dairy excellence in the world and looks to the future with the ambitious goals the company has set itself to continue generating value for its customers, its workforce, the environment, and the community. It begins with a statement of the contribution the company aims to make towards the ambitious goals set by the UN 2030 Agenda, and a materiality analysis of issues relevant to the company. A chapter that immediately shows how comprehensive the DalterFood Group’s commitment to sustainability is, ranging from product quality and safety to employee inclusion, welfare, and growth up to responsible supply chain management.

A commitment born of the continuous improvement philosophy that has always guided the company and that has not been shaken in the face of a complex and difficult scenario. Contrary, the company’s sustainability philosophy has contributed to the achievement of important targets and goals in 2022. A year that saw DalterFood Group achieve a turnover of 146 million Euros (+15% compared to 2021) and strengthen its sales network, which serves 32 countries worldwide.

This growth is the result of a strong vocation for innovation and quality, which allows the group to offer a wide range of cheeses and typical products of Italian food culture, cut and packaged to meet the needs of the food industry, food service operators and the retail channel, such as: DOP Italian hard cheeses (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano); not-DOP Italian hard cheeses; Stretched curd cheeses (burrata, buffalo burrata); fresh cheeses (Mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, gorgonzola), and other Italian specialties (sausage and vegetable starters).

It’s a story of success that DalterFood Group has built thanks to a supply chain that is both ethical and balanced, and that rewards sustainability and excellence, at any stage. From the selection of the milk from 41 breeders who meet strict requirements in terms of quality and animal welfare, to the zero-waste approach that the group implements in the whole production process, including the two mountain dairies - part of the group - where it produces 180 wheels of Parmigiano every day.

In addition, the group is involved in projects with high social impact, such as collaboration with the Panta Rei cooperative of Reggio Emilia, aimed at studying new protocols for access to nutrition for autistic children.

The company also continues to strengthen its commitments to the sustainability of its business model in a circular economy perspective. DalterFood Group has, in fact, accelerated its efforts in making its packaging even more sustainable by switching from laminated materials to mono-materials, recyclable in plastic, with the aim of implementing, after the mono-dose range, the new materials on all consumer packaging and industrial packaging by 2025. As part of its strategy towards environmental sustainability, the group uses recycled input materials for production: in 2022, 80% of corrugated cardboard and 9% of plastic packaging belonged to this category.

In addition, the company’s sustainability strategy includes investing in renewable energy, first and foremost in photovoltaics, with the goal of creating a medium-term plan that will lead DalterFood Group to self-produce at least 20% of its energy consumption by 2025.

The last chapter of the report is dedicated to workforce management, and it stresses all the actions that the company has continued to put into place to ensure a secure and inclusive work environment that empowers people. DalterFood Group, in fact, strongly believes that employees are the key to the company’s success and future. In 2022 the group has increased its workforce by 4%, with 61% of new hires aged under 30, demonstrating its determination to encourage the recruitment of young resources to support youth employment. In addition, 2022 saw the resumption of training projects after the forced halt by the pandemic, with programmes dedicated to both soft and hard skills, from English courses to IT tools.

“The year 2022 was characterised by strong turbulence at the macroeconomic level, from the outbreak of war in Ukraine and its repercussions on the cost of energy and all raw materials, to the pandemic, which, albeit to a lesser extent, continued to influence the markets, without forgetting climate change, which, with episodes of drought alternating with heavy flooding, is disrupting our societies, first and foremost our region. It is therefore becoming more and more important for us to make a concrete commitment to ensure that our business is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable, with projects that allow us to make our products always better for our customers, but also for the community of which we are part,” says Andrea Guidi, DalterFood Group’s GM.

The full Sustainability Report is available here.

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