Environment
Creating SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY
Our goal is to manufacture ethically and sustainably to reduce negative impacts and boost positive ones.
This means we must never stop evolving and doing better, not just for ourselves but because we are convinced of the value of the interconnection that binds us all.
The BCorp assessment is the independent tool we’ve chosen to measure and communicate our social and environmental impact.
The LCA analysis
The LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis evaluates a product’s environmental impact in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
Today, all outgoing paper from ICMA is traced in accordance with the LCA method “from cradle to gate”, that is, from the tree (or from the waste for recycled papers), to the point of exit through ICMA’s gates. For each paper, including those manufactured through the Rinascimento service, we can measure the CO2-equivalent emissions and, with our customers, set up action plans for their reduction, meeting the requirements of all brands concerned with their environmental impact.
ECO-FRIENDLY RAW MATERIALS Bring Recyclable Papers to Life
We are constantly updated about REACH regulations. Icma works with natural mineral fillers obtained without opening dedicated extraction quarries. Instead, we recycle the scraps of select natural materials resulting from their main applications.
We manufacture paper without heavy metals. Aluminum, despite not being a heavy metal, has also been removed from our coatings to avoid eco-compatibility issues at the end of the paper’s life cycle that could prevent them from being composted or incinerated.
Our laboratories have studied coatings that minimize the use of chlorine so as to provide our customers with ECF (Elementary Chlorine Free) and TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) papers. Moreover, Icma products are free from phthalates, which are toxic if ingested by children.
Icma papers are recyclable.
Reducing the Impact of RAW MATERIALS
In 2020 we decided to progressively replace our virgin cellulose bases with 100% recycled paper, certified with FSC Recycled Credit and manufactured in an integrated cycle, which means less use of water and energy and reduced CO2 emissions.
The supply chain is short and the use of chemicals has been reduced to the minimum.
- 14% of the cellulosic materials we purchase are 100% recycled, certified with FSC recycled credit
- 100% of the cellulosic raw materials we purchase are FSC-certified
New Papers: 100% Recycled
KIND is our collection of 100% recycled papers, SILVER, GOLD, and METALLIC are the new collections enriched with recycled-base options.
The new 100% recycled papers have been designed to reduce the environmental impact as much as possible from a circular-economy perspective, without compromising on the aesthetic and functional quality.
- Since 2021, 112 recycled prét à porter papers have been created
- 13 customizable recycled bases for tailor-made projects
Renewable and Self-Produced Energy
The first installation of photovoltaic panels on the company’s roof dates back to 2010.
A second investment was made in 2012.
The installation of a third photovoltaic system was finished in the third trimester of 2022 and is now operational.
- 61% of the ICMA facility’s current energy requirements are met by our photovoltaic system.
- We are also working to build local energy communities.
WATER Management
ICMA coatings are water-based. So our processing doesn’t entail the evaporation and dispersion of solvents. Our papers are air-dried using a modern, low-emissions natural gas boiler.
We have always recycled all the water used in the manufacturing process and, to reduce the amount of potable water consumed, rather than throwing away the wastewater, we purify it through distillation so it can be reused during processing.
- 100% of our production water is treated and fed back into the manufacturing process and we are working on installing two additional filtering systems
- -71% REDUCTION in water use FROM 2016 to date
WASTE Reduction
Thanks to the recycling of processing scraps, the reduction of packaging waste through collaboration with several suppliers, and the packaging with which we send out samples, which has been 100% recyclable and mono-material for the past two years, we seek to reduce scraps and waste as much as possible throughout our manufacturing process.
- In 2022, 76.18% of generated waste was recycled
- Our packaging is mono-material and recyclable
- With the Rinascimento project, we bring our clients’ scraps back to life
Reforestation: LAETITIA FOREST
In Cameroon, we have a forest of cacao, banana, and avocado trees that we named Laetitia. Its planting began in 2019 and it now comprises 442 plants, thanks to the Treedom program in which ICMA has taken part.
The project’s goal is to offset CO₂ emissions, safeguard biodiversity, and provide a sustainable source of income for Cameroonian farmers, also helping to counteract soil erosion and promote reforestation.
The plants we’ve helped grow are directly owned by the local farmers, who are passionately devoted to their cultivation and care.
- 435 cacao, banana, and avocado trees planted with Treedom
- 40.63 tons of CO2: an estimate of the average amount of carbon absorbed in their first 10 years of life
Our new photocatalytic facade
The facade of the ICMA facility, with a surface area of 500 square meters, was modernized in late 2021 using photocatalytic paint that enables the absorption of as much CO2 as would be absorbed by a 500 m2 forest of tall trees, enabling it to remove the pollution of approximately 16,000 cars per year.
We made this choice to contribute to cleaner air in the Mandello del Lario town center.
This paint reflects the sun’s rays and keeps the interior spaces cooler, saving electricity used for air-conditioning (up to 30%). It can capture and remove the toxins contained in car exhaust fumes (up to 88%), bacteria, mold, and spores (up to 99.9%) that come in contact with the wall, as well as unpleasant odors and volatile organic compounds, turning them into substances that are no longer hazardous to health.
CERTIFICATIONS
ICMA has UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 certification
In December 2017, ICMA Sartorial Paper obtained the latest updated version of the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 certification.
For ICMA, the ISO 9001:2015 constitutes the endorsement of a policy that it has pursued since its foundation: to design and manufacture papers with highly innovative and original aesthetic aspects to a measurable standard of quality.
ICMA is FSC® -Certified
The company has had FSC® Chain of Custody certification since August 2009
Certificate Code: COC-000067
Licence Code: FSC-C019505
Environmental Review and Context Analysis 2024
The Initial Environmental Analysis is a systematic diagnosis, in which all the relationships between the manufacturing activities carried out by ICMA srl SB and the environmental and territorial setting surrounding it are analyzed and assessed, according to the general constraints to which the company is subject, and to the legislative, socioeconomic, and market framework.
With the Environmental Review and Context Analysis 2024, the company is able to make an overall assessment of the environmental issues connected with its activities. It’s therefore a starting point to identify the objectives and procedures the company has adopted.