WCA Achievement Award
We were evaluated using the Workplace Conditions Assessment standard— specific internationally recognized indicators, defined based on national laws, International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, and industry best practices. We received full marks for its human resources management and took home the Workplace Condition Assessment (WCA) Achievement Award.
The audit was carried out by Intertek (a company specialized in the quality certification of companies worldwide) on behalf of a leading client company in the luxury industry and involved in-depth interviews with our owners, management, and collaborators, a visit to Icma’s factories, and an examination of corporate documentation.
The assessment was concerned with various indicators, such as the quality of jobs, evaluated by checking working hours, salaries, and employee benefits; workplace health and safety, through machinery safety inspections, emergency management checks, and the prevention of accidents at work and any work-related health risks; management systems and the environmental impact of the company, following an assessment of the environmental management systems, emissions, and waste, as well as collateral activities carried out with a view to corporate sustainability.
In each of the analyzed areas, Icma was given a score of 100% (compared to an average national score of 89%, an average industry score of 80%, and an average global score of 78%, from a sample of 34,765 companies throughout the world), needed to receive the WCA Award.
The report also provides comparisons between the score assigned to Icma, the average scores achieved by industries worldwide that have undergone this type of audit, and the performances of Italian companies and paper manufacturing industries.
A strong female constituent distinguishes our workplace with women forming a majority at all levels of the organization, from the owners to both the internal and external collaborators. With a view to gender equality, the welfare proposals are aimed at all employees, from performance bonuses and family assistance leave to flexible working hours required particularly by new mothers.
A tradition related to salary distribution also weighed in on the assessment that led us to obtain the Achievement Award: “In July, part of the company’s profit from the previous year is distributed to the workers”, the report states.
Actions taken to reduce the environmental impact were noted, from the installation of photovoltaic panels and fume abatement to a purification system to reduce water consumption in production.
Finally, the report mentions that, as of 2020, Icma is certified as a "Benefit Corporation", that is, part of a group of companies that, in addition to targeting profit, are also concerned with having a positive impact on society and the planet. This certification requires the constant improvement of the environment and the well-being of workers.
“The audit was requested by one of our customers”, explains the CEO Elena Torri. “It was another opportunity for us to be assessed in-depth by an external authority specialized in these types of audits, which follow criteria applied to companies throughout the world. As with the B Corp certification, this kind of evaluation is an opportunity to improve the way we work, which we want to be of as high a quality as our products. The acknowledgment of Intertek is confirmation that we’re on the right track and that the choices we’ve made are considered to be the best possible choices by international standards”.