Ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns
We have done and achieved a great deal in the sphere of the recovery and treatment of waste.
- Sustainability Plan
- 2023 Performance
Sustainability Plan
Policies to reduce the production of waste
Improve the recovery process of collected waste (also by turning it into energy) and promote separate waste collection.
| KPI | 2023 | 2026 | 2030 | 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Areas where waste prevention and reduction are carried out (% of total population served) | 85% | 78% | 79% | - |
| Separate urban waste collection in all urban areas served (%) | 71% | 72% | 73% | - |
| Waste used for material recovery (kt) | 1,075 | 1,193 | 1,416 | 2,114 |
| Urban waste landfilled (percentage share) | 0.5% | 1.0% | 1.0% | - |
2023 figures are the baseline against which the 24-35 Plan had been calculated. Starting from 2025, annual performances will be compared to the targets to assess wether the Group is on track of the targets themselves.
2023 Performance
1,743 Mton
69,6% of which for material recovery and 29.9% for energy recovery
71%
separate collection of urban waste
4,282kt
waste treated
67%
non-hazardous waste recovered
23
number of new partnerships for circular economy initiatives
Actions 2023
- In 2023, Biofor's Castelleone plant was upgraded and converted to the production of biomethane, obtained from the purification (upgrading) of biogas. By upgrading 40,000 tons of livestock manure, 2,500 tons of agri-food by-products and 60,000 tons of FORSU sent to anaerobic digestion, the plant will produce 5.2 million cubic meters of biomethane each year, serving the needs of about 5,000 households;
- In 2023, the third production line of the Parona waste-to-energy plant began operating; this will increase production capacity by about 180 kton/year, for a total treatment capacity of about 380 kton/year. The new line was developed by installing the best available technologies, such as a state-of-the-art grid combustion system and a dry flue gas treatment system to obtain the most challenging values required by the applicable regulations.
- A2A took an active part in the Alliance for the Circular Economy, a joint initiative of 11 Italian companies aimed at promoting circularity in business strategies;
- Activities for circular waste management included the preparation of waste for recycling, such as the sorting of plastics operated by the Cavaglià and Muggiano plants, which in 2023 amounted to 39,061 tons (including 17,137 tons of PET), up slightly from the previous year. Added to these fractions, which are ready for extrusion plants, 46,252 tons of plasmix (mixed small-sized plastics) that were sent to specialized plants for further material recovery;
- The Asti glass treatment plant will experiment a storage system that uses second life batteries, typically from e-mobility applications, which are collected and reassembled to create energy storage systems for domestic or industrial use. The system will be developed in collaboration with the startup “Beeplanet.”
Actions following industrial plan
A new integrated and digital business and operating model will enable the Group to increase industrial waste treatment to 2.4 million tonnes by the end of the plan (2035).
