Bees and sustainability: we asked Cellularline

Hello Daniela Sorrentino and Group Hr Director of Cellularline, you are the first company to participate in this series of meetings that will delve into sustainable strategies and implementation in the most driving sectors of our economy. It is a pleasure to be able to talk about sustainability in a sector that does not often feel at the forefront of this topic... The pleasure is ours, telling about Cellularline Group's commitment to a new way of doing business makes us even more proud and responsible for the plan we are implementing.

Interesting. And what are the starting points for promoting change also in the world of consumer electronics, where did you start from? First of all, it is necessary to measure one's own sustainability performance and we have done this by relying on internationally recognised reference standards and qualified consultancy. In particular, we chose two tools: The international standard developed by B Lab called BIA (Benefit Impact Assessment) for analysing company performance as a whole and the Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) methodology developed and promoted by the non-profit organisation The Natural Step for analysing our products, Together they form a holistic, robust and transparent approach to sustainability reporting and to measuring and managing our impact.

What significance do reuse and waste values have in your processes? Reuse and waste values are crucial for the future of the planet. The durability of materials is critical for the sustainability of our industry. Since last year we have been working on raising awareness and engaging users on the correct disposal of packaging, through a specific information programme that will run through the web and our social channels. 2020 was marked by the launch of our sustainable BECOME line, a turning point in our journey, thanks to the definition of a new housing concept, made of an all-natural material and PBAT, a 100% biodegradable polymer, with performance similar to traditional plastic, but which has the advantage of having a lower environmental impact.

In 2021, we continued with our sustainable innovation project and, in addition to the cases, we added chargers and cables, in the manufacture of which we came to use 30% eco-sustainable plastic blends. Not only the products, BECOME's packaging was also chosen to be sustainable: each package is made entirely of FSC recycled paper[1], guaranteeing the absence of plastic elements. To ensure that the paper used as packaging is fully recyclable, natural glues are used to seal the packaging, making the paper totally polymer-free. We will not only raise awareness among those who use Cellularline products, but also among our retail customers and business partners. We intend to do this with communication projects on ESG issues and by launching a call to action to users, aimed at increasing more conscious behaviour with regard to sustainability issues.

What channels do you use to communicate your sustainable commitment? We try to use all our communication channels to share our commitment. Starting from our corporate website, where there is a special section dedicated to sustainability, where you can browse our latest Impact & Evolution Report, to our corporate and product social channels, to events organised for the most relevant of our stakeholders, to our Media Relations, to our product packaging.

With the nectariferous forest project in the province of Bologna, we have contributed to the compensation with the grounding of already over 100 plants with high melliferous potential... and then came the bees in Cellularline's house, tell us the truth, these projects always originate thanks to some beekeeper infiltrated among colleagues... Actually, we only found out after the adoption of the hive that a colleague of ours knew our beekeeper, the project was very much appreciated by all our colleagues.

A journey and a partnership that is only just beginning, thanks to your example and membership of the Pollinate the Planet programme Our Oasis is one of the concrete and measurable projects that we have the pleasure of telling you about. Taking care of the Planet, for us, means contributing to sustainable development from the point of view of available natural resources, the protection of biodiversity and the general reduction of our footprint on the planet. And it is also thanks to your work that this has become a reality.