Sustain, to lead

Sustainability revolution at Prysmian offices: spreading green procurement practices in all Group Regions

At Prysmian, we believe in the sustainability revolution. We embarked upon this journey some years ago with the redesign of our Milan headquarters, still recognised today as the most sustainable building in the city, and other green practices that generate a positive impact on the environment, nature, our people and communities in which we operate. We intend to continue fighting for this cause. At our Prysmian offices, we put in place several green procurement practices to demonstrate to everyone how easy it actually is to move towards a more sustainable future.

"Sustainability is one of Prysmian’s most strategic assets. We strongly believe that the contribution of each of us can help to protect our Earth.”

PLATINUM LEED CERTIFIED HQ BUILDING

The 13,200m2 of Prysmian’s HQ offices are an example of contemporary cutting-edge work spaces designed to foster collaboration and agile working. The building consists of three building blocks (wings), which accommodate the offices organised into an open-space arrangement, partitioned by bioclimatic greenhouses that serve for space organisation purposes and natural lighting. The presence of triple-height glazed spaces ensures a direct link between interior and exterior, also accentuated by the numerous green ‘havens’ (greenhouses) and break areas.

The headquarters also boasts a 180-seat auditorium and 100 meeting rooms. Artificial lighting is dynamically controlled according to the ambient brightness values registered by the management system, allowing considerable energy savings compared to a traditional lighting system. On top of this, there are 3,820 m2 plus 2,188 m2 FTV of shelters with photovoltaic panels, 28 electric car charging stations already in place with a further 22 to be added in a very short time for a total of 50 electric car charging stations with double recharge (for 100 cars), two bike parking stations, and 20 stations for separate waste collection.

All this allowed us to obtain the prestigious Platinum LEED certification, demonstrating the efforts made to ensure great attention to the environment even in a highly complex reconversion project. Prysmian’s Headquarters are located in the Bicocca district, in the former Ansaldo industrial area. Today, this part of the city still bears witness to its industrial past, but with a contemporary look, as it is one of the first former industrial areas to undergo a radical transformation. Prysmian’s HQ is an important new chapter for the district, continuing the urban regeneration of a fast-developing part of Milan.

ISO 50001-CERTIFIED ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

In line with the principles endorsed in the Group’s HSEE Policy, including consumption optimisation and pollution prevention, several years ago Prysmian adopted an Energy Management System at its Milan HQ that was promoted by the Management and implemented by the Prysmian Energy Team through a thorough energy analysis, the definition of the Energy Performance indicators and of the energy targets and milestones, as well as the determination of the evaluation criteria to be applied for the purchase of energy services, products and equipment.

The Milan HQ’s Energy Management System is ISO 50001 certified. In the recent audit conducted to renew the certificate, the external auditors confirmed the system’s comprehensiveness and its efficiency in improving the energy performance of the Milan HQ.

Download the ISO 50001 certificate

NEW CAR POLICY

Prysmian has started replacing its fuel-powered company cars with exclusively plug-in hybrid, full electric or LPG models, reducing the CO₂ emissions of its fleet as part of its goal to become carbon neutral. The programme is being rolled out in all regions where the Group operates. Prysmian is proud to no longer order combustion engine vehicles, and the entire fleet will be eco-friendly by next year.

PLASTIC FREE & REUSABLE CUPS

Over the past years, we calculated that over 717,000 single-use plastic items were used in our offices and thrown away: 220,000 disposable cups; 272,000 plastic coffee cups; 217,500 stirrers; 7,500 plastic bottles. It was time to start changing our habits and remove single-use plastic from our work life by taking the first steps towards a plastic-free work environment.

We did this by offering all employees reusable bamboo fibre water glasses and coffee cups so as to decrease individual daily consumption of single-use items at our break areas. We also launched the initiative to replace all our single-use cups with biodegradable ones that can be disposed of through organic waste.

PAPERLESS

Investing in improving the future and our behaviours toward the environment includes investments in Prysmian’s digital infrastructure and sustainable business practices.

Digital innovation can help us reduce costs and our footprint while also allowing better work efficiency. The technologies adopted as a result of this renovation promote a paperless environment through a reduction in printers at all Prysmian offices and implement digital signatures for contracts and paperless invoices and checks.

PURIFIED STILL AND SPARKLING TAP WATER

Starting from 2022, water faucets have been installed at Prysmian offices to provide purified still and sparkling water. Employees can choose to refill their own bottle or cup with fresh water from the purified tap selecting one of the different options available — cold, ambient, or sparkling water. This is a way to encourage all Prysmian People to practice Sustainability by using reusable eco-friendly cups, already distributed to all people, or bringing a reusable cup/bottle from home. This green practice also encourages employees to consume wisely, avoiding a waste of precious resources by partially finishing bottles — the faucets can also help regulate consumption in this way. Moreover, this also helped to reduce the purchased quantity of bottles of still and sparkling water and single-use cups.