2024 Sustainability Report: solid results for a sustainable future
Cefla’s seventh Sustainability Report, covering the year 2024, has just been published. This document not only reports on the Group’s performance, but also bears witness to our promise to ‘make life better’, positioning sustainability as a concrete corporate action aimed at general well-being.
2024 was a year marked by complex international events which, despite slowing down the drive towards sustainability at European level, prompted us to strengthen our commitment to balanced development that is mindful of its impact on the environment and people. This is, in fact, at the heart of our cooperative identity: generating value over time and passing it on to future generations.
Solid economic growth
The significant financial results achieved in 2024, including net profit up +5.1% on the previous year, testify to Cefla’s capacity for forward-looking growth. This growth also supports our sustainability commitments, generating value for the community and redistributing wealth to our people and the territories in which we operate.
Significant investments in Research and Development (R&D) in 2024, with €15.2 million invested and over 752 active patents, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to innovation and a proactive approach, supported growth.
Social commitment and safety
Cefla’s cooperative model is a distinctive feature that requires us to take a responsible view of the future. In terms of social sustainability, our commitment to people has been strengthened with the achievement of ISO 45001:2018 certification for the parent company Cefla s. c. at the end of 2024, which now covers 96% of the Group’s employees. This figure highlights the great importance given to the issue of health and safety at work. Furthermore, to ensure fairness and attention to human capital, we obtained UNI PdR 125:2022 certification in December 2024, confirming that our personnel management activities and procedures aim to ensure gender equality.
Environmental sustainability and innovation
As a concrete contribution to the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, we are committed to seizing every opportunity to make them a reality. In terms of environmental sustainability, in 2024 renewable sources in our energy mix increased from 2.4% to 7.3% of the total. This was made possible thanks to the installation of photovoltaic systems – we produced 4,049 MWh of electricity using photovoltaic panels – and our innovative fuel cell plant at our Bicocca site, built by our Engineering Business Unit. We also recorded a 9% reduction in overall water withdrawals compared to the previous year.
In 2024, we launched our first voluntary exercise to analyse the EU Environmental Taxonomy, with the aim of identifying our eco-sustainable activities and contributing to climate change mitigation. Many small steps towards energy transition and a greener economy.
This report is a tangible testimony to our journey and a compass for planning an ethical, inclusive and sustainable future that meets the needs of the present without compromising the opportunities of future generations.