Sustainability – Forestali always moving forward with respect for the environment and all its stakeholders!

Respect for the environment and sustainable development have always been key priorities for everyone working at Forestali, founded in 1918.

The first steps toward establishing an Integrated Corporate Management System were taken back in 1997 with the adoption of a Quality Management System in compliance with UNI EN ISO 9001 and the company’s participation in Federchimica’s “Responsible Care” program.

In 1998, Forestali adopted the Environmental Management System in accordance with UNI EN ISO 14001 and EU Regulation No. 2017/1505, followed by the Occupational Health and Safety Management System under OHSAS 18001 in 2009.

From 2010 to today, the company has consolidated all its Management Systems and implemented the 231 Model.
In 2020, it published its first Sustainability Report and obtained the IATF 16949 certification for the automotive sector.

Over the past twenty years, ICF has made tremendous progress on the topic of Sustainability in all its dimensions: economic, environmental, and social.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

The ability of a company to grow in the medium to long term.
This is closely linked to competitiveness — the ability to operate in the global market with innovative products, achieving profitability that allows investments in plants, training, and fair returns on both capital and labor.

Forestali has invested heavily in facilities, research, and training, enabling it to successfully compete in international markets. This has strengthened its competitiveness compared to other industrial players in the sector, thanks to its dynamism, flexibility, and strong ethical and value-driven foundation.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Forestali is committed on multiple fronts.
One is innovation — introducing increasingly eco-friendly adhesives with low VOC content.
In the past 10 years, the share of solvent-free and water-based adhesives has more than doubled, rewarding the company’s decision to identify these low-impact products as the turning point for real environmental commitment — even challenging long-established methods and technologies.

Within the company, this commitment has translated into maintaining ISO 14001 environmental certification and the Environmental Declaration in line with the EMAS Regulation.
All energy used in production processes comes exclusively from renewable sources.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

This can be expressed in many ways — primarily by providing qualified and sustainable employment over time.
The hiring data from recent years shows significant progress for a medium-sized industrial company.

The percentage of employees with university degrees or technical diplomas has increased.
All staff members are actively involved in continuous training.
Salaries are on average higher than in other industrial sectors.
Each year, a performance-related bonus is paid, linked to indicators of company profitability, environmental quality, and workplace safety.

It is no coincidence that the chemical industry was the first to adopt sector-wide social responsibility tools such as FONCHIM, the supplementary pension fund, and FASCHIM, the health insurance fund.
All of this clearly demonstrates the central role of human resources in chemical companies.

Another aspect of social sustainability is health and safety in the workplace.
Although Forestali falls under the scope of Legislative Decree 105/2015 and is classified as a “Major Accident Hazard Establishment,” its processes can be considered safer than those of many other production sectors.

This is the result of three key factors:

a highly advanced regulatory and inspection system,

R&D focused on developing safer materials, processes, and plants,

the company’s continuous investment in safety.

The company has made sustainability one of its Guiding Principles, considering it an ethically and humanly essential value — as well as a key tool for entering new markets.
The next challenge is already underway: the circular economy.

This is a model in which the value of products, materials, and resources is kept within the economic system for as long as possible through efficiency, prevention, reuse, and recycling.
On this front too, internal working groups have been launched, supported by specialized consultants, to ensure the company is ready to seize this opportunity.

We therefore hope that what we already practice within the company will serve as motivation and inspiration for our clients, suppliers, and all stakeholders.
In this way, we can build a truly virtuous sustainability chain, ensuring that the final customer receives a product that is safe, eco-friendly, and above all, respectful of ethical values.