- The Enel Group business line is supporting Genagricola to become the first zero-impact Italian agricultural company
Rome, October 6th, 2021 - The circular economy as a lever to become increasingly sustainable: Genagricola, Italy's largest agricultural company with 8,000 cultivated hectares over 22 farms throughout Italy, has chosen Enel X to achieve its goal of becoming the first zero-impact Italian agricultural company. The Circular Economy Report produced by Enel X, the Enel Group's global business line that offers services to accelerate innovation and drive the energy transition, was the starting point for the partnership that allowed Genagricola to assess the existing circular maturity level of its activities as well as understand and identify concrete tools to begin its full decarbonization process.
"To start down a concrete sustainability path, it is necessary to start from an analysis and measurement of the present," said Nicola Tagliafierro, Sustainability Manager of Enel X. "With our proposed innovative approach, we will accompany Genagricola through the entire ecological transition process, able to fully satisfy the needs of the business, increase its competitiveness and at the same time target the achievement of environmental objectives."
"At this historical time, agriculture - and more generally the production system as a whole - has an obligation to redesign the energy supply logic to support production," said Igor Boccardo, CEO of Genagricola S.p.A.. "Genagricola, which has always focused on land protection issues, has taken up this challenge with a new impetus, finding in Enel X a partner with whom to design its own energy transition process, with a goal that is as clear as it is ambitious: to become a model for the agricultural sector."
In particular, the synergy launched with Enel X will allow Genagricola to maximize its use of energy from renewable sources through the construction of photovoltaic systems with an approximate capacity of 1.2 MW, combined with a consumption measurement and control system allowing energy to be managed and optimized to minimize waste. The conversion of the company fleet to electric vehicles has also already begun, which will be accompanied by the installation of 42 charging stations.
It emerged from the report that by improving the impact of individual activities, Genagricola will be able to raise its average level of energy circularity at all the sites analyzed from the current 19% to around 38%, through the use of renewables, better energy management and circular enablers, leading to a reduction of environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions, equal to 12,000 tons over the next 20 years solely as a result of energy-related activities.
Furthermore, as part of Genagricola's real commitment to embarking on a structured and concrete sustainability path with Enel X, the latter will measure its carbon footprint by applying the GHG Protocol to all national and international sites and, from 2022, produce a Sustainability Report to report on all Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.
The partnership is an example of international best practice included in the “Net Zero Industrial Clusters” Report published by the World Economic Forum, a case study of the transition of industrial clusters towards zero emissions. The report highlighted the importance of the integrated approach taken by Enel X, through a series of mutual solutions that aim to help reduce emissions and offer economic, environmental and social benefits, as well as the crucial role of multi-stakeholder partnerships, followed by the development and implementation of roadmaps to achieve zero emissions.
Enel X is the Enel group's global business line that offers services to accelerate innovation and drive the energy transition. A world leader in advanced energy solutions, Enel X operates demand response services, with approximately 7.4 GW of total capacity at a global level and 137 MW of installed storage capacity worldwide, as well as 232,000 charging points for electric vehicles globally1. By offering advanced solutions, including energy consumption management, financial services and e-mobility, Enel X provides each partner with an intuitive and customized ecosystem of technology platforms and consulting services, based on the principles of sustainability and the circular economy to provide people, communities, institutions and companies with an alternative model that respects the environment and integrates technological innovation into daily life. Every Enel X solution has the power to make the transition towards a low-carbon, electric and digital economy an affordable option for everyone, so we can build a more sustainable and efficient world together.
1 Public and private charging points, including includes interoperability points.
Genagricola
Genagricola was founded in 1851, with Assicurazioni Generali's investment in the agricultural sector through the acquisition of the Ca 'Corniani estate. The reclamation of this vast swamp and malaria ridden area of 1,700 hectares of land, near Caorle, in the province of Venice, is still the largest and most extensive project of its kind to have been carried out in Italy by a private entity.
Today Genagricola Spa, Generali Italia's agri-food holding company, is Italy's largest agricultural company with 22 farms in Italy and 3 abroad, with a total of 15,000 cultivated hectares. It is a leader in five areas including livestock and arable farming, energy production from renewable sources, viticulture and forestation.