Environmental Indicators
Circular Economy
Actions
→ In 2020, through our subsidiary ‘Soluciones Ambientales CoMA’, we are in our second year of operating our own non-hazardous waste treatment and recovery plant, which has allowed us to consolidate a new, more efficient waste management system, aimed at the future recovery of all non-hazardous waste generated in the production process.
→ Regarding the management of hazardous waste, we continue to research waste management alternatives that prioritise recovery over disposal, as well as new commercial products that progressively replace the hazardous products used in production with non-hazardous ones.
→ In 2020 we built new, clean areas in the main factories within the industrial park, improving waste segregation, as well as the efficiency of the factory’s ‘door to door’ collection service and the way this process is viewed.
Our performance: Cantoria Industrial Park (Almería, Spain)
Actions
→ We managed around 400,000 tons of waste.
→ We recovered 45% of the waste generated.
→ We increased the waste recovery rate by 37% compared to 2019.
→ Non-hazardous waste: 96% is directly reused within the production chain to make new products, thus strengthening the circular economy as a fundamental point in our waste management strategy.
→ Hazardous waste: The total weight of hazardous waste transported was more than 4,000 tons, of which 2,300 have been recovered. The recovery rate represents 56% of waste management.
Our performance: Fábrica de Latina Vitória (Brazil)
Actions
→ We maintain the recovery rate above 25% of the total.
→ Non-Hazardous Waste: 99% represents recovery at no cost to the company, reaching 5,570 tons of the recovered materials.
→ Among the notable initiatives in 2020, we have worked to increase the recovery of waste (plastic, wood and packaging) instead of its disposal and to find solutions in the process that allow the amount generated to be reduced. These include the use of wood in place of concrete slabs in the bases of the transport trolley blocks.
Water Resources
The historical meaning of belonging to the Comarca del Almanzora (Almería, Spain) is that the activity of the Cosentino industrial park is located in an area which is classified climatologically as a Mediterranean sub-desert, characterised by its scarcity of water and long periods without rain. All this means that Cosentino is committed to developing actions that promote the reuse of water, and constant improvement in the efficiency of water usage in all production processes.
Regarding the sustainable water usage policy, the company continues to maximise its efficient use in guaranteed high-quality productive processes thanks to the use of the best available technology. As a result, in 2021 water consumption per m2 produced has been reduced by 8%. Furthermore, the Cosentino Group treats more than 80.000 m³ every day to achieve ‘Zero Waste Water’.
In this sense, Cosentino practices a policy of using recycled water in the production process, which allows us to be increasingly efficient in our use of available water. In 2020, we increased our recycling levels by 80% compared to 2019. As well as recycled water in the industrial process, some of our treated water is used for irrigating the various green spaces of the Cantoria Industrial Park (Almería, Spain).
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is a priority target for Cosentino, reducing energy consumption in the production process and in general group activity by optimising processes. In doing so, the company is driving new projects and investments, promoting technologies with a smaller environmental impact and working towards a low-carbon economy.
Below are the data relating to the Cantoria Industrial Park:
Energy consumption 2020 (kWh)
100% of our electricity needs in the Cantoria Industrial Park, both for products and services, are covered through renewable energy sources with certified origin.
Although we have reduced our electricity consumption during 2020, we have increased our energy intensity by 30% due to electricity consumption per m2 produced from 2019 to 2020. This is mainly due to the decline in production during 2020 caused by the COVID situation.
Actions taken to improve energy efficiency:
→ Replacement of machinery with the best available technology, decreasing the consumption of raw materials, and reworking of the calibration and polishing optimisation processes.
→ The heat recovery system project at the Dekton® plant to reduce gas consumption has been implemented, with an estimated saving of 12.45 GWh/year.
→ Development of multidisciplinary teams at all plants to study the implementation of new improvement actions in energy matters.
Emissions:
Greenhouse gas emissions
To make our activity more sustainable, we strive for maximum efficiency in the use of resources and we promote clean technologies to reduce our environmental impact. We are moving forward with an international momentum towards the full transition to a low-carbon economy, promoting energy efficiency, emissions reduction and sustainable mobility.
For the third year in a row, we have calculated our Organisational Carbon Footprint in accordance with the new version of the UNE-EN ISO 14064- 1:2019 Standard.
An important new feature is that the naming of the types of emissions has been changed, eliminating the former Scope 1, 2 and 3 and going into more detail on the types of indirect emissions.
The main outcomes below, as well as the calculation methodology, have been verified externally.
Indirect emissions account for 87% of our Organisational Carbon Footprint. In other words, those emissions which are not directly related to our production processes, but to the different areas and processes of our value chain, such as indirect emissions derived from energy generation, production and transport of the raw materials consumed, distribution of end products, transport and final management of waste outside our facilities, business trips, etc.
Specifically, 63% of our carbon footprint comes from indirect emissions related to the production of the raw materials consumed. That is why we are actively working with our most critical suppliers in terms of carbon footprint to collaborate on measuring and reducing their carbon footprint.
So, if an objective and quantified comparison is made from the 2018 versus 2019 Footprint indicators, a reduction in terms of production and consumption of raw materials can be observed:
This reduction has been made possible in part, by actions such as improvements related to greater energy efficiency in our production processes, as well as increased productivity through continuous improvement. During 2020, we have continued to work on various improvement projects, such as the use of heat from Dekton® furnaces, which has led to a reduction in natural gas consumption.
In 2020, the Scope 1 emissions associated with the production of Dekton® are:
Our total direct CO2 equivalent emissions have been reduced to 24,266 tons in 2020 compared to 2019, which is 28% less than last year. This situation is caused by the unusual year we have experienced due to the existing health crisis, in which production has been below normal for some months. In addition, looking at the indicators, there is a slight increase due to the fact that the intermittent stoppages and restarts of production activity lead to a reduction in its energy efficiency, which has a negative impact on net CO2 emissions.