Spanish KBB surfaces specialist Cosentino has released its 2022 Sustainability Report outlining its key environmental achievements in the past year.
Issued as part of the company’s compliance with the Global Reporting Initiative, the document highlights the company’s milestones and achievements in the fields of social, environmental and good governance (ESG).
The report reveals that in 2022 alone, Cosentino invested more than €37 million (£31.6m) in environmental assets.
Among the notable milestones were the use of 99% reused water and zero water discharge by recirculating 80,000 cubic metres of water a day, and the use of 100% renewable energy.
It also highlighted the development of sustainable products such as Dekton, which is said to be carbon-neutral for its entire life cycle, and the HybriQ technology that has enabled the reformulation of Silestone – a high-performance blend of premium minerals, quartz, and recycled materials produced through a more sustainable manufacturing process, with 99% recycled water and 100% electric energy from renewable sources.
Other sustainability milestones included the reduction in its carbon footprint of 6% compared with 2021 and 12.8% compared with 2018. This reduction encompasses all areas from the sourcing of raw materials to the end-of-life of the products (Scopes 1, 2 and 3). The report adds that 86% of Cosentino’s carbon footprint is attributable to indirect emissions from its value chain (Scope 3).
In terms of materials reuse, Cosentino said that it recovered almost 16% of all solid waste generated in its industrial park in Cantoria. The consumption of recycled raw materials used in the manufacture of Silestone and Dekton accounted for 7.6% of the total consumption of all raw materials.
Also in 2022, the company implemented an industrial energy model based on renewable sources and water resource management. To help it towards its goal, Cosentino has activated the largest ground-based self-consumption [within the company’s facilities] photovoltaic plant in Spain. It is capable of producing a peak power of 20MW and has a capacity of 34GW/h a year, which is around 15% of the company’s annual electricity consumption.
Cosentino intends to add solar panels on the roofs of its Almeira factories this year. In addition, it has also started building its own wastewater reclamation plant.
Moving on to the ‘S’ of ESG, the company created 425 new jobs globally, bringing the total workforce to 5,851 at the end of 2022. It also promoted its dual vocational training programmes.
Commenting on the report, Grupo Cosentino chairman Francisco Martínez-Cosentino said: “I must also highlight the significant advancements that have come to my attention throughout the company in matters of sustainability awareness in all our actions: what we produce, how we produce it, how we deliver it to the market.
“As a result of these advancements, we have been recognised with the important CDP-score B certification, achieved by very few businesses in our industry. It is related to decarbonisation targets that play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change, a commitment with which our company is fully aligned. After summer of 2022, we began the connection of our solar photovoltaic plan to the electricity grid of the industrial estate of Cosentino in Cantoria/Almería.
“We are ensuring, with actual facts, that we become a more sustainable company able to contribute towards making our world more habitable for us and for future generations. And this will be our roadmap to be strictly followed from now on.”