MAXIMUM RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

GREEN ENERGY

Since 2011 COFRA has been producing green energy thanks to a photovoltaic system with a total nominal power of 1,3 MW.
Its total area is about 10.000 m², which considerably exceeds the area of an entire football pitch for international matches. The photovoltaic system covers the 60% of the company’s annual energy demand, that is equal to the annual electrical energy demand of about 500 families (3.000 kWh). We avoid the emission in the atmosphere of more than 800 annual tons of CO₂ and about 16.000 t in twenty years.

RECOVERY OF PRODUCTION WASTES

WASTES OF THE SOLE PRODUCTION PROCESS
Since the 80s COFRA has recycled the waste of thermoplastic materials used for the production of soles.
In 1995 COFRA started a plant that allowed to reuse production wastes (thermosetting materials included) to obtain one of the raw materials used to produce our soles. This plant is still among the very few across Europe and has achieved the excellent objective of avoiding the emission of more than 2,000 tonnes of polyurethane waste with very slow biodegradable features.
Starting from 2012, a new activity of recovery and reuse of production wastes of soles has begun. In collaboration with partners and suppliers who have expressed sensibility for the environmental issue, after a phase of feasibility study and experimentation, this recovery activity has now been fully implemented.
An important chemical-physical-technological development has led to the creation of a new formulation of materials for soles, which not only uses the total recovery of the sole material wastes, but it also allows the re-use of a good amount of thermosetting material, by nature, much less suitable to be recovered. This process has been naturally entered into the production processes granting a constant recovery of an increasing quantity of wastes deriving from the injection of soles.

PVC WASTES OF PVC BOOT INJECTION PROCESS
COFRA recovers 100% of PVC production wastes of its boots.

NON - TOXIC REMOVAL AGENTS AND GREEN PRODUCTS FOR THE CLEANING OF THE MOULDS

Polyurethane sole moulding requires the use of release agents: for several years COFRA has removed solvents that are toxic and dangerous for man and the environment.
At the end of the injection process, the moulds require a cleaning phase: COFRA has initially replaced chemical products with physical means, and then has switched tobicarbonate, totally “green”.

COFRA IS CONSTANTLY ENGAGED IN:

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
The company respects the rights of each single person, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

RESPECT FOR PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at work, adopted in 1998, expresses governments, employers and workers’ commitment to support the basic human values that are vital to our social and economic life. The Declaration covers four areas:
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining:
- The company respects workers’ rights to form and join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively.
- The company is in compliance with laws and industrial standards with reference to working hours.
The elimination of forced and compulsory labour:
- The company does not use forced labour.
The elimination of child labour:
- The company respects the rights of children to receive an education and does not carry out child labour and does not tolerate the use of it. It is considered as child labour any work performed by a person below the age of 15 – unless local laws do not provide for higher minimum age and /or compulsory education.
The elimination of discrimination in the workplace:
- The company grants equal opportunities for its employees and does not discriminate them on race, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation or civil status.

RESPECT FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACES
The company provides a safe working environment, in compliance with laws and national and/or community regulations. The company commits to adopt all preventive and/or necessary measures to make healthy and safe the workplaces, in order to avoid or minimize the exposure of workers to all risks connected to work, reducing the risk of injuries/incidents and the risk of contracting an occupational disease. The company undertakes also to:
1. assign tasks to workers, to take into account their abilities and conditions in relation to their health and safety;
2. instruct, inform, and train its workers constantly taking into account the risks connected to work;
3. provide its workers with suitable CPE (Collective Protective Equipment) and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment);
4. submit its workers to health surveillance in compliance with laws in force;
5. name in advance the workers in charge with implementation of fire prevention measures and fire –fighting, evacuation of workplaces in case of serious and immediate danger, rescue, first aid and ,in any case, of emergency management;
6. require its workers the respect of laws in force, as well as of company regulations on safety and hygiene measures at work and both the use of collective protective equipment and personal protective equipment which are made available to them;
7. take suitable measures to avoid that adopted technical regulations may cause risks to the health of population or may spoil external environment, by periodically verifying the constant absence of risk;
8. update the preventive measures in relation to organizational and productive changes which are relevant to health and safety at work, or in relation to development degree of the prevention and protective technique.

RESPECT FOR ENVIRONMENT
The company tries to minimize the risks against environment and to lead to better environmental performance by promoting the respect for all Natural Resources and by improving environmental conditions where it is placed, in a dynamic and continuous way.
In order to face such responsibility and to obtain relevant goals, the company intends to:
1. Respect laws and reference regulations constantly, and other commitments undersigned by the company, directly related to environmental aspects of its activities;
2. Maintain an organizational structure conscious of environmental problems, so that through a necessary technical expertise, and following continuous improvement principles, the company forces itself to:
- optimize plants and current technologies in order to save energy resources in the context of all our activities;
- reduce energy consumption and to commit itself to the reduction of global warming;
- take into account the aspect of environmental protection, in the case of acquisition of new technologies and processes;
This is made by using the best available technologies;
3. Promote by informing, training and instructing its employees on environmental awareness because company environmental protection is possible only if all employees, at every level, are aware;
4. Provide proofs and constantly control environmental impacts produced by the company. This information has to be reported during an open dialogue with the Authorities;
5. Discuss previously about investments and new processes with competent authorities to define preventive measures against possible sources of pollution;
6. Reduce as much as possible potential hazards with a risk management system, taking into account the importance of preventing consequences of possible accidents for people and environment;
7. Inform regularly customers, suppliers, and involved companies, as well as anyone interested in their activities to protect the environments;
8. Encourage suppliers to adopt and achieve acceptable environmental standards;
9. Force itself to produce clean energy, thus avoiding the emission of CO₂ in the atmosphere;
10. Avoid the release of their waste in landfills by encouraging the recovery and reuse.

RESPECT FOR REACH REGULATION
The company respects Reach regulation (CE) number 1907/2006 in force since the 1st of June 2007, by assuring the products used and provided to Cofra (chemicals and not depending on supplier):
- Do not contain within them SVCH (Substance of Very High Concern);
- Do not contain substances that are included in annex XIV of the Reach Regulations;
- Do not contain substances that are included in the Candidate List always updated;
- If they contain substances subjected to restriction (enclosure XVII of REACH) and that the related use restrictions are respected.

In addition, if an article contains a SVHC substance (Substance of Very High Concern) or included in the Candidate List in concentrations higher than 0,1% weight/weight, sufficient information with the name of the substance and useful instructions for safe use of the article are provided (cfr. art.59.1 of REACH).

Cofra S.r.l