PADANA TUBI PRESENTS ITS FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

Social welfare, environmental sustainability, trust and community involvement are the growth drivers that underpin the Company’s business and activities

Guastalla (RE), October 25, 2022

Padana Tubi & Profilati Acciaio S.p.A., a family-owned company active in the production of steel tubes, announces the publication of its first Sustainability Report, an expression of transparency and social responsibility through which to disclose its activities to its stakeholders.

The Sustainability Report 2021, issued with the assistance of V-Finance (ESG Advisor) and drafted in compliance with the GRI – Sustainability Reporting Standards, in accordance with the “Referenced” reporting option, saw the involvement of Padana Tubi in a process of increasing awareness and identification of its stakeholders and of the material issues that determine its reporting boundaries.

The Alfieri family states: ”The publication of our first Sustainability Report aims to illustrate the history, values, relations and results that have characterised Padana Tubi’s daily life for more than fifty years and to chart our path for the future, shared for the first time with our stakeholders. The last two years, marked by a crisis at first health-related and now economic and political in nature, have brought to the fore the importance of specific issues and values, stimulating a strong acceleration of the reflections already under way on questions of environmental, social and corporate governance sustainability. In this context, Padana Tubi aims to pursue a growing and solid economic performance – for the first time turnover is over €1 billion – along with greater awareness of the irreplaceable value of people, their training and development, as well as stakeholder relations and the environment. Since 2020 we have been purchasing green energy exclusively from renewable sources. Now, however, we are expanding the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofed areas of our premises in order to increase our capacity to self-generate renewable electricity. The strongest drivers of continuous improvement come from our customers and suppliers, to whom we are grateful for the trust and continuous support they renew each and every day, and with whom we are bound by a deep commitment of loyalty and transparency”.

The non-financial reporting process also saw the active involvement of top management, who worked to identify issues relevant to the steel industry in general and to the Company in particular, taking into account potential impacts, the contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and priorities for action.

Environmental protection

Padana Tubi carries out its activities with the need to protect the environment in mind, striving to reduce its impacts and to use natural resources in a sustainable way, aware that today the steel industry also plays an important role in reducing CO₂ emissions and in combating climate change.

In particular, in 2021 the Company continued the process of accounting for and monitoring its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), in order to identify possible strategies and implement actions to reduce them. Padana Tubi uses 100% clean electricity from renewable energy sources that it purchases from the South Tyrolean supplier Alperia. In addition, energy self-generated from photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the Company’s neighbouring warehouse facilities is used in some plants. The total amount of energy generated by photovoltaic panels in 2021 was 2,882 GJ.

The value of people

For Padana Tubi, human resources represent an indispensable and precious value for the Company’s development. In its personnel management, the Company promotes interventions and projects aimed at providing training and professional development in full compliance with the law, with particular reference to issues related to occupational health and safety. On its 50^th anniversary, Padana Tubi promoted two important health and welfare initiatives for employees: comprehensive cardiology screening and the “Recommencing, Together” project. To help our staff cope with the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the latter initiative saw the distribution of shopping vouchers worth a total of €500 for each worker to be spent at local business outlets.

Although the gender composition at Padana Tubi is 92.5% male and 7.5 % female, a historical focus on women’s employment allows the Company to distance itself by more than two percentage points from its main competitors, who employ 96% men and 4% women. In addition, the growth of our organisational structure saw a 4% increase in staff over the previous year, with the number of employees now totalling 715 .

The Company believes that professional development is central to fostering business development, guaranteeing quality and ensuring that work is carried out in accordance with the highest principles of safety. For this reason, Padana Tubi provided some 6,318.5 hours of training in 2021 (+55.6% compared to 2020). The Company has implemented an employee performance appraisal process that allows it to analyse the work of its staff, with a view to achieving continuous improvement and growth. These figures represent the importance of development, enhancement and retention of human capital.

For years, Padana Tubi has been committed to supporting various associations and entities in the local area with financial donations, the adoption of policies and practices that promote better social and environmental performance in the Company, partnerships with charitable organisations, and support for targeted scientific research projects. In particular, the Company is among the financing entities for the restoration of the Santuario della Beata Vergine della Porta in Guastalla and for the recovery and renovation of the Episcopal Seminary of Reggio Emilia overseen by the newly-established Committee of the “Reggio Città Universitaria”, which will become the site of a new campus of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The focus on the enhancement of the local area and the social development of the community is confirmed by the increasing use of economic resources to finance activities: €733,150 in 2021 vs €419,972 in 2020.

Responsible governance

In order to guarantee the utmost fairness in the conduct of business and corporate activities, in 2015 the Company adopted the Organisational, Management and Control Model 231and the Code of Ethics. It also has a Supervisory Body. Furthermore, to ensure ethical conduct and pursue compliance with the principles of lawfulness, correctness and transparency, these documents are periodically updated and approved by the Board of Directors, incorporating new offences and thus being constantly brought in line with changes in the regulatory framework.

During 2021, the certified systems for quality, health and safety and environmental management, namely ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001, were further implemented and enriched, and the process was started for ISO 14064 certification (Corporate Carbon Footprint, in fact achieved in the second half of 2022), which allows the organisation to quantify its GHG emissions in order to implement Carbon Management policies.

Aware of the strategic importance of the supply chain from which it continuously receives strong stimuli, Padana Tubi considers it crucial to select stable, reliable and ethically responsible partners. In particular, the choice of suppliers is carefully evaluated in order to verify that all workplace health and safety requirements are met, as well as all wage, social welfare and tax obligations. Suppliers are also asked to adhere to the principles expressed in Padana Tubi’s Code of Ethics.

Economic sustainability

The economic value distributed to the various stakeholders in 2021 amounted to €1.1 billion, 87% of the total value generated amounting to €1.2 billion, an increase of 61% compared to the previous year.

In addition, Padana Tubi increased its overall investments in operating plants by 7.6% . In particular, revamps will allow the expansion of the range on existing lines with significant quality improvements and the achievement of ever higher health and safety standards.

Padana Tubi & Profilati Acciaio S.p.A., a family business established in 1970 in Guastalla by the Alfieri family, operates in the production of welded tubes for carbon steel structural works. Growing success and market affirmation have encouraged the Company to engage also in the production of stainless steel tubes, making it the European leader in these fields, with over 800,000 tonnes of steel tubes produced and sold each year. The Company’s business model is divided into three areas of production: (i) black and galvanised carbon steel tubes and profiles; (ii) stainless steel tubes and profiles; (iii) cut-to-length carbon steel plates. Padana Tubi’s production plants and sales organisation are entirely located in the Company’s home territory. This set-up, decidedly atypical in a world increasingly oriented towards delocalisation, clearly shows the depth of the roots that bind Padana Tubi to the Emilia region and which at the same time allow the Company to project itself onto international markets, towards the more than 60 countries served by its sales network. In 2021, Padana Tubi posted a turnover of €1.2 billion (+66% compared to 2020), with approximately 25% of sales in Italy and 75% in foreign countries, mainly European.