• cerca

Glossary

The ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) are standards developed by EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) on behalf of the European Commission to support the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The ESRS provide a regulatory framework that guides companies in preparing sustainability reports that are clear, comparable, and reliable, in line with the needs of various stakeholders.

Key features

  1. Reporting areas

    1. Environmental: Climate change, water resources, biodiversity, pollution, and resource use.

    2. Social: Human rights, working conditions, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

    3. Governance: Ethical practices, anti-corruption, management of sustainability-related risks.

  2. Materiality

  3. The ESRS are based on a 'double materiality' approach:

    1. Financial materiality: How sustainability issues affect the company’s financial results.

    2. Impact materiality: How the company’s activities impact the environment, people, and society.

  4. Integration with other standards

  5. The ESRS are consistent with international frameworks such as GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) principles.

Impatti, Rischi e Opportunità (IRO) materiali si riferiscono agli aspetti chiave legati alla sostenibilità che un'organizzazione deve considerare nella sua strategia e nei suoi processi decisionali.

  • Impatti materiali: Gli effetti significativi che le attività di un’organizzazione hanno sull’ambiente, sulla società o sull’economia, sia positivi che negativi. Questi possono includere emissioni di gas serra, consumo di risorse, o contributi al benessere delle comunità locali.

  • Rischi materiali: Le potenziali minacce derivanti da questioni di sostenibilità che potrebbero influenzare negativamente le operazioni, la reputazione, o la situazione finanziaria di un’organizzazione. Ad esempio, rischi legati al cambiamento climatico, alla carenza di risorse o alla non conformità normativa.

  • Opportunità materiali Le possibilità di creare valore o vantaggi competitivi sfruttando aspetti legati alla sostenibilità, come l’adozione di tecnologie a basse emissioni, la creazione di prodotti sostenibili o l’accesso a nuovi mercati.

La materialità di IRO si basa sull'approccio della doppia materialità: valuta sia l'impatto dell’organizzazione sul contesto esterno (materialità di impatto), sia come le dinamiche esterne possono influenzare l’organizzazione stessa (materialità finanziaria).

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and refers to the three main areas used to assess an organization’s sustainability and ethical impact, particularly in the context of responsible investments and corporate strategies.

  1. Environmental

    1. Impacts on the natural environment (CO₂ emissions, energy consumption, water management, waste reduction, use of renewable energy, biodiversity protection, and climate change management).

  2. Social

    1. Impacts on people and communities (working conditions, human rights, gender equality, diversity and inclusion, employee relations, health and safety, community impact, and consumer protection).

  3. Governance (Governance)

    1. Management practices and internal decision-making structures (transparency, business ethics, board composition, executive remuneration, risk management, anti-corruption, and regulatory compliance).

Concrete is a material composed mainly of cement, aggregates (such as sand, gravel, or crushed stone), and water. It is widely used in construction and civil engineering for its strength, durability, and versatility, and its production requires careful attention to the correct proportion and mixing of ingredients. For CIFA, concrete represents the core business and the foundation on which the company builds its innovative and reliable solutions.

Shotcrete (also known as sprayed concrete) technology consists of spraying, through a nozzle, a cementitious mixture with accelerating additives. These allow the mix to instantly adhere to the surface upon application, ensuring a compact and homogeneous mass. For this reason, shotcrete is used in infrastructures such as tunnels and rock wall stabilization.

The balance between greenhouse gas emissions generated and those reduced or absorbed. Carbon neutrality is the final outcome of a process involving the quantification, reduction, and offsetting of CO2 emissions generated by products, services, organizations, events, etc.

The range of activities carried out by entities upstream of the organization that provide products or services used in developing the organization’s own products or services.

The range of activities carried out by entities upstream of the organization that provide products or services used in developing the organization’s own products or services.

A contractor is a private company engaged in large-scale projects, responsible for managing the entire process of developing and executing works on behalf of the final client.

The responsibility that a company or any other economic entity demonstrates towards the community and the environment, understood also as the social context in which it operates.

Benzene, acetone, toluene, styrene” are used as solvents, dispersants, viscosity modifiers, plasticizers, preservatives, or cleaning agents in many industrial activities (such as the production of dyes, paints, synthetic resins, plastics, pharmaceuticals, detergents, insecticides, artificial fibers, and explosives). Being “organic,” VOCs are based on carbon chemistry (organic chemistry) and are “volatile,” meaning they tend to pass into the vapor phase.

A dealer is a reseller of the company’s products, i.e., a company responsible for distributing and marketing CIFA products in different countries and regions worldwide, in the construction and concrete sectors.

See Materiality.

Durability, together with safety, represents a fundamental pillar of CIFA’s corporate philosophy. It is generally defined as the ability of products to maintain their performance and integrity over the long term, despite tough operating conditions and daily wear. Focusing on durability means extending product life starting from design, by selecting resistant materials and considering recovery at the end of life.

The DVR is regulated by Legislative Decree 81/2008, also known as the Consolidated Law on Workplace Safety. All companies, regardless of their activity, number of employees, or level of risk, are required to prepare a DVR. Its main purpose is to assess risks present in the workplace environment and to indicate the criteria for these assessments, along with prevention and protection measures (including personal protective equipment) to reduce risks to acceptable levels, in order to safeguard worker health and safety. In essence, the DVR provides a behavioral model for risk assessment and the protection of individual, collective, and workplace safety.

The Documento Unico di Valutazione dei Rischi da Interferenza, also regulated by Legislative Decree 81/2008, is required when two or more companies collaborate in a specific work activity.
The DUVRI must be prepared in coordination among the parties involved, defining the risks each company brings into the cooperation project. Controlling these risks is essential to ensure safety when multiple parties are engaged in the same activity.

A technical methodology for eco-friendly design aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of a product, service, or production process.
Based on life-cycle analysis, it considers all environmental relations and impacts throughout the subject’s entire life cycle. In short, it means evaluating production, construction, and distribution processes from a sustainability perspective to improve environmental performance.

A methodology used to calculate the environmental footprint of a company, product, or service, by analyzing all life cycle phases “from cradle to grave”—from raw material sourcing, transformation processes, transport, and distribution, to use/consumption and disposal. Each phase’s environmental impact is calculated (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, acidification), providing a complete view of the subject’s environmental performance.

In sustainability reporting, materiality plays a central role in identifying the information that must be disclosed because it is most relevant and significant to understanding—and fully evaluating—how a company is (or is not) able to generate value over time (not only economic). Impact materiality: Refers to sustainability issues that identify the most significant impacts generated, directly or indirectly, on people and/or the environment by an organization, in the short, medium, or long term (GRI Standards approach). Double materiality (required by the CSRD): Combines impact materiality with financial materiality, which identifies sustainability issues that are causing or could cause significant financial effects on the organization. This includes all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that may influence the company’s economic and financial performance positively or negatively, creating or destroying corporate value.

Secondary raw materials are obtained from production waste and end-of-life products sent to recovery facilities. Under the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), they are materials and products that can be reused, recycled, or restored as raw materials. In a circular economy, secondary raw materials are generated and then marketed much like primary raw materials from extraction activities. This reduces waste generation and strengthens supply security in the EU, while reducing pressure on natural resource extraction.

Modularity refers to the ability of a system to be divided into independent, interchangeable parts (modules) that can be replaced, upgraded, or reorganized without redesigning the entire system. This increases flexibility, maintainability, and scalability. For CIFA, modularity means rethinking products to identify opportunities for sharing components and sub-components, optimizing spare parts management and after-sales service, increasing production efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing product durability.

Generally refers to a “party with an interest,” i.e., an individual or entity affected by or influencing a process or outcome. Stakeholders not only have an interest but can also support or hinder the realization of the process in which they are involved.

Whistleblowing is the voluntary disclosure by an individual of misconduct or irregularities committed within an organization, of which they became aware in the course of their duties. Internal whistleblowing refers to reports made by employees through internal reporting channels. These tools are designed to provide a communication channel for anyone aware of unlawful or unethical acts within the organization.