The Climate Positive Project

Levico Acque aims to leave the world better than it found it.

To achieve this result, Levico decided to become a Climate Positive company: a company that takes out of the atmosphere more CO2 than it emits, even considering its future growth.

Levico wants to demonstrate that a new business model – a model that places people and environment at the centre – is possible.

To do that, Levico embarked on a path, a non-easy and demanding path that requires intense dedication and several years of hard work In Levico, there is a strong awareness that sustainability is a complex concept and its realization is a challenge that requires a serious and long-term strategy. This is the reason why Levico knows that there is still work to do, but is also convinced that each small step, each tiny achievement in this sense represents something to be proud of.

But how can a company become Climate Positive?

The answer is MARC: an approach that consists in Measuring the impacts, Avoiding them whenever possible; considering the climate-related Risks for the own activities; and, lastly, supporting projects that generate positive impacts to Communicate the entire story.

MEASURE

From 2012 Levico measures its environmental footprint: first with the BNeutral standard (organization footprint approach) and then, from 2018, widening the scope of the analysis by adopting theLife Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to consider, in addition to CO2 emissions,_{all the other impacts such as water resources use, PM emissions, etc.} This project led to the obtaining of theEnvironmental Product Declaration (EPD).

Today, Levico knows that to produce and deliver bottled water it emits 7,000 tons of CO2, equal to the annual emissions of 1,000 Italian citizens.

AVOID

Levico Acque has always solely and exclusively produced water in returnable glass bottles. . Despite the pressure of the market that, especially in the past, demanded plastic bottles, Levico decided to forgo its own market expansion to keep delivering in our houses and restaurants a tangible demonstration of respect for nature.

Moreover, from 2012 Levico implemented the following activities to avoid its impacts:

Total reduction of plastic use (now present only in the strapping of the cap;
New design of the bottle to reduce wear and triple, from 10 to 30, the number of times the bottle can be reused without ending up in the landfill. Each scratch on a Levico’s glass bottle is one less scratch on our planet; Each scratch on a Levico’s glass bottle is one less scratch on our planet;
Installation of photovoltaic planton 100% of the available roof of the headquarter;
Purchase exclusively of energy from renewable sources to power its plants;
Insulation and energy efficiency in the headquarter;
Substitution of all the light bulbs withlow-energy LED;
Substitution of obsolete machineries with high energy saving machineries;
Systemic recycling of own waste and preference for materials with high percentages of recycled materials;
Reuse of items that, even if aged, can still perform their function to reduce additional resource use (e.g. the boxes used for the delivery of Levico’s Water are up to 30 years old).

In the following lines the actions – planned with 2030 and approved by the Board of Levico Acque – to further reduce the company’s impacts are presented:

Selection of truck drivers and partners for delivery using EURO6 vehicles or vehicles with the best environmental standards; moreover, particular attention will be paid to the human aspect, favouring companies and suppliers that guarantee an adequate treatment to their employees;
Sustainable home-to-work mobility of Levico’ staff by informing and incentivizing employees to go to work walking, biking, by train, with car-pooling, car-sharing or with cars that use less polluting fuels (LPG, methane, electric cars, etc.);
Informing and favouring sustainable mobility in office-clients-suppliers transfers;
Providing the merchant fleet withlow-impact vehicles (LPG, methane, electric cars);
Promoting among restaurateurs the purchase of responsible (recycled or from renewable sources) materials;
Adoption of a smart working policy (work from home) to reduce home-to-work transfers;
Purchase exclusively of FSC^®–certified (FSC-N003120) paper material for packaging, labels and printed materials;
Working with suppliers to help them to convert their power plants and direct energy purchase towards renewable energy sources;
Promotion among the staff of environmental good practices(e.g. recycling, environmental volunteering, etc.)
• Purchase of 100% of the materials from renewable sources or recycled material.

Savings, reuse, recycling, Levico Acque has always been active and sensitive to behaviours that increase circular economy, not only within its own production cycle but also engaging with suppliers and clients.

RISK

The three main risks and the related mitigation strategies identified are:

Damages from extreme weather evens to production plants (floods, strong wind, etc.). The headquarter is not located in an area subjected to hydrogeological risk and the recent renovation of the building made it resistant to strong winds;
Limitations to movement of goods in urban areas due to limits in PM10 and CO2 emission from transports. This risk will be addressed by incentivizing and selecting truck drivers with the highest environmental standards;
Damage to pumping systems near water springs caused by extreme weather events and/or poor forest management. Levico Acque takes care of the forests around Levico springs and works with their public and private owners to improve their management and promote the FSC^®certification.

COMMUNICATE

Levico Acque has been supporting projects that protect existing forests and create new ones since 2012.

In this regard, Levico Acque collaborates with WOWnature, an Etifor project (a spin-off of the University of Padua), to avoid carbon dioxide and remove it from the atmosphere, thus generating a positive climate impact.

The number of ongoing projects allows Levico Acque to balance the amount of CO2 that cannot be avoided for technological reasons.

Levico Acque supports the following projects:

Venice: Blue Valley promotion of responsible management of the fishing valleys in the Venetian Lagoon;
Alps and Dolomites: promotion of responsible forest management in compliance with FSC^® standards and recovery of the forests hit by the VAIA windstorm near Brennero and Meltina (Alto Adige), Val di Fiemme, Bosco Pizzotto and Arte Sella (Valsugana);
Padua: planting and maintenance of new urban forests with 1,000 trees;
Provinces of Venice and Padua: Parco Fiume Brenta, forest management improvement along river Brenta;
Florence and Tuscany: protection of forests from fire at Unione Comuni della Valdarno e Valdisieve (Union of Municipalities of Valdarno and Valdisieve);
Sicily: planting a new food forest in Catania.

Discover all of Levico Acque’s forestry projects on: https://www.wownature.eu/levico-acque/

All forestry projects supported by Levico Acque FSC^® certified. If they are not, Levico Acque will help them achieve the certification.

Levico Acque supports forest owners and managers that carry out activities aiming at removing and storing CO2, such as:

Adoption of forest management plans approved by the competent regions
FSC^® certification of forests
Cleaning of forests
Thinning
Planting of local species (reforestation and enrichment)
Maintenance of paths
Maintenance of firebreaks to reduce fire risk
Maintenance and realization of environmental engineering projects to reduce landslides and avalanches risk
Installation of information panels for each project area
Meetings for the consultation of forests’ stakeholders and for resolution of social problems