OUR LAND, OUR COMMITMENT
Gruppo Carli’s First Sustainability Report
At Gruppo Carli, sustainability is part of our identity—an enduring value system rooted in respect for the land, nature, and people, upheld for four generations.
Alfalfa brings together environmental, agronomic, and economic interests, making it a key crop for the development of future agroecosystems. It represents an important asset for enhancing agricultural activity, capable of increasing sustainability across the entire food supply chain.
OUR NATURAL STRATEGY
VALUE FOR ENVIRONMENT
The environmental value of alfalfa is its most noble aspect. Its characteristic of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen and transferring it to the ground significantly reduces the need for nitrogen chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, its ability to fix carbon dioxide in the ground and in roots help mitigate the greenhouse effect.
By virtue of its importance for the entire agri-food supply chain, alfalfa has been the subject of numerous research projects aimed at quantifying environmental impacts throughout its life cycle, from sowing in the field through to its use in livestock rations.
The latest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of alfalfa, carried out by the Italian Dried Forage Association (AIFE), in collaboration with the University of Bologna, led to the achievement of ISO:14040 certification.
Yet another aspect of profound environmental interest is that the cultivation of alfalfa in Italy does not require irrigation from groundwater.
VALUE FOR PEOPLE
Approximately 230 employees work in the companies of our group, in addition to the thousands of farmers and workers of local businesses work with us. Our operating facilities, precisely due to the nature of our work, are located far from urban centres, in rural areas often at risk of depopulation and unemployment. Whether it is in the hills of the Romagna countryside, home of our San Leo facility, or in the countryside of the Tiber Valley, where we have our Ponzano Romano facility, land operations, processing, forage transformation, technical support, raw materials supplies and transport are carried out by local people, ensuring the conditions for maintaining employment and contrasting depopulation.
VALUE FOR TERRITORY
The abandoning of agricultural lands or their lack of maintenance can lead to irreversible agronomic-environmental damage, such as soil erosion, landslide phenomena and soil fertility loss, with negative consequences on different levels, from the environmental through to economic and social spheres. In addition, the cultivation of organic alfalfa helps preserve biodiversity and keep the habitats of numerous animal and vegetable species intact. In recent decades, our presence has encouraged the cultivation of alfalfa across the territory, minimizing the abandoning of land, especially in hilly areas, and promoting a sustainable crop par excellence.
