Every year on April 22nd, Earth Day brings people together around the globe in a shared commitment to the environment. Founded in 1970 in response to the growing need for environmental protection, Earth Day transformed the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill into an unprecedented wave of collective action. That year, Senator Nelson rallied students and workers across the United States into a united front: 20 million Americans took to the streets, giving rise to modern environmental awareness.
Today, that protest has grown into a global event that mobilises more than one billion people in 193 countries every April 22nd. For the 2026 edition, the theme “Our Power, Our Planet” underscores the importance of shared responsibility, reminding us that our planet’s health depends on conscious choices we make every day.
At Unigrà, this responsibility translates into concrete commitment across the entire supply chain, from raw materials to the solutions we create for our customers.
1. The Palm Oil Supply Chain
Where do our raw materials come from, and what is their GHG impact? For us these are among the most important questions when it comes to supply chain.
Palm Oil
For Unigrà, transparency around the origin of palm oil is essential for monitoring and understanding production areas. The company traces 100% of its palm oil from the growing region all the way to the crushing mill.
Unigrà is also a member of RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), the international organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable palm oil production, and of UIOPS (Italian Union for Sustainable Palm Oil), its Italian counterpart with the same mission.
Impacts Measurement
Unigrà has launched a project to develop a calculation model based on advanced measurement technologies to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the entire palm oil supply chain, with a specific focus on the cultivation phase. Marcello Valenti, Sustainability Manager at Unigrà, explains: “This project enables us to implement a long and medium-term decarbonisation plan aligned with international standards. We also intend to adopt the SBTi protocols”.
2.Production: Limiting Our Impact
With the goal of reducing its impact, Unigrà has embarked on a journey towards a circular economy model. “At Unigrà, the circular economy takes many forms,” says Valenti. “We valorise production waste to generate both thermal and electrical energy. We minimise waste disposal, sending 99% of total waste to recovery and reusing certain packaging, such as pallets. We prioritise recyclable packaging: 96% of our containers can be recycled”.
Emissions Measurement
Measurement is the first step towards improvement, without it, improvement is not possible. “We started with the Conselice Plant and its associated supply chain, calculating total emissions in line with the GHG Protocol criteria: Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3,” continues Marcello Valenti. “It emerged that approximately 85% of the emissions occur outside of Unigrà.”
In parallel, Unigrà has begun calculating the emissions of selected products through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a methodology that evaluates the environmental impact of a product from raw material extraction to the finished product.
