Frezza’s eco-design: a commitment to a more sustainable future

With the publication of its second Sustainability Report Frezza shows how it’s re-shaping the future of design under the guidance of a vision where beauty, functionality and environmental responsibility intertwine to re-define contemporary workplaces.

Within a systemic vision that takes into account all 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, the company has laid out a roadmap of concrete actions that it intends to undertake within a four-year timeframe: from improving the ergonomics of workspaces to preserving the health of employees and co-workers to purchasing new energy-efficient machinery.

Designing from an eco-design perspective: this commitment sums up all of Frezza’s sustainable strategies. To achieve this goal, Frezza is committed to assessing the environmental impacts of the product throughout its life cycle, collaborates only with design firms and suppliers who share the same vision and measures and monitors its consumption and emissions as a starting point to implement progressive actions for continuous improvement.

Frezza’s sustainability, a shared vision

The spirit that guides Frezza’s collaborations is an awareness of the impact the design industry can have on the environment and a commitment to reducing its ecological footprint: from the choice of materials to responsible production, from waste reduction to recycling.

Designing in accordance with the principles of eco-design today means adopting a holistic approach that goes far beyond simply choosing sustainable raw materials, considering the entire life cycle of products and focusing on durability, reparability and recyclability. It also requires an interdisciplinary vision that can create solutions that meet users’ needs without compromising the environment.

“The responsibility that the designer carries with him is based on the awareness that he can create a better future for people: every object and every space he designs produces an effect on the user that imposes on his work, at every stage of the project, considerations that are not only aesthetic and functional, but also ethical, social, economic and obviously environmental”.
( quote from Matteo Colombo’s interview, Progetto CMR).

The daily dialogue and confrontation between Frezza and leading Italian and international design studios renews this vision in the pursuit of an increasingly conscious sustainability.

Eco-design and responsible production

Up to 80% of the environmental impact of products is determined during its design phase.

For this reason, Frezza has implemented an approach that considers the entire product life cycle, starting from the choice of raw materials to end-of life disposal.

This vision is translated into a series of concrete initiatives:

Frezza collaborates with leading international design studios and shares an awareness of the impact the design industry can have on the environment. The aim is to reduce the ecological footprint through responsible choices, ranging from material selection to production processes, from waste reduction to recycling.

In 2022, Frezza started a training course on how to apply eco-design principles to its designs. This is reflected in the creation of desks, tables, furniture and office accessories that not only meet the needs of the present, but also anticipate the demands of the future.

The commitment to sustainability extends to the entire supply chain, carefully assessing the environmental impacts of the product throughout its life cycle: from the purchase of raw materials to production, from transport to end-of-life disposal. This approach has led both to the selection of partners who share the same vision and to the achievement of important certifications.

In addition, Frezza offers a warranty of up to 10 years on all products and a supply of spare parts with the goal of extending the product’s life as much as possible and simultaneously allowing for the separation and proper disposal of all materials.

Use of resources and circular economy

Frezza’s environmental management system, which has been in place for more than 20 years, allows a constant monitoring of the main activity-related consumptions, including: the purchase of raw materials per product category and the consumption of energy carriers.

In terms of circular economy, there has been a significant reduction in the use of many categories of raw materials with regard to 2022, particularly wood and packaging, mainly in favour of cardboard.

Waste

Last but not least, Frezza demonstrates a concrete commitment to waste management. The amount of waste produced by the organisation is relatively small (5.9% waste), with 97.7% going to recovery. 74.26% is wood-based waste, reflecting the company’s commitment to more sustainable materials.

Frezza’s main goal in this area is to develop its products from an eco-design perspective in order to extend their use (or reuse) as much as possible and minimise their impact even during the end-of-life phase, also taking into account the differences and specificities of the markets in which it operates.