SICIT and beleafing: two entities of Vicenza together for a common good

SICIT Group S.p.A. is a company among the pioneers of the green and circular economy. It collects and transforms tanning residues into products with high added value, totally biodegradable, without risks to public health and the environment, limiting the production of waste to almost zero. The final product has a high added value for biostimulants in agriculture and retardants for the gypsum industry. Among the first companies in the world to introduce protein hydrolysates in the world market of biostimulants, SICIT was also included in the portfolio of Italian companies for sustainability in the latest report dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility published by Equita SIM.

The company of strategic importance for the Vicenza tanning sector has joined our project “5000 trees for the Chiampo Valley” and is committed to donating 3000 trees. The first 800 trees were booked on the beleafing.com web platform and delivered to the conference on 22 December 2019 in piazza G. Zanella in Chiampo, the first official event. The initiative was a great success among the citizens who filled the hall of the Chiampo municipality where the conference was held.

A green lockdown

The next delivery day was scheduled for March 7, 2020 in Arzignano, but due to the health emergency that broke out in February 2020, the event in the square was postponed several times and then definitively canceled. However, during the period of total closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the beleafing project did not stop. Despite the uncertainty of the future and the wave of concern that swept the country, our team worked hard to carry out such an important campaign and managed to organize home delivery. During the Easter period, in fact, the trees booked by the citizens were delivered house by house, together with a message of hope in the restart.

In November 2020 the campaign ended successfully, the last trees were delivered with the home delivery method and all 3000 donated by SICIT finally found their garden.

A strong point that unites beleafing and SICIT is the adherence to some Sustainable Development Goals of the United Actions of the UN Agenda 2030.

SICIT is involved in UN goal # 2: end hunger, achieve food security, better nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The company is exposed to government initiatives aimed at promoting precision agriculture as 55% of its revenues derive from biostimulants produced through the recycling of waste from the tanning industry.

Beleafing is involved in three objectives and four sub-objectives of the UN Agenda.

Goal # 11 aims to reduce per capita pollution produced by cities, in particular with regard to air quality and waste management.
Under Objective # 11.6: By 2030, reduce the negative per capita environmental impact of cities, paying particular attention to air quality and the management of urban waste and other waste. Thanks to the inclusion of evergreen species in urban areas, it significantly contributes to reducing pollutants in the atmosphere, especially during the winter season, making cities or communities more sustainable.
Goal # 13: Climate change represents a central challenge for sustainable development. Changing rainfall cycles and temperatures affect ecosystems as well as the plants, animals and people who live there.
Sub Goal # 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptation to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries. Thanks to the planting of trees in urban areas, beleafing wants to act significantly to reduce the effects of climate change in the city. The shading of the trees helps to reduce the heat island effect during heat waves and the leaf and root system instead helps to retain excess water during the most abundant rainfall.
Objective # 15: biodiversity is a prerequisite for the development of humans and other living beings as well as ecosystems. However, the statistics show a steady decline in biodiversity and a loss of woodland.
Under Goal # 15.2: By 2020, promote sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and significantly increase reforestation and reforestation everywhere.
Under Goal # 15.5: Take effective and immediate actions to reduce the degradation of natural environments, halt the destruction of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect endangered species. Thanks to the planting of trees in urban areas, there is a strong contribution to the increase of plant species in urban areas, the so-called urban forestry. Furthermore, with the inclusion of species suitable for hosting and promoting the pollination of poultry species, biodiversity is favored given the crucial role of bees in the sustainability and development of ecosystems.