Who chose EPDItaly tells its story: Crezza srl
Interview with Francesca Guerini, owner and sole director of Crezza srl, a nationwide reference company for the prefabrication of concrete elements.
Crezza is a national leader in the production and installation of precast elements for infrastructure, including new jersey road barriers and tunnel segments. Active in the market for more than 30 years, it holds the main quality and occupational safety certifications as well as SOA certification for the execution of public contracts.
The company decided to rely on EPDItaly to obtain EPD certification for some products.
In this regard, we have Francesca Guerini, owner and sole director of Crezza srl, who told us about the motivations that led the company to adopt EPD certification and what are the advantages of this document.
What are the main motivations that pushed you toward voluntary EPD certification?
The company has always been attentive to the stimuli offered by the sector in which it is active and sensitive to even broader issues as an operator of the production system. Environmental protection and sustainability have become more and more firmly established in the company’s daily operations, so Crezza has embarked on a path of awareness and change of the entire production process, paying attention no longer only to purely economic aspects but also to environmental and consumption aspects.
To do this, it chose to be supported by a partner of primary importance and proven quality, such as ERGO, which first carried out an LCA and carbon footprint study and then embarked on the environmental certification process with ICMQ, obtaining the EPD for 11 products.
Which products in your company have obtained EPD? What are the main features?
The company has obtained EPD Certification for 10 road barriers (8 for so-called ABESCA barriers, an association that invests in road safety research and development of which Crezza is a founding member, and 2 for NDBA barriers) and one for tunnel ashlars used as lining elements.
A road barrier is a prefabricated vehicular restraint element installed to contain or redirect a vehicle along the roadway in the event of a collision. There are various types of barriers that vary according to their intended use: bridge edge, side edge, center divider, tunnel redirection. A special mention goes to ABESCA’s latest product, the new “H120fast,” an ultra-performance barrier.
The ashlar for tunnel is a prefabricated element that the company has developed and perfected over the years in order to improve more and more the speed of laying and execution work and the quality of the primary concrete layer, which is the most subjected to the attack of external agents. In recent years, that of the precast trussed ashlar is the most popular technology for tunnel maintenance and construction.
What are the main benefits gained from publishing the Environmental Product Declaration? What are the impacts on the end consumer?
As mentioned, all players in the sector, including our clients are showing increasing interest and attention to the environmental aspects of products, so we think that obtaining from the outset and over time the improvement of the parameters of their EPDs will be a distinctive and qualifying element for the acquisition of contracts and works.
Do you think EPDItaly can help spread the culture of product sustainability?
We felt very involved with the EPD project and EPDItaly’s approach to this type of certification. It is important to have a tool that can really make a difference. Communicating the sustainability of a product in a transparent way means disseminating certain and verifiable information to the market.
How important, in your opinion, is the presence of Italian sustainable products within a Program Operator that makes international networking one of its strengths?
Working all together to ensure a better future is a “moral imperative” not only at the Italian level but and especially at the global level. We are committed to doing our part!