Our Commitment for a Sustainable Future

This is the revolutionary message that, in the Sixties, was written above the production lines in Romano Minozzi’s factories. It is the expression of a strong will to work with sustainable thoughts and social responsibility, and has characterised the company’s entire history.

In that urban field, we can still hear the words of Franco Battiato: “You don’t have the strength to try to change your future because you are afraid of discovering the freedom you don’t want to have. Did you never wonder what function you have?”. Two months later his album Pollution was released, and the cover photo showed that same clod of earth portrayed on the ceramics.

"Iris recovers waste glazes and sludge, and processes them to obtain a new product, recycling over 5 thousand tonnes of waste in its production plants every year, waste that is not thrown away or buried”. 
La Repubblica, 1988

Fiandre and Iris Ceramica have supported the NGO Emergency project for a maternity clinic in Anabah in Afghanistan, donating over 3,000 m2 of flooring materials with Active Surfaces® technology.

Pollution – RefleAction represents the bond between art and architecture, reflecting on the ties between humans and nature. 46 years after the artistic actions of 1972, the Group returns to Piazza S. Stefano in Bologna with Mario Cucinella’s School of Sustainability, transforming it into a wood with 40 oaks emerging from artificial soil. The star of the exhibition is the innovative Active Surfaces® technology.

As in 1972, Piazza S. Stefano becomes the ideal stage for theatre performances, music and dance inspired by a new relationship between humans and nature. For the occasion, the poet Davide Rondoni produced the play Cappuccetto Rosso Post, starring the actress Iaia Forte.

In 2019, ahead of the UN 2030 goals, the Group obtained the Zero-Emissions result for its large format production sites. This is a major milestone in the sustainability path, and a record in the ceramic sector, and the starting point for creating value while respecting health and people.

Fondazione Iris Ceramica Group signed a partnership with the MCA Architects School of Sustainability to identify sustainable development models inspired by the principles of the circular economy and economic, social and environmental regeneration. 

In 2018, Iris Ceramica Group was the sponsor of Arcipelago Italia, the pavilion curated by Mario Cucinella for the 16th Architecture Biennale. The project is devoted to the towns nestling in the Italian Apennines, with five specific areas of intervention that become symbols of the rebirth of the country’s inland territories.  

Producing responsibly is a commitment involving all the life-cycle phases of the materials and players in the supply chain, who must all share the sustainability values and goals.

The Sustainability Report is drafted following the desire to tell how much has been achieved in this direction in the last 60 years: not only a transparent, accurate account but the living testimony of a commitment to social and environmental improvement, and the ability to impact the very concept of quality and sustainable growth.

Since 2019, Fondazione Iris Ceramica Group has been expressing the values of cultural promotion, sustainability and solidarity to build the civil society of the future, in line with the UN Agenda 2030 goals.