Environmental impact

Environmental protection is of great topical interest to the community as a whole. There is a growing conviction that economic growth must be based on eco-compatible models. There is growing consensus among the international scientific community that balanced environmental policies will in the long run bring economic returns as well.

Environmental sustainability is tied to economic sustainability in that the way the economy is run impacts on the environment, and the quality of the environment impacts in turn on economic performance. It is therefore fundamentally important to understand the interdependency of economics and the environment in order to aim at sustainable development.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of today without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy theirs (original definition in the Brundtland Report). Damaging the environment is the same as damaging the economy. Environmental conservation is therefore a necessity rather than a luxury (J. Karas et al., 1995)

Luxottica has a unique relationship with its territory that makes it particularly sensitive to environmental issues and acutely aware of its role in society. The Company a long time ago set itself the objective of guaranteeing ethically responsible conduct on the part of its employees and branches and thereby ensure Group-wide implementation of its environmental sustainability and protection policies.
Specifically, Luxottica is committed to:

1. safeguarding of the health of its employees and everyone living around its production facilities and branches;
2. safeguarding of the health of everyone who comes into contact with the Group’s manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations;
3. prevention of occupational diseases;
4. promotion of healthy lifestyles in the workplace;
5. safeguarding of the environment and intelligent husbanding of resources.

To achieve such objectives it is fundamentally important to adopt a structured approach that standardizes the basic criteria to apply in organizing and managing safety and environmental procedures.
To this end, the Company opted for the ISO 14001 system, which is based on standard procedures and controls supported by continuous monitoring and updating of improvement areas and objectives in the field of safety and the environment.
 

In the future, this management system may be integrated with the ISO 9000 quality system (standards and guidelines for quality management systems designed to optimize business process organization) which has been in place in the Group’s facilities for years.

Luxottica has a duty to play a positive role in the social and economic development of the communities where it operates and this must be based on constant commitment to quality, safety and environmental conservation. Growing in size also means greater environmental responsibility in all aspects of the Company’s business because environmental protection is vital to the quality of life of present and future generations; the challenge is to combine that protection with the needs of an economy in continual growth, in the long term.