Sustainability

Dear Shareholders and Stakeholders,
I am pleased to share the 2023 results with you. 
It was an important year for our company, as we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the foundation of De Nora. These years have been full of success and satisfaction that allowed us to achieve global leadership in most of the segments in which we operate, offering advanced, sustainable and constantly evolving technologies that adapt to our customers’ growing needs of operational efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Attention to environmental impacts, the responsible and circular use of natural resources such as water and noble metals, and the urgency of the Energy Transition, also sanctioned at COP 28 held in December in Dubai, are topics that underpin and guide the development of our technological solutions: from products for water disinfection and filtration, to technologies for the generation of green hydrogen, placing sustainability at the core of our business model.
From the point of view of financial results, after an exceptionally positive 2022, in 2023 we continued our growth path, despite the challenging global macroeconomic scenario, with an overall turnover that grew by 4% at constant exchange rates, accompanied by a stable operating profitability of around 20% and a sound ability to generate cash.

Our business model has once again proved resilient, supported by our technological leadership with over 280 families of patents, by 100 years of industrial know-how, by the solid relationships developed with our customers, who in some cases also play the role of partners, and by our globally widespread presence, marked by a distinctive production capacity in the electrode market.
Another key factor of our success is certainly related to the high differentiation of the geographies and markets in which we operate and the significant percentage of aftermarket services (32% of total revenues in 2023), which include activities that play an increasingly key role both in the growth of our turnover and in our ability to positively contribute to a global circular economy model, for example through re-coating electrodes.
Undoubtedly, our people - over 2,000 employees at the end of 2023 - who are motivated and determined to make a difference, are also an essential asset of De Nora Group. Therefore, we constantly strive to take care of their well-being and professional growth, as evidenced by the prestigious ‘Great Place to Work’ award we received in Italy in 2023.
In 2023 we launched our first ESG Plan for to 2026 and 2030. It was approved by the Board of Directors in December and includes defines an extensive agenda that includes a broad program divided into various several quantitative objectives, in line with the sustainable DNA that has always characterized the company. This new plan represents a fundamental step in the Group’s sustainability path, which aims at playing a leading role in ESG issues topics as well. The ESG PlanIt focuses on the implementation of clean technologies that promote support economic growth through the a careful management of natural resources, the use of clean renewable energy and the development of circular models, with particular emphasis on the growth and well-being of people.
Based on a solid governance, founded on Group values and transparency, De Nora’s sustainability strategy is divided into four pillars: i. Green Innovation, ii. Climate Action and Circular Economy, iii. Continuous people development of people, inclusion and well-being and lastly, iv. Support to local communities also through partnerships and supplier involvement engagement.
We have strengthened and enhanced the organizational structure dedicated to sustainability to ensure encourage the effective implementation of the ESG Plan and ensure its full integration into the Group’s industrial choices. In particular, we have created our ESG Accelerator Lab, a team of people that brings together interdepartmental cross-functional resources, from R&D to Procurement and from Operations to Human Resources. The Lab supports the ESG Department in the Plan’s implementation, contributing through its specific skills, to creating individual the realization of the defined initiatives and allowing sustainability projects to seamlessly integrate with the natural development of business.
Our sustainability path continues successfully, as also demonstrated testified by the AA ESG Rating assigned to us in April by the renowned agency MSCI in May. This year, we again confirm and assure our constant commitment to supporting, as we have for 100 years now, the development of technologies that make our world better, creating value for all our stakeholders, as we have done for 100 years.

- Paolo Dellachà, CEO