Made Green in Italy Zanardi Fonderie S.p.A.

Statement published on: 14 July 2026
Valid until: 13 July 2029
Link to the DIAP: (upload the DIAP to the website and provide the access link here)
Body that verified the study: Bureau Veritas Italia spa
Link to the verification certificate: (upload the certificate to the website and provide the link here)
Link to the improvement programme: Not required as the product is in Class A

Zanardi Fonderie’s mission is to supply high-tech cast iron components, contributing to the development of higher-performing, more reliable and more competitive products for its customers. The company places technical collaboration with the customer at the heart of its business, supporting them right from the design and industrialisation stages of the component. Key values include innovation, metallurgical expertise, reliability and a commitment to continuous improvement. Applied research is one of the key elements of the company’s strategy, with particular emphasis on the development of austempered cast irons and proprietary materials. Great importance is also attached to industrial sustainability, worker safety and environmental protection. The corporate culture values the technical know-how built up over more than ninety years of operation and the passing on of skills across generations. The quality of service, the ability to solve complex design problems and a close relationship with customers complete the set of values that characterise the company.

Over the years, Zanardi Fonderie has developed an integrated management system focused on quality, the environment, energy and health and safety at work. The company is certified to the international standards ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management. It was also among the first companies in the sector to adopt structured systems for workers’ health and safety through OHSAS 18001 certification, which has since evolved into the most recent standards. Of particular significance is the EMAS registration, a European accreditation attesting to an advanced approach to environmental management, which the foundry obtained as early as 2006. Zanardi has also obtained ISO 50001 certification for energy management, confirming its focus on the energy efficiency of its production processes. The quality control system includes dimensional checks, metallurgical tests, surface and internal integrity tests, and product conformity certifications. Taken together, these tools guarantee high quality standards and full traceability of the production process.

Zanardi Fonderie S.p.A. has its plant at Via Nazionali 3, 37046 Minerbe (VR). This DIAP covers ductile iron castings produced at the Verona plant.

The Environmental Footprint Statement relates to the cast iron castings produced at the plant at Via Nazionali 3, 37046 Minerbe (VR).
The product covered by this study corresponds to the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) code: C24.51. Cast iron castings.

Cast iron is conventionally defined as an iron-carbon alloy in which iron is the predominant element and the carbon content exceeds 2 per cent. When the carbon content is less than 2 per cent, the material falls within the category of steels. In terms of end uses, cast iron castings can be employed in a wide range of applications. The following are listed as possible end uses for cast iron castings:

• A range of components for the agricultural, earthmoving and automotive sectors;
• Industrial valves – Cast iron globe valves;
• Spheroidal graphite cast iron pipes;
• Ductile cast iron pipes – Polyethylene sleeve for on-site installation;
• Pipes, fittings and accessories made of ductile cast iron;
• Covers and seals for road manholes;
• Pressure vessels not exposed to flame.

Cast iron castings are also produced to the designs and technical specifications of clients in the main manufacturing sectors (automotive, mechanical engineering, tractor manufacturing, electrical engineering, etc.), in various structures and chemical compositions as follows:

• Castings made from flake graphite cast iron;
• Spheroidal graphite cast iron castings;

In the case of cast iron castings, unlike steel products, the types of products manufactured are not standardised, as at least 70 per cent of castings are produced to the client’s design and specifications and, therefore, differ even within the same ‘family’ of products (for example, in the automotive sector, the same component varies depending on the car manufacturer placing the order). Cast iron castings are therefore characterised not by their intended use as a finished product but by their chemical composition, and the unit of measurement is the tonne, as they are an intermediate product.

This “Product Environmental Footprint Declaration – ‘Cast Iron Castings’” refers to the study “Product Environmental Footprint of Zanardi Fonderie’s cast iron castings, Minerbe plant – Ver. No. 01 of 18 June 2026”.

The document has undergone an independent verification process carried out by Bureau Veritas.

Environmental statements relating to different schemes are not comparable.

The following standards and recommendations were used as a basis for conducting the study and preparing this statement:

• ISO 14040:2021 Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework
• ISO 14044:2021 Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines
• Recommendation 2021/2279/EU: Commission Recommendation on the use of common methodologies for measuring and reporting the environmental performance of products and organisations throughout their life cycle.

[1] In some chromium steel alloys, the carbon content may be slightly higher than 2 per cent, generally ranging between 2.06 per cent and 2.11 per cent.

The aim of this study is to carry out an environmental impact assessment for Zanardi Fonderie’s cast iron castings, in accordance with the Product Category Rules for cast iron castings, published on the website of the Ministry for Ecological Transition as part of the Made Green in Italy scheme.

The functional unit considered for this study is:

• 1 metric tonne net of raw castings (at the foundry’s exit gate).

The key aspects of the functional unit are set out below:

Table 1: Key Aspects of the Functional Unit

The reference flow is the quantity of product required to fulfil the defined function and is measured in tonnes. All quantitative input and output data collected in the study are calculated in relation to this reference flow, which corresponds to the net metric tonne of raw castings leaving the factory gate. It should be noted that, in order to obtain a functional unit of product for its intended use, raw material losses during the production phase (foundry process yield) are included in the production calculation.

The product under investigation was manufactured based on an average composition of the types of cast iron produced over a year representative of the company’s production. Zanardi Fonderie uses only electric induction furnaces and the green sand moulding process for its production; for the production of cores, it uses the resin-bonded sand system (COLD BOX system).

The table below summarises the main production characteristics of the product under study.

Table 2: Definition of the product under study

There were no methodological deviations from the impact categories used, as required by the PEF. Other methodological limitations include:

• The datasets used do not comply with the EF (Environmental Footprint) method, as such datasets are only available for PEF/OEF studies carried out in accordance with the PEFCR published on the europa.eu website.

Certain processes have been excluded from the modelling, as stated in the relevant clinical practice guidelines:

• packaging for the procurement of raw materials and auxiliary materials, as the majority of these arrive in bulk on lorries without packaging; the proportion of raw materials and auxiliary materials that come in packaging is minimal and therefore has a marginal impact;
• the company’s infrastructure and production facilities, as, taking depreciation into account, the impact on an annual basis is marginal.

For the product under study, the data quality is very good.

The key findings of the study are presented below.

Table 3: Characterised impact test results for as-cast cast iron products

The figure below shows the impacts by life-cycle stage for the product under study.

Figure 1: Life-cycle impacts per 1 metric ton of raw cast iron

Figure 1: Life-cycle impacts for 1 tonne of green cast iron

The most significant impact categories identified in this study are, in order of importance:

• Climate change;
• Particulate matter;
• Resource use, fossils;
• Ecotoxicity, freshwater;
• Resource use, minerals and metals.
• Acidification.

I processi più rilevanti per i Getti di Ghisa, sono rappresentati da:

Table 4: Most Significant Processes for the Relevant Impact Categories

There are three performance classes: A, B and C. These are defined on the basis of the benchmark value – calculated for the representative product, namely rough cast iron castings – and the upper and lower thresholds.

In particular, products whose impact – calculated as a single value (the sum of the weighted results of the three most significant impact categories) – exceeds the upper threshold value must be classified in Class C.

Products whose impact, calculated as a single value (the sum of the weighted results of the three most significant impact categories), is less than the lower threshold value must be classified in Class A.

Products whose impact, calculated as a single value (the sum of the weighted results of the three most significant impact categories), falls between the upper and lower threshold values must be classified in Class B.

The benchmark values and the definition of the environmental performance classes are set out below.

Table 7: Benchmark as a single value

Table 8: Environmental performance classes

Tabella 9: Calcolo classe di prestazione ambientale per il getto ghisa

The sum of the weighted scores for the three impact categories set out in the relevant RCP amounts to 116.91 mPt, which classifies Zanardi Fonderie Spa’s ductile iron castings as Class A.

These results have been made possible by a strategy to improve the efficient use of resources, which the foundry has been implementing for several years.

In accordance with the guidelines set out in the RCP, the percentage of recycled material used in the furnace charge recipe is specified, distinguishing between in-house recycled material (material from the internal recycling of the casting and feed systems) and externally sourced scrap (End-of-Waste scrap, by-product scrap). The percentage of in-house scrap used in the mix is 35.39 per cent, whilst that of purchased scrap is 26.43 per cent.