Sustainability Channel

Protagonists On The Renewable Energy Scene

Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) reached an agreement for acquisition by Pirelli Ambiente of the 50% stake owned by GCC in Solar Utility. Solar Utility was founded in 2007 as a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and GCC, a private equity fund specialized in clean energy investments, in order to make joint investments in the photovoltaic sector. The transaction, worth approximately 8 million Euro, will increase Pirelli Ambiente’s stake to 100% of the company.
The purchase of the 50% stake not previously held by Pirelli Ambiente will allow it to pursue new growth Opportunities for Solar Utility, including through industrial partnerships like the one recently begun with Norwegian national energy utility Statkraft, as the first step to creating an important player in the renewable energy industry in Italy.

Press release Pirelli – Solar Utility 13.11.2009

The Pirelli Campus for health and safety at work has become one year old in Yanzhou

From 2008 to today, the school has allocated around 100 hours of training in five factories in the world ‘HSE Campus’, the Pirelli’s Group’s specialist health and safety training at work initiative, has become one year old after that first meeting in November 2008 at Izmit, Turkey, on the subject of ergonomics. The school of health and safety at work has enriched itself with new contents, which now include the analysis of risks, management and improvement of safety methods as well as the evaluation and management of the aspects of ergonomics, through the correct conduct of everyone in the company.

The main inspirer of ‘HSE Campus’ is that of evaluating specialist knowledge present in the company, making it available to whoever can obtain benefit from it for professional reasons, and in doing so grow the culture of health and safety at work within the Pirelli Group.

‘HSE Campus’ is an itinerate school: after the first lessons in Turkey, the initiative went to Carlisle (UK), Settimo Torinese, Bollate (Italy) and lastly Yanzhou (China) with satisfactory results.

Now under development are new courses on the evaluation of chemical risk, the best investigation techniques of the cause of accidents and systems for the improvement of safety in maintenance operations.

EIB and Pirelli: 100 million euro financing agreement signed in support of R&D for 2009-2012

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pirelli signed a financing agreement today for a 100 million euros loan from EIB for support of projects in the area of Pirelli Group research and development for 2009-2012.

The loan is for support of research and development in the field of product and manufacturing process innovation for reduction of the environmental impact of tyres, among other things, improving their performance and safety standards thanks to identification of innovative materials and components. The project regards activities of the various research and development centers of Pirelli in Italy and abroad, and was finalized as part of the 200 million euros credit line resolved upon by EIB last July.

The new loan consolidates the relationship between Pirelli and EIB, which in the past contributed to the Group’s constant commitment to innovation and development of its competitiveness on a global scale.

“We are happy to continue in our tradition of supporting the Pirelli Group, which makes investment in research one of the pillars of its policy for growth in international markets, placing great attention on the goal of reduction of polluting emissions – which is a priority for EIB,” said Dario Scannapieco, EIB vice president in charge of Italy, Malta and the Western Balkans.

“The loan from EIB,” said Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman of Pirelli “represents a contribution to and an important recognition of the research activity of Pirelli, which has always been strongly committed in this direction with the aim of improving quality of products for the benefit of consumers and the competitiveness of the Group on the market. Today, in particular, this effort shows us committed to development of products and processes that are more and more eco-compatible, that is, oriented towards adopting technologies that offer customers not only safety and high performance, but also solutions which are respectful of the environment.”

Download EIB and Pirelli joint press release(pdf)