Barilla’s Carta del Mulino and the ISCC PLUS certification

Challenge

Barilla, the Italian leading company in the food industry, have been walking a path of great responsibility for many years. It aims to sustainability and it is based on the importance of consumer confidence. Since 2010, in fact, the company’s mission has been “Good for you, Good for the planet”. Barilla’s mission fully embodies the values of Barilla, attentive not only to the quality of products and raw materials, but also to the impact on the Earth and nature, the true heritage to uphold.

For this reason, Barilla has decided to set up a series of working groups on essential raw materials, including soft wheat, the hero ingredient of Mulino Bianco.

From here comes the “Carta del Mulino”, a charter owned by Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. which provides a set of rules defined together with WWF Italy, the University of Bologna, the University of Tuscia and Open Fields. “Carta del Mulino” aims to improve environmental biodiversity and build value for the communities involved in the soft wheat supply chain.

“We want to be very solid when we use the word “sustainability”, which is why we have embraced the ISCC PLUS, the most advanced nationally and internationally recognized certification. However, we have decided to go beyond the certification, creating Carta del Mulino, ten rules for the cultivation of soft wheat that allow us to bring benefits to people, the planet and communities", Andrea Dipace, Marketing Manager Mulino Bianco, explained.

Our approach

In a first phase of the project, Barilla carried out a detailed assessment of the existing certification schemes in sustainability. Given that there isn’t a standard that certifies sustainability as a whole, the process was not easy. Eventually, it became clear that the ISCC PLUS certification was the most suitable one to follow through on their goals. Furthermore, between the two chain of custody options, Barilla has decided to proceed with the more rigorous one, namely the “physical segregation”. This choice was made to put on the market products with 100% sustainable flour, by valorizing the product and fully demonstrating the commitment in this journey.

The collaboration between RINA and Barilla made the achievement possible: "There was a perfect collaboration with RINA. RINA was a helpful and effective partner. It certainly wasn't an easy job to manage. The conformity assessment involved 1500 agricultural companies, 14 mills, 113 storage companies and 6 Barilla production plants in 2020. RINA gave us 100% helpfulness and transparency . Even when we encountered a problem, we faced and overcame it together", Orlando Visciano, Barilla Sustainable Farming Soft Wheat, said.

The project has also created a domino effect among the competitors who are now moving more and more towards sustainability certifications: "Our project is focused on continuous improvement in sustainability. In order to do our best and anticipate the times, we have included in our charter the requirements and principles of the Green New Deal, the new policy which will come into force in 2023. Our charter is transparent and published on our website in order to leave everyone completely free to follow these rules. Making the supply chain grow is certainly also part of our responsibility”, Michele Zerbini, Soft Wheat & Flours Italy & Galliate Mill Purchasing Senior Manager at Barilla Group said.

Conclusions

“Carta del Mulino” certification has allowed Barilla to achieve their primary objective, which is to maintain a solid relationship of trust with consumers, putting sustainability and quality first, by promoting these values through packaging too.

Andrea Dipace, Mulino Bianco Marketing Manager, said: "This project was not born with to increase product sales volumes. Rather, it was born because we deeply feel our responsibility to this supply chain. Taking care of the quality of soft wheat means taking care of our products and therefore of the Mulino Bianco brand. Our task now is to make people understand the value behind a product made according to these criteria. When people make a purchase from Mulino Bianco they have to know that they are bringing to their table a product good in taste, but above all good for the planet”.

Mulino Bianco takes advantage of a lot of partners who have adhered to “Carta del Mulino” and is constantly looking for new partners to involve in its project. The project currently involves dozens of Mulino Bianco products and will involve more and more of them. In the same way, the sustainability path will concern more and more raw materials, thanks to a constant growth in investments in this field.