The Parma Ham Consortium recently completed a multiyear project to support the ecological transition of its companies. Launched in 2022, the project set out to define an environmental policy for the Parma Ham sector to help optimize its sustainability performance. 

The Parma PDO protection body brought in several partners that are qualified, recognized authorities for the multiphase project. The Politecnico di Milano supported the definition and implementation phase, while its spin-off Enersem collaborated on the development of the software envisaged by the research. CSQA lent its expertise on verification. 

In the project’s first phase, the environmental footprint of the Parma Ham sector was calculated using the official Product Environmental Footprint methodology. The European Commission created this tool to assess the environmental impact of production processes through specific indicators. Many companies in the sector actively participated in this phase, which was subsequently validated by the CSQA Certification Body.

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With the data processed and collected in the project’s first phase, the consortium was able to submit Product Category Rules valid for all PDO dry-cured hams to the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security. PCRs define a standard environmental profile for a product category. 

After completing this step, the consortium was able to request the activation of the Made in Italy scheme for Parma Ham. MASE created this national certification scheme to evaluate the environmental footprint of Made Green in Italy products and recognize those of high environmental quality. Participation in the scheme is voluntary. 

In the final phase, the consortium and Enersem created software for calculating and reducing the environmental footprint in the Parma Ham sector. The software was made available to companies in the sector to optimize the performance of the entire production cycle. Through this software, also verified by CSQA, producers receive customized improvement indications for reducing their product environmental footprint and saving energy. They also receive a report on their individual environmental performance and a comparison with comparable companies.

"The value of a product as unique as Parma Ham is also measured by its ability to be consistent with consumer needs and with the challenges of a rapidly changing world. The indissoluble bond that our PDO has with its territory makes us even more responsible for the impact generated by our production, which is why we are particularly proud to have conducted this project together with the Politecnico di Milano, Enersem and CSQA," said Alessandro Utini, president of the Parma Ham Consortium.

"The main objective was to support our companies in their already substantial commitment to the ecological transition, thus strengthening environmental protection for the future of the industry and for the new generations. We are especially pleased that a significant number of producers have already decided to use the software we have created with this project, confirming the environmental ethics of our sector, as well as the benefit o its competitiveness in foreign markets."

Source: Parma Ham Consortium