Two years of LWG certification for Conceria Superior

Conceria Superior is LWG certified for its management of the supply chain and a production that aims at sustainability, setting more stringent goals than those imposed by law and involving all internal staff in this environment-friendly pursuit.

At the beginning of 2019, Conceria Superior obtained the LWG certification, awarded to companies in the tanning industry that manage Quality, Environment, Safety and Ethics from a holistic perspective: a direction increasingly demanded by the market itself. Our tannery celebrated its first two years within this international group that attests to the efforts of the leather sector towards a more ecological production, measuring it in every aspect.

Established in 2005, today the Leather Working Group (LWG) is an international group involving more than 1000 members of the leather supply chain. The common goal is to improve the environmental impact of the tanning industry globally. It includes tanneries such as Superior, but also chemical and machinery suppliers, leather goods manufacturers, traders, technical experts, retailers and brands. The group promotes sustainable practices throughout the leather supply chain and has developed several protocols for the certification of various stakeholders in the supply chain. 

Superior followed the process established for the tanneries, passing an audit based on a technical protocol that evaluated our environmental performance. To achieve the LWG certification, our tannery had to meet or surpass a threshold score in the critical sections of that protocol that covered the main areas of environmental impact. The auditors also looked at our subcontractors and conducted a mini-audit to verify the sustainability of the entire supply chain. In the same way, they took into consideration all the environmental aspects related to our tannery according to well-defined quantitative criteria.

As far as Superior’s successful audit is concerned, the management and control of the environmental impacts linked to the production process played a fundamental role in a perspective that goes beyond the mere compliance with the mandatory regulations. Our focus on sustainability, in fact, has for some time been setting more stringent goals through research projects aimed at optimizing resources in an innovative way, at each stage of the process. In addition to this systems-oriented approach, the LWG auditors particularly appreciated the involvement and awareness of internal staff on these objectives.

However, the LWG certification is subject to periodic auditor reviews. The protocol is updated quite frequently to take into account the evolution of technical skills and the new challenges faced by the tanning sector. Once the recognition has been obtained, it is therefore necessary to maintain a constant commitment to renew it. Maintaining the certifications obtained, for Superior means above all to maintain a mindset, an organization and a precise course. A challenge that Superior takes up every day to do its part in building a tanning industry that is increasingly attentive to the environment, to the responsible use of resources and sustainability.