Twenty years of Fitok certification to protect biodiversity

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Protecting and preserving biodiversity is not only a priority, it is an imperative, to ensure that each country's environmental and forest heritage is maintained and does not run the risk of being destroyed or damaged by 'external agents'. In particular, world trade - which is becoming more and more intense - has increased the risk of the spread of organisms that are harmful to a given environment; and this can occur either through imported goods or through the wooden packaging used to transport them. To deal with this situation, the FAO introduced years ago the international standard for phytosanitary measures number 15, the IPPC/FAO mark: to have it, the wooden packaging that circulates between countries must undergo treatments (heat treatment - HT or DH and fumigation treatment - MB or SF) capable of guaranteeing its phytosanitary safety and must be made recognisable with an indelible mark. In Italy, the entity managing the IPPC/FAO mark is Conlegno (Cork Wood Services Consortium), which was recognised as such in 2005 and this year celebrates 20 years of this activity, carried out on the basis of the Fitok regulation. The consortium, through the Fitok Technical Committee and under the supervision of the National Phytosanitary Service (Sfn), manages the issuing of the label to companies in the wood packaging production chain and guarantees the correct phytosanitary treatment according to the international ISPM 15 standard of the FAO. "Fitok is the inter-associative answer to an important global problem that has allowed Made in Italy products to be exported all over the world for more than 20 years. Wooden pallets and packaging remain the best tool for logistics and shipping, and the figures recorded by Conlegno in 2024 confirm this,' commented Giovanni Dell'Aquila, coordinator of the Fitok Technical Committee. In detail, the Fitok regulation contains: procedures for the correct affixing of the IPPC/FAO mark; technical specifications for the treatment and segregation of materials, formalised by the Sfn; procedures for the traceability of operations carried out throughout the wood packaging supply chain; control of the use of the IPPC/FAO mark and others related to it; procedures for the detection of non-compliance and related sanctions.

In Italy, there are 1,578 operating sites of IPPC/FAO - Fitok (Production, Treatment and Marketing) member companies of the Fitok Technical Committee in 2024, and 318 of these companies have a Heat Treatment/HT plant. Last year, 2,797,000 cubic metres of solid wood were treated, an increase of 4.8% compared to 2023. Of this, 62.5 per cent was produced by companies with heat treatment/HT plants (referred to as 7.1), while the remaining 37.5 per cent was produced by companies using pre-treated material (referred to as 7.2). In the same year, the packaging sector data shows a total turnover of EUR 2 billion. Looking at the classification by type of packaging produced under the IPPC/FAO and Fitok labels, the lion's share is taken by pallets: they account for 56% of total volumes with 1.5 million cubic metres, followed by industrial packaging at 27% of the total (for about 750 thousand cubic metres) and semi-finished products with 11% (for about 316 thousand cubic metres).

Looking at the data geographically, in 2024, the five Italian regions with the highest production of wood packaging and pallets are: Lombardy (about 727 thousand cubic metres), Veneto (about 420 thousand cubic metres), Emilia-Romagna (about 404 thousand cubic metres), Trentino-Alto Adige (about 388 thousand cubic metres) and Piedmont (about 274 thousand cubic metres). The first southern region in terms of packaging production is Campania with about 56 thousand cubic metres, in the centre Tuscany with 221 thousand cubic metres and Lazio with 111 thousand. Taking into consideration only the production of companies with treatment plants, Lombardy confirms its first place in the ranking with 455 thousand cubic metres. However, the podium changes: in second place is Trentino-Alto Adige with 380,000 cubic metres, followed by Veneto (about 250,000 cubic metres) and Piedmont with 220,000 cubic metres: these are the territories where the largest sawmills and pallet producers in Italy are concentrated. Considering, on the other hand, the ranking of the regions with pretreated material only (7.2), Emilia-Romagna comes first (with 272 thousand cubic metres), followed at a very close distance by Lombardy (271 thousand cubic metres) with Veneto in third place at 169 thousand cubic metres. These are the territories where the largest industrial wood packaging companies in Italy are concentrated.

In the meantime, Conlegno's appointments continue throughout Italy. The next stop of the consortium's roadshow is set for 13 June at Cantine Rotari in San Michele all'Adige in the province of Trento.