BUSINESS EssilorLuxottica to Convert 40 Hectares of Industrial Land into Solar Farm, Natural Food Crops By Staff Tuesday, June 11, 2024 12:21 AM CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica has announced the implementation of an innovative project near Pescara, Italy which involves the recovery and reconversion of industrial land surrounding the site of Barberini, a world-class optical glass lens manufacturer and part of EssilorLuxottica. EssilorLuxottica will create a large solar farm on this land, covering almost 40 hectares, to produce renewable energy along with a green area hosting sporting facilities and natural food crops for the corporate staff restaurants, all with a sustainable and circular approach, according to the announcement.Covering an area of 25 hectares, the solar farm will be the first large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic system built and directly managed by EssilorLuxottica and will have a total power of 20MW. The plant is expected to generate approximately 30,000 MWh of renewable energy per year, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 10,000 families, and will be connected directly to Barberini’s industrial site to maximize self-consumption of onsite renewable power production, EssilorLuxottica said.Additionally, the area near the photovoltaic plant will also be open to the community and feature educational aspects of circularity and ecology initiatives along with seasonal crops, gardens and beekeeping. The site is expected to be completed in early 2025, the company said.The project will be implemented in coordination with local institutions and is part of the company’s journey since 2019, following the completion of the acquisition of Barberini. The Group’s investments have made it possible to create a modern production area in Città Sant'Angelo which, in addition to hosting a new building with LEED certification for eco-compatibility, no longer uses fossil fuels and hosts the cultivation of native species such as olive trees, Abruzzo’s pear tomatoes and melliferous plants in the areas close to the production sites, according to the announcement.The Group said it works with local firm Tenuta Fragassi to introduce natural food production from this plant together with the ones from the new crops around the solar farm in its corporate staff restaurants. This in turn supports EssilorLuxottica’s Eyes on Food program launched in 2022 with Italian chef Davide Oldani to promote healthy and responsible eating in the workplace.Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO of EssilorLuxottica, said, “We are continuing to realize EssilorLuxottica’s vision to produce extraordinary results in the market alongside major sustainability initiatives and investments to ensure an ethical and responsible approach. Today, we mark another key step to keep improving our energy efficiency globally while supporting our goal to become carbon neutral in our direct operations around the world by next year, as outlined in our Eyes on the Planet corporate sustainability program.”