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Alcantara Commits to Sustainability

By Alcantara Contributed Article
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Alcantara, a leading “Made in Italy luxury brand,” was the first Italian company and one of the first automotive suppliers in the world to be certified as carbon neutral.

Alcantara’s commitment to the environment continues in 2022-23. Its luxury material is a feature on some of the world’s most prestigious car lines, consumer electronics products, and leading fashion brands.

Based in Milan, the company has participated in nearly 50 international offset projects designed to improve living conditions and expand the use of renewable energy resources around the world.

Alcantara also continues to emphasize the importance of sustainability with its suppliers, encouraging them to measure, reduce, and compensate for CO2 emissions. The company’s most recent sustainability report noted that all of its “core” and “super core” suppliers had achieved zero CO2 emission balances.

In addition, the company has sponsored an annual sustainability symposium in partnership with Venice International University to focus attention on problems related to the environment. The program has involved major corporations, international organizations, scientists, economists, and policy makers from around the world.

Symposium participants have debated how best to mitigate climate change and build a low-carbon future by engaging different levels of society with involvement from policy makers, corporations and consumers.

Alcantara’s fifth annual symposium in 2019 was titled “Climate ‘How’: How to Engage Society and Deploy Decarbonization.” The most recent symposium tackled the growing problem of “greenwashing” and its impact on consumers. Earlier programs dealt with “Coping with Change: Global Warming and Decarbonization” and “Sustainability and the New Corporate Value Chain.”

The company’s trademarked material is as much as 50 percent lighter and more environmentally friendly than leather. Other significant Alcantara benefits include the material’s durability, grip, and breathability.

Alcantara has been featured on a variety of new-car introductions at major auto shows over the past five years, including reveals by Alfa Romeo, BMW, Bugatti, Dodge, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Nissan, Porsche, and Subaru.

Alfa Romeo recently unveiled its Tonale SUV upholstered with unique Alcantara materials developed jointly by the two companies. The Alcantara seating material used for Tonale’s interior is produced at the company’s Complex Manufacturing facility in Nera Montoro, Italy -- a special unit that utilizes complex technologies to customize and provide automakers with finished products ready for assembly.

The new Alfa Romeo SUV is available in North America with either a gasoline or a hybrid plug-in-electric powertrain. Black Alcantara with round laser-drilled holes and contrasting red backing alternates with plain black Alcantara on the Tonale’s seats to provide a sporty appearance. Alcantara also is found on the SUV’s dashboard.

BMW’s new 2023 M8 Competition series unveiled at the 2022 Amelia Island Concourse d’Elegance will be offered with optional bucket seating that features luxury material from Alcantara. The 2023 M8, including the M8 Competition Coupe, M8 Competition Convertible and M8 Competition Gran Coupe, goes on sale with a broader range of exterior colors and optional M Carbon bucket seats for an “unadulterated track-ready feeling for driver and passenger,” according to BMW.

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