REmini2020: Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola, invites us to reflect on the milestones Italy has achieved in the circular economy, which often go unnoticed.
Who is the European champion in waste recycling? Not Germany, nor France, but Italy. This is an important record, one we should be proud of. Yet only one in ten Italians is aware of it, and as many as five in ten, when presented with this information, turn their nose up and dismiss it as fake news. This paradox is revealed by the report I.T.A.L.I.A 2019 – Geografie del nuovo made in Italy, published by Symbola, the foundation for Italian quality, together with Unioncamere and Fondazione Edison. We asked president Ermete Realacci to explain why — he was among the distinguished guests at the Meeting di Rimini.
"We have advanced legislation on the circular economy, but our records are linked above all to our history. Being a country poor in raw materials, over the centuries we have built supply chains that optimise their use." By recovering materials, we save 21 million tonnes of oil every year and avoid emitting almost 60 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. If that is the case, then why do we Italians struggle to recognise the successes right in front of our eyes? According to Realacci, it is a character flaw that has long accompanied us: "A study was presented on the spread — the difference between the perception others have of a country and the perception its own inhabitants have of it from the inside. There is only one country that sees itself worse than others see it: Italy."
It was hard to avoid the subject of politics during an edition of the Meeting held in the midst of a government crisis. Above all because, until now, sustainability and the environment have been sidelined in the debate: as Fridays for Future Italia points out, less than 1 per cent of social media posts by the main party leaders explicitly mention the ongoing climate crisis. From the next executive, whatever its political colour, Realacci hopes that it "is at least at the level already reached by much of the economy and society. A third of Italian manufacturing firms have made green investments, and these are companies that innovate, export, grow and create jobs more than others. I hope the next government understands that this is not a corner reserved for idealists, but an extraordinary economic and productive bet."
LifeGate is on the road in Rimini to cover the REmini2020 project, a three-year path that began in 2018. The aim is to make the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples sustainable, working across several areas: circular economy, energy, food, and mobility.
A few figures help convey the scale of the event, which this year marks its fortieth anniversary. From 18 to 24 August, the 130,000 square metres set up at the Rimini Expo Centre come alive with conferences, workshops, round tables, exhibitions and shows, which also spread their influence across the city of Rimini. In 2018, over 800,000 attendances were recorded, with 627 speakers across 248 meetings. Driving this formidable organisational machine is a staff divided into 14 departments, supported by no fewer than 2,527 volunteers.
Working with the Foundation to draw up the Meeting's sustainability strategy is Conai (Consorzio nazionale imballaggi). This is the first major testing ground for its new challenge: tackling the issue of sustainability at large events with a 360-degree approach.
