Sustainability, just transition, and circularity at Ecomondo 2025

Milan, November 5 (Adnkronos) – The second edition of the ESG CEO Summit took place yesterday at Ecomondo 2025. An opportunity to explore, Ecomondo reports in a press release, "the conditions and tools for a just transition, enabling the achievement of established objectives while simultaneously strengthening, rather than hindering, the competitiveness of businesses." This reflection was conducted "in light of an increasingly unstable global context, in which a new world order is emerging, characterized by profound divergences in the approach to the transition."

The meeting, opened by Corrado Peraboni, CEO of IEG, included an introductory session on the reference scenario, followed by presentations by Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont, and Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis (Eni), and a roundtable discussion that brought together Davide Abate, Chief Industrial Officer of Ferrari, Gianluca Bufo, CEO of Iren Group, Marco Codognola, CEO of Itelyum, Alessandro Colombo, CEO of Unidro & Sodai, Orazio Iacono, CEO of Hera Group, and Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of A2A Group.

The Lorenzo Cagnoni Award for Green Innovation was presented yesterday evening to the most advanced and promising technologies in the seven Ecomondo exhibition sectors. The award was presented to Puragen Sarl (Bioenergy & Agriculture), Preco System Srl (Circular & Regenerative Bio-Economy), Lab3841 Srl (Earth Observation & Environmental Monitoring), Cosmic Srl (Transport & Automotive), Ecosteryl Amb SA (Sites & Soil Restoration), Sanipur Srl (Water Cycle & Blue Economy), and City Net Ecologia & Ambiente Srl (Waste as Resource).

The event "Accelerating Circularity in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sector," organized by the Emilia-Romagna Region and Art-Er, brought together experts, institutional representatives, and stakeholders to promote dialogue and share strategies for a more circular economy in the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) sector at the European level. Drawing on the experiences of the Circotronic–Interreg Central Europe project, the event explored key topics such as circular design, the use of sustainable materials, and innovative business models to reduce the sector's environmental impact, with a focus on SMEs and the importance of a solid multi-level network.

Circularity in the textile industry is in focus today at Ecomondo, with the morning sessions "Urban Textile Waste. The EPR is Coming: Who Are the Producer Consortia and What Is Their Vision for System Development?"; "Waste Shipment Regulation and Its Impact on the Global Post-Consumer Textile Market"; and "Made in Italy Textiles: Challenges and Opportunities from a Circular Economy Perspective: What Future Awaits Us" in the afternoon. Regulatory developments, digital transformation, public-private partnerships, sustainable and next-generation materials, ethical labor practices, and scalable circular models, along with the important role of consortium systems—it is emphasized—"will enable the sector to address new global challenges, ensuring resilience and competitiveness for businesses." Also on this topic is the conference "Environmental and Regulatory Compliance: Daily Challenges and Solutions for the Textile Supply Chain Industry," organized by the Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee and Next Technology Tecnotessile.

Communication, Ecomondo emphasizes, "also plays a fundamental role in helping overcome misleading narratives on the topic of transition, generating trust and building stories that convey a new vision of development." The second edition of the Good Communication Forum, held today at Ecomondo, brought together representatives from the worlds of science, communication, and journalism, along with business managers, in an open and concrete dialogue on tools, metrics, and communication choices, to demonstrate that sustainability and competitiveness can—and must—go in the same direction.

The event "Earth Observation for Security and Sustainability: Dual-Use Innovations and AI at the Service of the Planet" was held this morning. Professor Fabio Fava, president of the Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee, opened the event with opening remarks and greetings. He highlighted the importance of new Earth Observation technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for global security and environmental sustainability. The approach emphasized was ethical and responsible use. Participants included Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force astronaut. Similarly, the event "From Sky to Ground: Earth Observation for Sustainable Critical Raw Materials Management" highlighted the potential of Earth monitoring from space for the management of critical raw materials.

And today at Ecomondo, the Green Economy General Assembly concluded with the international plenary session "Green Economy: Driving the Future in Times of Uncertainty," moderated by Raimondo Orsini, director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development, along with the Financial Times' Rome correspondent, Amy Kazmin. The session included a welcome from Corrado Peraboni, CEO of IEG, and a video address by Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy.