(Finance) – “Although the propensity to reuse is growing, recycling And reuse of the packaging, Italians are worried about the safety of those in contact with food. Furthermore, especially among the more socially fragile subjects, many are particularly oriented towards the ownership of goods and believe they live in a society not accustomed to reuse. These are evidences that make it necessary to modify the proposal for a European regulation on packaging and packaging waste which, although in line with the waste hierarchy, does not take into account the differences between the various European countries. There is a need for more flexibility and more time to allow consumers to adapt their lifestyles to indications, and for member states to change the entrepreneurial system. In particular, the critical issues for our agri-food and fruit and vegetable sector cannot be ignored, which risks being penalized above all on the export front”.
To say it is Simone Gamberini, President of Legacoop, commenting on some data from the study “Consumer choices on the circular economy”, the first survey on the subject in Italy, carried out by Legacoop in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Foundation and Ipsos, using the European Environment Agency’s “Enabling consumer choices for a circular economy” as a reference grid. The research was presented at the Fifth National Conference on the Circular Economy, promoted by CEN, Circular Economy Network.
Legacoop’s participation in the event is part of the commitment that the organization has dedicated over the years to a overall strategy, which also provides economic support tools for more sustainable businesses, centered on a policy of promotion of environmental sustainability and ofcircular economy, acquiring tools to measure the attention of cooperatives on these issues. In addition to the sustainability reports of Legacoop and the mutual fund cooperative, in 2021 the “First special waste report on companies belonging to Legacoop” was drawn up, which highlights how cooperatives are more virtuous and “circular” in the management of special waste than the country average and the project “Climate circular coop”, in collaboration with the universities of Ferrara and Roma Tre.
The circular economy is a central theme for the productive system and the national industrial policy, also given the geopolitical situation of international trade and global value chains. “Increasing independence and autonomy at European level – underlines Gamberini – becomes fundamental for our businesses. In this context, it is strategic to reduce, even partially, through the circular economy, the dependence on foreign countries for raw materials”. A decisive theme, for Legacoop, is that of attention to the role of citizens and gods consumers, especially after the inclusion of the theme of environmental sustainability in the Italian Constitution.
“The survey we carried out, in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Foundation and Ipsos -remarks the President of Legacoop- clearly shows that given the willingness of citizens to initiate circular actions, there are many barriers that hold back this drive. We therefore agree with the proposal of the CEN to define and publish a national program of education and communication on circular models of conscious consumption, as well as that of adopting a national program for sustainable and circular consumption, envisaged by the national strategy, subject to the establishment and consultation of a stakeholder forum. In order for this program to be as widespread as possible, we make our associative network available, which can count on more than 7 million cooperators, members of consumer, service, industrial, inhabitants, agricultural and social cooperatives”.
For Legacoop it is necessary, above all, as stated in the CEN report, to promote with fiscal measures and with economic incentives, as well as with a reform of the law, sharing, leasing and rental activities. “In this sense – concludes Gamberini – we believe it is essential to focus on sharing and collaboration, promoting the creation of circular communities which, as in the case of renewable energy communities, favor circular actions at zero KM, involving citizens, businesses and institutions, in a form cooperative”. Without neglecting the opportunity to introduce a tax exemption for the recycled content in packaging.