(Finance) – The market is calling for ecological transition, Ecomondo shows that it is ready to go. The international circular economy exhibition of the Italian Exhibition Group closes its 26th edition with +15% attendance compared to 2022, with 150 thousand square meters dedicated to over 1,500 exhibiting brands, up 10% on last yearfor four intense days of business and networking. Digital participation is also growing through the GreentechInsights b2b platform which recorded 600 thousand views of exhibitor profiles. Excellent media coverage: + 10% on over 500 million contacts in 2022 for one of the highest impacts ever on Italian and international public opinion.
From the regenerative bioeconomy to the blue economy, from the valorisation of waste as a resource to the restoration of soils, passing through bioenergy to environmental monitoring: the largest edition in 26 years gives a clear signal, circularity technologies are ready to regenerate ecosystems and are profitable, when combined with policies oriented towards decarbonisation. Also on display will be the latest eco-friendly vehicles biennial SAL.VE exhibition created with ANFIA. Together with what was seen in the pavilions of the Rimini Fair, green is confirmed as profitable for the economy also in the report “The economy of tomorrow: a decarbonised, circular and regenerative green economy” presented at the opening of the States General of the Green Economy 2023. A benefit of 689 billion euros is estimated over a period of ten years, against cumulative costs of 136.7 billion, from the European regulatory package for decarbonization alone ” Fit for 55″.
The number of countries of origin of Ecomondo visitors is growing, mainly from the Euro-Mediterranean area Spain, Germany, Greece, Serbia, Egypt and Tunisia, and then from sub-Saharan Africa. Over 630 international foreign operators were hosted thanks to the collaboration of the ICE Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with the global network of regional advisors of IEG and also of the Emilia-Romagna Region, in particular for the Blue Economy sector, coming from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkan area, Latin America, North America, India and the Middle East, which overall generated 2,700 business matches.
Start-ups and Scale-ups, essential ingredients of Ecomondo. This year, the prize named after Lorenzo Cagnoni was established for consolidated and emerging innovators in the ecosystem of green Italian businesses. On the podium Eco Reciclyng from Viterbo, HBI from Treviso and the global brand AMP Robotics. Three startups: 3Bee from Milan, Oxoco from Bari and Mixcycling from Vicenza. The companies and public administrations that have been most committed to eco-innovation have been rewarded with the Sustainable Development Award promoted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development and Ecomondo.
The inaugural day was attended by Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who visited the exhibition area with the president of IEG Maurizio Ermeti, the CEO Corrado Peraboni and the global exhibition director Alessandra Astolfi and defined Ecomondo “from a pioneering model to a national flag”. And again, the following participated: Francesco Corvaro, special envoy for climate change of the Italian government at COP28; the president of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini and the councilor for the ecological transition of the Municipality of Rimini Anna Montini.
During the four days of the event, guests at Ecomondo were the Deputy Minister for the Environment and Energy Security Vannia Gava, the Undersecretaries of MASE Claudio Barbaro and the Prime Minister Alessandro Morelli, and the Undersecretaries of the Interior Emanuele Prisco. The visit of members of the Parliamentary Eco-crime Commission. The presidents of the Campania Region Vincenzo De Luca and Michele Emiliano of the Puglia Region. The supply chain consortia and business associations, historic partners of the Event, starting with CONAI, Utilitalia and Assoambiente, Confindustria, together with the European Commission, OECD, FAO, UfM, EEA, ISWA, coordinated by the Technical Scientific Committee of the event directed by Professor Fabio Fava of the University of Bologna, make Ecomondo the reference community catalyst in the Euro-Mediterranean area with a calendar of over 240 events.