CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Presentation of the Symbola Report
Alchema and the Lombardy Region in collaboration with the Symbola Foundation and the Cogeme Foundation, organized an important event on the issues of the circular economy and Cradle 2 Cradle on 29 May, 29th 2018.
EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Sustainability of the production of goods and services, volatility in the prices of raw materials and fossil fuels, production of waste: the circular economy can make a huge contribution to solve these problems. And it can represent a radical and responsible innovation in business models.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the British non-profit organization that promoted the issue of “circular economy”, specifies it as “an economy designed to regenerate itself. In a circular economy, the flows of materials are of two types: biological flows, able to be reintegrated into the biosphere, and technical ones, destined to be re-valued without entering the biosphere”.
In the traditional, linear economy, at the end of their life cycle, products become waste, while in the circular economy, waste is “designed” to become resources. To support this development strategy, many institutions have undertaken some actions.
The European Union has made concrete actions, as almost all member countries have done; the G7 Summit dedicated to this theme a special meeting that was held in Bologna last June.
Moreover, the United Nations recognized the importance of the issue of circular economy for achieving sustainability objectives and hundreds of publications, reports, awards and initiative have been done worldwide.
From now on therefore we must deal with the results. Together with the institutions, many companies are doing something: they invent new business models, develop enabling technologies, create platforms and materials. Also in Italy.
The Symbola Foundation has identified and collected 100 stories in a book taht tell how our country is – almost unexpectedly – at the forefront of crucial issues such as environmental sustainability, the management of scarcity of resources and the fight against climate change.
100 stories that were made possible thanks to research, innovation, technology, competence and advanced training. In this event, we brought together some of the protagonists of these stories, to tell us about them by themselves.
