Renewable Matter #14 by Edizioni Ambiente

RENEWABLE MATTER INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON THE BIOECONOMY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY 14 | January-February 2017 Bimonthly Publication Edizioni Ambiente

The Future Despite Trump • Serenella Iovino: Turning Wounds into Stories • Henning Wilts: Surprise, Surprise: Germany is not that Circular • Who will Fund the Rescue of Earth

Dossier Bioeconomy/Italy: Industrial Renaissance • The Economy that Came from Outer Space • Penelope’s Lesson

Now it’s Southern Italy’s Turn • The Potential of Creative Reuse • What if We Went Back to Coins and Currency?

An Eco-Dark 2049 Euro 12.00 - Download free online magazine at www.renewablematter.eu

• Dying Sustainably

YEARS ANNIVERSARY

Following the incredible success of Sardinia 2015 / Arts Edition, which saw the participation of 732 delegates from more than 70 different countries from all the continents, we are proud to announce the 30th Anniversary of Sardinia Symposia, the reference forum for the international community since 1987.

sardinia_2017 16th INTERNATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AND LANDFILL SYMPOSIUM Forte Village / S. Margherita di Pula (CA) / Italy 2-6 October 2017

SEND YOUR ABSTRACT BY 1st MARCH ORGANISED BY

Submit your abstract for presentation at the Sardinia 2017! Abstracts must be prepared using the abstract template available on the Official Symposium website and submitted to the Organising Secretariat no later than March 1st 2017 using the form available on www.sardiniasymposium.it/abstract-form. Abstracts may be submitted for oral or poster presentation; offers of papers for workshops are also welcome. All papers must be written and presented in English. A considerable number of manuscripts will be selected and processed, following revision and updating, for publication in special thematic issues of Waste Management, the scientific journal with the highest IF (3.829) in the field, published by Elsevier.

SYMPOSIUM

IWWG - International Waste Working Group

Scientific Support: University of Padova (IT) Tongji University (CN) Technical University of Denmark (DK) Fukuoka University (JP) University of Central Florida (US) Hamburg Univ. of Technology (DE)

Oral sessions Specialised workshops 8 parallel tracks Training courses Poster sessions Companies exhibition

COMPANIES EXHIBITION

PARALLEL EVENTS

Networking B2B opportunities Meetings Advertising opportunities Companies Forum

Photo contest Seminars Practical design lab Round tables on EU Projects Photo Exhibition

SOCIAL EVENTS Welcome cocktail Concerts International football tournament Gala Dinner Awards Special Guest Country: activities and much more...

VENUE a wonderful working holiday at the world’s best luxury beach resort: elegant hotels / seafront suites / bungalows 21 restaurants / 10 swimming pools / sporting facilities / thermal health centre

CONTACTS

Eurowaste Srl Via Beato Pellegrino 23 35137 Padova - Italy tel +39 049 8726986 info@sardiniasymposium.it www.sardiniasymposium.it

Regeneration formula found.

REGENERATING MEANS CREATING A NEW FUTURE. Viscolube is the European leader in waste oil regeneration. By using highly innovative technologies, Viscolube produces base oils that remain stable in time, provide oxidation resistance and have a low sulphur content. Drop by drop, Viscolube works for the sustainability of our planet.

green oil, green life.

viscolube.it

WE HAVE TAKEN AN ASTONISHING WEIGHT O F F T H E S H O U L D E R S O F T H E F U T U R E.

At Ecopneus, we have recovered 1 million tonnes of end-of-life tyres, the weight of 8 cruise ships, in just 4 years. And we have transformed them into something more. Thanks to ethical and transparent work, 100 million end-of-life tyres have made many athletes sweat and have fun becoming basketball courts, tennis courts and football fields. They have reduced noise in offices, transforming themselves into sound-absorbing walls. They have protected thousands of children as shock absorbent rubber on playgrounds. They have covered kilometres of roads with rubberized asphalt and mitigated the vibrations of numerous tramway lines. They have given sustainable energy to companies in Italy and abroad. But most of all, they have done something priceless: they have made our country a more liveable place for future generations.

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Events

Editorial

The Future Despite Trump by Antonio Cianciullo

We are getting closer to 2019, the year in which Los Angeles is projected in the extraordinary Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott in 1982. 35 years on from that great interpretation by Harrison Ford it is not easy to compare fantasy with reality. California is certainly calmer than Philip K. Dick had imagined in the book on which the film is based. By contrast, the Washington led by the diplomacy of Trump Towers (those who accept to build them are good, while those who oppose them are enemies of the United States) and by an attack on the laws protecting the environment appear more disquieting than expected, populated by replicants of an antiscientific thought that seemed relegated to faded motion pictures. What will the world be like in 30 years time, in 2049? The Blade Runner sequel is well described in Roberto Giovannini’s column. But in reality what will the situation be like? Forecasts become more and more uncertain as time goes by because the speed and radicality of change are on the rise; the variables at play become more numerous and complex; political imbalances become more violent and cover up, with some background noise, even more dangerous environmental imbalances. The great phenomena started or multiplied by the 20th century (from the population boom to climate change, including migrations that may become of biblical proportions) will produce consequences that we can barely make out. It is a long term scenario that can act as a compass to find our way. However, since we are walking on very rugged terrain, it is good to concentrate on the next steps in order to avoid falling into a crevasse. One of the tools the European Union is putting in place to tackle two urgent and overwhelmingly important problems – the economic crisis and the environmental crisis – is the circular economy. As we mentioned on more than one occasion in this magazine, the stakes are high. According to the European Commission, the measures contained in the circular economy package presented in December 2015 will produce considerable advantages: annual savings of €600 billion, 580,000 new jobs with annual savings of €72 billion for European companies thanks to a more

efficient use of resources and thus a reduction of raw materials import and a 2-4% cut of greenhouse gas emissions. The European Parliament opened a new debate on the new regulations which put stronger emphasis on certain aspects (for example urban waste recycling to 70% by 2030 instead of 65%, percentage of landfilled waste reduced to 5% instead of 10%). But is Italy getting ready to face this challenge? In this issue of Renewable Matter we offer an account of the Italian strategy on the bioeconomy presented in November and of the first Master’s degree on the bioeconomy and the circular economy, achieved thanks to a synergy of the four main Italian universities (University of Turin, University of Milan Bicocca, University of Bologna and University of Naples Federico II). But, as stated in an interview by Mario Bonaccorso to Pasquale Granata – co-founder of GFBiochemicals – “after the strategy a detailed action plan must be developped. I believe that there are three urgent measures to be taken: the first is about the creation of a market, as it successfully happened with bioplastics with the law that banned non-biodegradable shopping bags; the second is about supporting demand through green public procurement policies based on a clear system of standards and labelling; the third is about communication and popularization of the bioeconomy so that Italian consumers and public opinion know that we are not talking about a niche, but about a sector that is already creating wealth and employment, within an ecosustainability framework.” It is a clear line of development. The problem is that at the moment this journey is faced with many obstacles on many fronts. First of all, the recovery of waste substances that, at the end of the production system, can be considered secondary raw materials rather than waste. Great Britain has produced a continuous flow of end-of-life waste decrees for the classification of such materials. Italy has struggled with the first ones last summer and many regions have not implemented the measures, thus jeopardizing many investments and jobs. If a healthy economy is not unleashed, it will be difficult for the country to take off in the right direction.

R M

14|January-February 2017 Contents

RENEWABLE MATTER INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON THE BIOECONOMY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Antonio Cianciullo

The Future Despite Trump

edited by

Surprise, Surprise: Germany is not that Circular

www.renewablematter.eu ISSN 2385-2240 Reg. Tribunale di Milano n. 351 del 31/10/2014 Editor-in-chief Antonio Cianciullo Editorial Director Marco Moro

Acknowledgments Alessandra Erme, Silvia Sartori

Silvia Zamboni

Andrea Barolini

Think Tank

Contributors Piero Attoma, Andrea Barolini, Catia Bastioli, Roberto Battiston, Emanuele Bompan, Mario Bonaccorso, Rudi Bressa, Roberto Di Molfetta, Fabio Fava, Sergio Ferraris, Roberto Giovannini, Pasquale Granata, Serenella Iovino, Irene Ivoi, Carlo Mancosu, Erin Meezan, Federico Pedrocchi, Tonino Perna, Matteo Reale, Edo Ronchi, Giovanni Sannia, Elisabetta Tramonto, Dinh Thao Hoa, Silvia Zamboni, Ezio Veggia, Henning Wilts

Who Will Fund the Rescue of Earth?

Penelope’s Lesson

with Elisabetta Tramonto

edited by

Managing Editor Maria Pia Terrosi

Interview with Henning Wilts

Emanuele Bompan

Editorial Coordinator Paola Cristina Fraschini

Interview with a Erin Meezan

Editing Paola Cristina Fraschini, Diego Tavazzi Design & Art Direction Mauro Panzeri

edited by

Matteo Reale

Layout Michela Lazzaroni

Turning Wounds into Stories Interview with Serenella Iovino

Translations Erminio Cella, Franco Lombini, Meg Anna Mullan, Mario Tadiello

Dossier Italy 24

Industrial Renaissance

Silvia Zamboni

What if we Went Back

Policy

Mario Bonaccorso

to Coins and Currency?

Executive Coordinator Anna Re

Irene Ivoi

When Design Meets Existing Things

External Relations Manager (International) Federico Manca External Relations Managers (Italy) Federico Manca, Anna Re, Matteo Reale Press and Media Relations press@renewablematter.eu

edited by

The Economy that Came from Outer Space Interview with Roberto Battiston

Emanuele Bompan

Contact redazione@materiarinnovabile.it Edizioni Ambiente Via Natale Battaglia 10 20127 Milano, Italia t. +39 02 45487277 f. +39 02 45487333

Case Studies

Advertising marketing@materiarinnovabile.it

Dinh Thao Hoa

Vietnam Opens Up to the Circular Economy

Annual subscription, 6 paper issues Subscribe on-line at www.materiarinnovabile.it/moduloabbonamento This magazine is composed in Dejavu Pro by Ko Sliggers Published and printed in Italy at GECA S.r.l., San Giuliano Milanese (Mi)

Rudi Bressa

Now it is Southern Italy's Chance

Innovation Pills 58

Roberto Giovannini

Columns

Federico Pedrocchi

Sustainability, the Final Act

The Media Circle An Eco-Dark 2049

Cover Palm oil fruit. Photo by feelphotoz – Pixabay.com CC0 Public Domain

Think Tank

Surprise, Surprise: Germany is NOT THAT Circular

©Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy

Interview with Henning Wilts edited by Silvia Zamboni

The contradictions of a Country that considers 100% recycled a landfilled smartphone and – in its industries – uses 85% of virgin raw materials while boasting strict rules and regulations regarding waste which are correctly implemented and an energy efficiency programme.

Henning Wilts directs the circular economy research sector at Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy). In 2016, he published the study Germany on the road to a circular economy?

The Germany you would not expect. Despite being Europe’s number one manufacturing power and world-renowned for its strict waste management policy (since 2005, for example, putting waste which is not pretreated into landfills has been prohibited), when it comes to developing the circular economy, it is anything but a pacesetter. So says Henning Wilts, head of the prestigious Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy’s circular economy sector. “We are probably moving in the right direction, but we are doing it too slowly. We are too proud of our ability to manage waste,” he explains. “Politicians think we resolved the problem in the 80s and the 90s, so they do not see what we need to change today. In reality, Germany has no systematic strategy for the circular economy. We have laws on waste, a programme for energy efficiency and one for sustainable consumption, but they are not coordinated. We have not set specific objectives to be achieved, nor do we have an authority of reference or a monitoring system.”

from waste recycling in industry. Germany acquires enormous quantities of energy from incineration, but, in doing so, it burns material that could be recovered and reused. 15% of the materials that we use in industry comes from recycling processes, while the other 85% is raw material. This is a long way away from the circular economy.”

Specifically, what are Germany’s other weaknesses? “The unsatisfying recovery of secondary raw materials. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are much more advanced than us in terms of using secondary raw materials obtained

In this critical context, what are Germany’s strengths? “Without a doubt, its infrastructures in the waste industry sector. In the 90s, our country set environmental safety standards for incinerators so high that today those living in their vicinities

Henning Wilts, Germany on the road to a circular economy?, 2016 (library.fes.de/pdf-files/ wiso/12622.pdf)

Wuppertal Institut, wupperinst.org/en

However, the official statistics attribute your country extremely high recycling percentages. “That is because, statistically, energy recovery is included in recycling percentages. A smartphone that ends up in the incinerator is considered 100% recycled, but, actually, no material has been recovered. Another problem is waste produced in construction-industry demolition. It is over 90% recycled, however, it is not reused as construction material but rather to construct soundproof motorway barriers. Only 3% of cement is recovered. This means that 97% raw materials are used for every new building.”

renewablematter 14. 2017

Silvia Zamboni is a professional journalist specialized in energy and environmental issues. She has authored books on good practices of the green economy, mobility and development.

If we really want to leave the linear economy, the business model we have to aim for is offering a service in the place of sale of goods.

have no related health problems. And the people accepted them, unlike what is happening in France and Italy, as far as I can see. Even I would feel safer living near an incinerator rather than any other type of industrial plant. “A further strong point are the waste sorting systems, which also handle biodegradable waste – still a problem for other countries. Specifically, Germans are proud of their waste sorting systems for handling packaging. Whether this always make sense or not is another matter. Monitoring is also quite strict, so our collection system does not involve illegality or dangers for the environment and health.” And what does the future hold for Germany’s circular economy? “A lot will depend on Europe and the circular economy package currently being discussed. Germany is continuing to display somewhat careful behaviour, considering it preferable to not set specific objectives before having clarified how to measure performances, for example, in terms of material recovery and reducing waste production. If Europe decides to set ambitious objectives, Germany will reflect on how to move forward. In any case, the question remains as to whether the circular economy is an economic or environmental project. We, at Wuppertal Institute, have performed a study on the carpet industry. This study proves that, due to the quantities of chemical product used to recover old fibres, the recycling process has a greater environmental impact than producing new carpet with virgin material. That is why it is of primary importance to set European guidelines for the ecodesign of products depending on the sustainable environmental recovery of materials at the end of their lives. I fear, however, that it will take us at least ten years to get there and that is too long...” What do you think of the EU circular economy package? “... Next question, please. More than 1,200 comments have been filed by member states. Nobody knows how it is going to turn out. I am worried about the fact that we will have to reach compromises and these will triumph over the ambition of its objectives. Countries like Bulgaria or Romania cannot afford high percentages of material recovery, so the need to find a break-even point between them and Germany will reduce the drive towards significant amounts of recycling.” In which European countries is the circular economy most developed? “Great Britain. They did not used to invest in waste management. They made wide use of landfills. Nowadays, they are considering whether to invest billions into incineration plants or to use the money directly to develop the circular economy. And it is precisely because

their starting conditions are so negative that the British are so enthusiastic. While France is leading the electrical appliance and furniture sector. The law obliges producers to supply spare parts for a period of ten years from product sale. This measure has considerable costs. That is unthinkable in Germany.” Moving on to more general considerations on the circular economy, you wrote that there are still questions to be answered and theoretical aspects to be investigated. “The circular economy is often wrongly associated with the chance to use enormous quantities of raw materials and material goods as we please, providing this occurs within this closed-cycle productive model, where materials are recovered. Actually, every extraction of natural resources causes irreversible damages to the environment. Furthermore, the idea that we can recycle anything is not true. There are inevitably qualitative and quantitative material losses in recycling processes. That is not all. For many materials, the treatment and recovery technologies are not yet available, and we should not take for granted that industry will adopt them. On these grounds, the first objective should be to reduce resource use as much as possible. This approach to efficient, rational use is not enough. The total quantity of raw materials that we extract from the Earth is growing exponentially. According to statistics, Germany has reduced this extraction, but at the expense of offloading the impact of production of goods which we use on the environmental balance of other countries. Vietnam, for example, supplies us electronic products with a high content in precious resources whose extraction has serious repercussions on the environment.” You also wrote that the theory of the complete closing of the circle contradicts the principles of thermodynamics. “According to physicists, entropy is not remedied via recycling. The chaos human beings create in the natural world through their actions cannot be cancelled, nor will natural systems return to the status quo ante with recycling processes. “Another controversial aspect which permeates the circular economy regards its compatibility with the high safety standards in force regarding waste. In the past, the priority was to develop technologies and processes that guaranteed §safe waste disposal. Today the question is: do we want to continue to live without running any risk, or are we more interested in recycling as if there were no tomorrow because it is economically advantageous? A new balance must be sought and recycling is not the answer.” Public institutions, industry, consumers: what role do they play in the circular economy? “In the future, our basic need is for these

different players to collaborate more closely together. Let us begin at ministerial level with those who handle waste management, those who handle consumer goods legislation, those who handle consumer safety and those who handle secondary raw material who all work separately from each other. The same thing happens with the European Union. The DG Environment endorses waste combustion in order to overcome our dependency on carbon and gas imports from Russia and other countries. At the same time, the waste unit believes that material recovery must have priority over incineration. Two opposite points of view within the same body. While the legislative frame remains so contradictory, the industry will not begin investing in favour of the circular economy. And it is still asking: let us know what we need to do with our waste first – should we burn it or not? Working in a team was not easy in the linear economy, but if we are going to move to a circular economy all the different elements must move in step with the beat.” Even if the regulatory context is so contradictory, what should/could the industry do? “If we really want to leave the linear economy, the business model we have to aim for is offering a service in the place of sale of goods. In the German automobile industry, the most important producers offer car sharing services, since entire purchasing categories in Germany, like the under-30s, no longer wish to purchase a car which has lost that status symbol aura. Sharing is the model which should be invested in. This is what the industry is thinking about. The problem is that investments supporting innovation grow stagnant, while we await clear law dispositions and regulations.” Does this situation involve other countries other than Germany? “The situation is extremely problematic in Germany. You see it from the reduction in the number of patents filed annually. In a certain sense, Germany has got by thanks to innovation and investments made in the waste industry in the 80’s and 90’s. We know fine well how to eliminate waste, but in terms of recovery and the circular economy we are behind. On the other hand, in southeast Asia the industry knows the context its moving in with a view to the future. And while Europe does not want to remain behind, it needs to adapt to the new priorities.” What contribution can we give consumers? “Personally I am against offloading the responsibility on consumers. We need to consider the whole context. However, the criticism, for example, about buying clothes that cost next to nothing which need to be thrown out a couple of months later, is legitimate. The same thing is happening

in Germany with the boom of disposable printers which cost 35 euros, i.e. less than the price of a toner. You use them to print, for example, invitations to your wedding or some event and they are thrown away after a couple of weeks when the ink runs out. Changing prevalent consumption models, preferring access to a service like car sharing over buying a car, sharing consumer goods... these are options which save us money. But in order to give up our routine disposable consumption trend we must reflect on our own behaviour models. It does not happen automatically.”

Who Will Fund the Rescue

OF EARTH? by Andrea Barolini

The North and South of the world wrestled over the matter of funding the fight against climate change at the Marrakech COP. This article was published in Valori. An Italian monthly publication on social economy, ethical finance and sustainability, n° 145, February 2017 (www.valori.it) An economic and environmental journalist for more than ten years, Andrea Barolini collaborates with newspapers and the TV as well as agencies in Italy, France and Switzerland.

COP22, cop22.ma/en

When the final curtain fell on the twenty-second United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, the COP22 in Marrakech, it seemed as if an intermediate phase had been simply touched on. Indeed, no great progress was made on the front of the fight against climate changes. The “developed” countries confirmed their intention to allocate 100 billion dollars a year, from now until 2020, in the final document approved in Morocco. This promise however appears dated by now considering it was put forward for the first time eight years ago. It was then confirmed in the Paris Agreement which was reached at the end of the COP21 in 2015. At Marrakech, after the developments made in France regarding declarations of intent, we expected it to be time for action. The Conference had set the objective of “putting into practice” the decisions taken a year before in Paris. In any case, despite the direct appeal made by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon (who stated that “funding and investments are essential to creating resilient societies, capable of minimising greenhouse gas emissions”), it is not yet clear how the Green Climate Fund, established after the Copenhagen COP in 2009, will be financed. Rich countries, for now, have promised only 83 million dollars, of which 50 from Germany, which will however, finance another fund, the Adaptation Fund which was established in the Kyoto Protocol framework. A mere drop in the ocean.

Finding funds... In Morocco, the government gave themselves two years to figure out how to find a way to guarantee this 100 billion. Said Karrouk, climatologist and member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Nobel Peace prize winner in 2007, explained to French daily economic newspaper La Tribune that “when, back in the Paris COP21 final declaration, the astronomical transfer of 100 billion dollars from the richest countries in the world to the developing nations was confirmed, we could have legitimately asked certain questions regarding the sincerity of these promises. Above all, considering the current economic and financial context. The theory that we are talking about a statement intended to get Africa to bide their time, as far as I can see, is not just the result of mere paranoia. I only hope at least that it is not nothing more than a bluff.” It should be noted that last October the rich countries published (for the first time) a document demonstrating how these commitments are expected to be fulfilled. According to the OECD calculations, in this way, in 2020, 67 billion dollars of public funding (including donations and loans) will be made available. Apart from that, the governments count on leverage which is capable of driving private investments totalling between 77 and 133 billion. But, here, we are talking hypothetically: “The publication of this document, which is more specific than a simple promise, is progress. However, let us continue to be cautious: States often exaggerate sums,” commented Armelle Le Comte, of the association

Think Tank Oxfam. The provision of around ten billion granted by China through another fund, the South-South Coordination Fund, is more sound. ... and using them

*This information was taken from “Finanza sostenibile e cambiamento climatico,” published by the Italian Sustainable Investment Forum.

It will be necessary to verify if the rest of the world is just as ready. Let us be optimistic and imagine that the funds are found over the next few months. At that point, we will need to decide how to use them. And how to allocate them. This, too, was a matter of great dispute between the nations of the North and South of the world meeting in Marrakech. “The discussions no longer regard the amount of money used – underlines Mauro Albrizio, in charge of Legambiente’s European office in Brussels – but three fronts: the calculation methods, those regarding fund granting and whether to allocate them to mitigation or adaptation to climate change policies.” Basically, the OECD’s calculations have been contested by the poor nations, “because – continues Albrizio – it is clear that while donations are one thing, loans are quite another. As regards the latter, it is necessary to verify what interest rate will be granted. Obviously, developing countries will only accept cash with very low interest rates. If they have to run up debts at market rates, they can just as easily deal with banks. Why should they wait for the rich countries to intervene?” Furthermore, for now, only 20% of the public funds registered by the OECD are

intended for adaptation, that is, for the systems which the most vulnerable nations will have to use in order to adapt to climate changes: “It is clear that private citizens are not interested in investing in this way. They are much more tempted to co-fund technology transfer, and focus on the amount allocated to mitigation.” The “Noes” of the South of the world This situation is unacceptable for the governments of developing countries that have proposed to raise adaptation funds to at least 50%. The request was officialised by the African Union, which would accept to have around 30-40 billion dollars at their disposal. “In any case – Legambiente’s leader observes – we should clarify that this sum is not in the slightest sufficient since it will only covers the first step. Some UNFCCC informal estimates, which circulated the negotiating tables in Marrakech, indicate that between 140 and 300 billion dollars a year will be needed in 2030.” The final chapter of the North-South dispute regards loss and damage costs, that is, compensation for damages suffered. “At the COP22 – concludes Albrizio – a five-year programme was defined which will have to indicate how these contributions are granted. Developing countries have accepted the principle that future catastrophes will be indemnified but past ones will not.” This, however, will start from the moment in which the mechanism becomes operational.*

When finance meets climate change

Direct and indirect instruments for fighting climate change What environmental risk has got to do with pension funds by Elisabetta Tramonto

Professional journalist, Elisabetta Tramonto has been editor-in-chief of monthly publication Valori since 2007. She has written for several periodical publications, specialising in solidarity economy, ethical finance and environmental protection.

Environmental risks as part of investment strategies – a mandatory part of European pension funds. Last 24 November, the European parliament did indeed approve the amendments to the IORP (Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision) II Directive, which updated the regulations on activities and supervision regarding pension funds and other European pension schemes, also introducing the obligation for fund managers to adopt ESG (that is, environmental, social and corporate governance) criteria in investment choices. Investors, the new directive specifies, must communicate their risk analyses to the competent authorities, including those “regarding climate change, resource use, the environment, the social sphere and depreciation of assets as a consequence of regulatory changes.” These are so-called stranded assets – assets which are substantially blocked since incapable

of remunerating investments. These include enormous reserves of gas and oil which the introduction of stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions (and, thus, the use of fossil fuels) are an important factor for in terms of depreciation. “This is a great success in terms of supporting investments into sustainable products,” commented German MEP for the Greens, Sven Giegold, adding that the law “is opening the way to fossil fuel divestment by European pension funds.” As regards the environmental impact of investments, France has made an advance move. In summer 2015, the Loi relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte was approved, obliging, with article 173, pension funds, insurance companies and all big investors to measure and communicate the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio, along with their climate risk management strategy, from 2016.

renewablematter 14. 2017 The green bond boom So-called “green bonds” are one of the most innovative instruments for funding businesses with a positive impact on the climate. These debt securities are associated to funding projects with positive environmental effects (renewable energies, sustainable management of waste and water resources, biodiversity protection, energy efficiency). This market has experienced exponential growth over the past years, reaching, in 2015, over 40 billion dollars in overall global issues – 272% compared to 2013 (data from Climate Bond Initiative, “Year end review 2015,” www.climatebonds.net). The bonds are issued mostly (61%) by international organisations such as the World Bank or the European Investment Bank (EIB). The remaining part (39%) are company bonds. The first green bond was launched by the EIB in 2007 and is named “Climate Awareness.” It funds projects focusing on solutions to climate changes. At the moment, there is no binding standard of reference for issuing green bonds: A report published recently by the WWF underlines the importance of reserving the adjective “green” exclusively to bonds whose issuer can demonstrate a positive, measurable environmental impact, certified by an independent body according to shared standards.

Impact investing against climate change “Impact investing is a sustainable finance strategy which is particularly indicated for contrasting climate change and favouring the transition towards a low-emission economy,” reads the “Finanza sostenibile e cambiamento climatico” report published by the Italian Sustainable Investment Forum. “Compared to other instruments, impact investments intend specifically to generate a measurable social and environmental return.” In 2015, the value of the masses managed on the basis of the impact investing strategy totalled circa 60 billion dollars, as highlighted by the annual JP Morgan and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) study. Furthermore, a JP Morgan, GIIN and Rockefeller Foundation investigation estimated that, in 2020, the masses managed according to impact finance criteria could reach 400 to 1,000 billion dollars.

ETFs and low carbon indexes ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) which replicate low carbon indexes. The supply of so-called “passive” management incorporating the matter of climate change is also increasing. These are ETFs which include securities which are lower in carbon than the benchmark of reference, thus reducing the overall CO2 footprint of the portfolio. Indexes can be composed based on the exclusion strategy, eliminating the most polluting sectors from the investable universe (typically, the fossil fuel sector), or using a best in class approach, which, within each sector, selects the companies able to manage the risks/opportunities connected to climate change most efficiently. An example of these low carbon indexes can be found on the Montréal Carbon Pledge website: montrealpledge.org/resources122.

Initiatives for funding clean energy and against climate change Initiatives for funding projects developing clean energy, or, in general, for contrasting climate changes are increasing throughout the world. •• The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) is an African initiative for exploiting the continent’s abundant renewable energy resources. Launched at the COP21 in Paris in December 2015, it is receiving great international support from development partners that are committed to mobilising at least 10 billion dollars cumulatively in order to exploit the potential of renewable energies in Africa and increase access to energy throughout the continent. Financially supported and sustained by the governments of Canada, France, Germany and the United States, the AREI aims to add 10 GW of energy produced from renewable sources to the African energy mix by 2020 and then another 300 GW by 2030. The annual Global Impact Investing Network report identified several particularly relevant initiatives (quoted in the “Finanza sostenibile e cambiamento climatico,” published by the Italian Sustainable Investment Forum): •• the Breakthrough Energy Coalition created by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and another 20 HNWIs that will invest in initiating clean energy and technology initiatives throughout the world; •• the Climate Investor One created by FMO to promote funding renewable energies on emerging markets; •• the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s Land Degradation Neutrality Fund aims to redevelop 12 million hectares of compromised land every year, with the objective of mitigating climate change and favouring biodiversity; there will be over one billion dollars in investment opportunities through the fund.

Think Tank Climate and finance: international initiatives 2° Investing Initiative This association, founded in 2012 in Paris, is a group of multi-stakeholder experts which develops projects aiming to align the financial sector with 2 °C’s objective. Specifically, the group’s research and activities aim to: make investment processes coherent with 2 °C scenarios; develop methods and instruments for measuring financial institutions’ climate change performance; encourage the introduction of regulatory incentives to direct resources towards funding energy transition. 2degrees-investing.org Green Climate Fund The fund was created as part of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) with the objective of applying the Paris Agreement (COP21) and increasing collective action in response to climate changes. The fund aspires to mobilise resources for investing in low carbon-impact development projects which are resilient against climate change. www.greenclimate.fund Green Infrastructure Investment Coalition Founded at the Paris COP21, this coalition aims to support the funding of a rapid transition towards a low carbon-impact economy which is resilient against climate changes. The founding members of the coalition are: Climate Bonds Initiative, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), UNEP Inquiry and International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF). www.giicoalition.org Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change IIGCC is a collaborative platform for investors concerning the matters of climate change. The network is currently composed of 120 members, including several important pension funds and European managers. Its members represent almost 13,000 billion euros of assets. Its mission is to provide investors with a collaborative platform for encouraging policies, investment practices and conduct capable of facing the risks and the opportunities associated with climate change, from a long-term perspective. www.iigcc.org Investor Network on Climate Risk Founded in 2003, the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) includes over 120 institutional investors representing more than 14,000 billion dollars of assets. The members of the INCR are committed to facing the risks and seizing the opportunities which derive from climate change and other challenges related to sustainability. www.ceres.org/investor-network/incr Montréal Carbon Pledge By signing the Montréal Carbon Pledge, investors commit themselves to measuring, publishing and reducing the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio, on an annual basis. The initiative was launched

on 25 September 2014 at the PRI in Person33 in Montréal and is promoted by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and by the UNEP Financial Initiative (UNEP-FI). Supervised by the PRI, the Montréal Carbon Pledge has registered more than 120 investor members, with more than 10,000 billion dollars of managed assets. Etica Sgr and Fondo pensione Cometa are the only Italian signatories for the moment. http://montrealpledge.org Natural Capital Declaration The Natural Capital Declaration is promoted by UNEP-FI and the Global Canopy Programme. This financial sector declaration with a view to the Earth Summit Rio+20, explains the commitment to integrate considerations connected to Natural Capital in products and financial services in the 21st century. Ecosystem goods and services deriving from Natural Capital include climate security. www.naturalcapitaldeclaration.org Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition The Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition is an initiative promoted by UNEP-FI, UNEP, CDP and Amundi. This network of institutional investors and managers is committed to “decarbonizing” their investment portfolios. Portfolio decarbonization may occur by disinvesting, across all sectors, in carbon-intensive companies, projects and technologies and re-investing in companies, projects and technologies which are particularly efficient in terms of carbon emissions. www.unepfi.org/pdc Regions of Climate Action R20 Regions of Climate Action is a nonprofit organisation, founded in 2010 by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other world leaders, in cooperation with the United Nations. R20’s mission is to assist regional governments to develop projects regarding low-emission economic development which is resilient to climate changes. Specifically, R20 facilitates the setting up of collaborations between regions and the technological and financial sectors. http://regions20.org UNEP-FI Climate Change Advisory Group Since the World Forum in Rio in 1992, the United Nations Environmental Protection’s financial initiative has incentivised the aligning of financial communities with sustainable development principles and, in the context of the dedicated Advisory Group, with the containment of the risks connected to climate change. UNEP-FI members include over 200 financial institutions (banks, investors and insurance companies). Its activities focus on achieving two main objectives: changing finance (favouring the integration of environmental aspects within financial processes) and financing change (encouraging the funding of projects with a positive environmental impact). www.unepfi.org

PENELOPE’s Lesson edited by Emanuele Bompan

Interview with Erin Meezan

The story of Ray Anderson, the father of industrial ecologism. How he transformed his manufacturing company into a symbol of the circular economy which today produces textile flooring using 80% of regenerated or recycled material.

www.interfaceglobal.com

After re-reading the myth of Penelope’s web, it is possible to find much more than a simple ruse to cheat the suitors, but a symbol of the reversibility and circularity of processes. Everything can be taken apart and done again, with some guile. Probably, when Ray Anderson, the American entrepreneur thought about a yarn for textile flooring which could be disassembled and reassembled did not have this passage of the Odyssey in mind, but he certainly resorted to some cunning, because he understood that the best way to limit environmental impacts of production processes was that of creating reversible and regenerable products. In a word, circular. That’s why in 1994 Ray Anderson transformed Interface Inc., the American company that he created in 1973 in Georgia in the USA, specialized in the production of quality textile flooring – wall-to-wall carpets in simple terms – in a symbol of the circular economy. Long before the term was used in the sustainability discourse. Ray Anderson (who died in 2011, author’s note) was not an environmentalist. And yet his conversion led him inadvertedly to become a symbol of another way to produce. He became the creator of a new thought, the industrial ecologism, so aptly described in his book Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose – Doing Business by Respecting the Earth (2009).

Renewable Matter wanted to tell the story of Interface by visiting LaGrance factory in Georgia to interview Erin Meezan, Chief Sustainability Officer of Interface in order to understand how to transform an ordinary manufacturing company into a global leader of the circular economy, now quoted in any text on the subject. During the visit of Interface’s plant it is difficult not to be gobsmacked before the elegance of the Awarehouse (from a crasis between awareness and warehouse), the company’s large exhibition and production space. And the results obtained are also bewildering, all certified by third parties. Some figures: since 1996, Interface has reduced climate-changing gas emissions by 98.5%; it has cut energy use by 64% (today 85% is produced by renewable sources); water consumption has been reduced by 98%; waste landfilling has been eliminated, and the average production waste has dropped by one fifth. Overall, one Interface textile flooring module ontains one third less CO2 compared to fifteen years ago. And now the target is to eliminate its emissions and consumption. Not bad at all. On entering the Awarehouse, the company’s devotion to sustainability is obvious. From energyproducing floors when walked over at the Energy Floors entrance, to LEED-certified buildings (LEED is the sustainability certification of

Think Tank buildings promoted by Green Building Council, author’s note). The nearby showroom and factory, as well as all the 17 Interface plants throughout the world, are built around the concept of recovery of matter, while communicating the importance of such effort.

Paul Hawken published with Edizioni Ambiente Natural Capitalism (“Capitalismo naturale,” new edition 2011) and Blessed Unrest (“Moltitudine inarrestabile,” 2009)

Erin Meezan, you know very well the history of Interface. How has this conversion from energy-consuming company to a regenerative one happened? “1994. The company was running smoothly. It so happened that during a bid for tender for a real estate project in California, one of the first zero-emission super efficient builings, Interface did not manage to win: all the necessary sustainability requirements were missing. When managers became aware of that, Ray Anderson began to wonder why we had lost that job and if there was something we could do. So he started to get his act together: we had to become more sustainable. He scheduled a company meeting to present this new business vision. But as the meeting got closer, Ray started panicking. What needs to be done? What solutions must be adopted? “The flash of intuition came when Ray found on his desk a copy of the book by Paul Hawken The Ecology of Commerce, where the crisis of the Earth, the decline of the biosphere and the role played by the big corporations are described. When he came to the chapter ‘The Death of Birth,’ about the fact that it is actually the business world which is part of the problem, the key to stop the environmental decline, Ray, which at the time was 60, had en epiphany. Such a shocking one that he used that word for years when telling his Graduated in environmental legislation at Vermont Law School, Erin Meezan is Chief Sustainability Officer of Interface and Vicepresident for the Sustainability area. An expert in sustainable business-related issues, she is also an advisor for boards of directors and decision-making committees in numerous NGOs.

conversion. At the company meeting, everybody expected a traditional solution, such as ‘waste reduction’ or ‘increase energy efficiency in the production.’ But he surprised everybody when he announced: ‘Interface must achieve zero environmental impact and must work to regenerate the environment.’ “To do that, a framework of radical work was established. First of all we looked for support outside the company. The first to be involved was Paul Hawken himself, then a group of constructors of the building in California which refused the bid for tender was contacted and then David Brower, one of the founders of the Sierra Club (one of America’s largest environmental associations, author’s note). With this eco-dream team Ray organized the work: reduce waste to a minimum, 100% energy use from renewable sources, close all technological as well as matter cycles and guarantee all materials are used in the production system. The overall picture is based on the assumption, ‘How would nature manage a company?’” So, the circular vision has been there since the very beginning. “Yes, it has been at the heart of the strategy from the very start. We worked on the ability to employ recycled materials, rather than virgin ones, thus eliminating the concept of waste. A thrilling vision, both from an economic and environmental perspective. A new vision that would have unanimously defined Interfaces’s nature. Indeed, the circular model was easily transferrable to the factory too, showing workers how much a kilo of wasted yarn was worth and how many tonnes of production waste generated on a daily basis could become a new resource. Once this was understood, employees could act accordingly, without wasting and contributing to a stategy that improved revenue. “Moreover, having a limited amount of money for sustainability, rather than investing straight away in solar systems – which in 1996 had a very bad payback on investments because of the costs of that technology at the time – choosing to work on the recovery of waste helped capital savings, which could then be used to install photovoltaic panels on a large scale and adopt sustainability measures.” How did you manage to recover matter to produce new textile flooring? “At the beginning, in order to recycle modular textile flooring we concentrated on the technology to separate the backing material (the part in latex, jute or synthetic) from yarns and so they could be sent to suppliers for recycling. ReEntry was thus created, Interface’s supply chain circular model. The first step was the technology crushing the backing material which was then melted together with other materials through the CoolBlue™ system, producing the new one. But initially we did not have market data, we did not know how much we should charge

renewablematter 14. 2017 Emanuele Bompan, an urban geographer and environmental journalist since 2008. Together with Ilaria Brambilla he authored the book Che cos’è l’economia circolare (“What’s the circular economy”), Edizioni Ambiente, Milan 2016.

Net-Works, net-works.com

There is no use in concentrating everything in a centralized location, in seeing how much in every location which resources can be used, adapting to different systems.

for the product and what the margins would be. What we knew was that we did not have to pay anything extra for recycling. We carried on without knowing how the market would have reacted, trusting the assumption ‘devoted to our mission.’”

a strategy to use any matter that is not entirely exploited, creating employment and healing situations of environmental distress. Just as with fishing nets, we can create community-based models, on a small scale and worldwide, thus constantly increasing matter supply.”

You are market leaders, I’d say the market reacted very well. With ReEntry 2.0 today you have modules 80% produced with recycled and regenerated materials, yarns included. “We achieved such results in less than ten days. When we started, we had no choice as to the recycled yarn from suppliers. So we summoned Aquafil from Italy and Universal in the USA, explaining to them our new vision, in order to find systems to recover yarn. And Aquafil singled out a solution: the use of old fishing nets. The brilliant idea was to launch with Aquafil and the Zoological Society of London the Net-Works programme, to work with local communities of fishermen, who are affected by the impacts of fishing nets, that are often thrown out at sea or lost on the sea bottom becoming traps for fish and dolphins. Then we focussed on Danajon Bank, in the Philippines (one of the world’s six double barrier reefs and one of the main marine ecosystems in the entire Pacific Ocean, author’s note), where most people make a living from the sea. Thanks to Aquafil, making nets in Slovenia, turning them into Econyl, we created – an economically solid supply chain – by paying local communities to pick up nets in the ocean, work them and send them to our suppliers. An effective business model as shown by the fact that today we have a second location in Cameroon. In the future we will continue to concentrate our efforts to increase the social benefits of our production chain, not just limiting ourselves to recycling and environmental regeneration.”

Interface is a model. What would you say to those asking for advice? “We need to keep the system as closed as possible and in addition to the materials used we need to focus our efforts to create circularity on the most used materials, trying to understand whether one has the ability to transform matter. But more importantly the supply chain dynamics must be thoroughly understood, finding out where we can act and how we can involve suppliers. We must lead by example. We knew how to recycle backing materials for floors: we had credibility with suppliers, we knew the costs and problems linked to the supply chain. So we could advise them in the best possible way.”

So, does circular also mean social? “In order to have a true circular economy the fact that the company uses its products or the competitors’ is not enough. It must have

There is an element rarely considered in the circular economy models: man. Has the creation of a restricted production cycle generated employment? “During the first years of the Obama administration there was a lot of interest in green jobs: I remember numerous conversations with the federal government interested in understanding how many jobs could generate a solution such as that adopted by Interface. With the ReEntry programme we created many jobs. Not only that, we changed how it is perceived: employers feel more motivated working in a company willing to help the planet. A few years back we tested through an app the level of involvement of staff in the production process. The result was that the most satisfied and positively involved workers were those working in the recycled backing line, i.e. those who contributed the most to the company mission. We are not considering here the humane aspect of

Think Tank the Net-work project, which created jobs where there were none. In the Philippines, Net-works means being able to send kids to school, access to health care, conserving barrief reefs. “Here is a piece of adivice I would like to give you: ‘Have a clear development path, where you can influence in a positive and direct way people’s lives.’” Being radically circular, has it represented an advantage over your competitors? “Absolutely. We have always been sustainable commercial textile flooring producers. When the LEED certification system was introduced, we were the only product which complied with it, and that was an advantage. Only later, many have followed our model.”

Every obstacle can become a fresh success.

In order to be a circular company, what kind of scale and structure must be adopted? “We have 17 manufacturing companies throughout the world operating in a decentralized way. One of our competitors sends all material to be recycled to a single location, in the USA, for the re-processing. If this allows a high level of quality check, it is a highly inefficient system because of logistical reasons. We believe that the system must be site specific, must be flexible and original. The scale is the most interesting aspect of our reflection on the concept of the circular economy. There is no use in concentrating everything in a centralized location, in seeing how much in every location which resources can be used, adapting to different systems. India is not the USA, China is not Northern Ireland (All Interface production sites, author’s note). We need to create light, fluid and mobile production lines. This is our challenge. It was the Net-Works programme that showed us how to work with small communities and face problems on such scale.”

Now you are aiming for zero impact with your Zero Mission®. “It is still three years away, we are getting there and we still wonder: what is the next step to take? The next challenges are about how this company can act as positive force to stop climate change and to diminish poverty and inequality. We still have not done enouth socially. Of course we have passed on the values of the circular economy to over 5,000 employees so that they could also be applied outside Interface. During the registration of a document on Interface, an employee dealing with our Australian production plant said, ‘I talked [about the circular economy] to my parents, their factory could be organized as a waste-free closed cycle. And they were thrilled about that.’ This is a clear sign that people are interested. “The same is true for Northern Ireland, where companies are encouraged not to produce waste for landfills. Our local manager for sustainability makes sure that everything is recycled. When he does not manage to come to an agreement with suppliers he finds a solution of some sort. Now we have started a programme for ‘ambassadors of sustainability’ and we will try our best so that every employee, every worker can take part in it. In this way they will be able to acquire new skills and professional abilities.” You have been trying to introduce a product-as-a-service model. What does it take to set up such a different sales system to that based on transfer of ownership? “Two things: increase the volume (of contracted product, author’s note) and educate consumers about this model. So it is important to find a contractual agreement allowing us to hold ownership of textile flooring and to recover them at the end of their life. It should not necessarily be a lease, it can be a buy-back or a binding agreemnt of end-of-life recovery. A backing federal law forbidding the landfilling of flooring would be useful: in the USA, they are amongst the first five products, by volume, to be landfilled, together with nappies. California was one of the first countries to introduce a law to create collection infrastructure. And it was very successful. This makes us think that instead of sending from California to Georgia the material to recover, can we build a piece of light infrastructure overthere sending regenerated yarn and backing material directly to suppliers? Every obstacle can become a fresh success. We are confident we will reach our Zero Mission target and that we will work with increasingly sustainable products – such as TacTile, a puzzle-like assembly system, where glue is no longer necessary, with positive impacts on health and material consumption – and on new business models. Ray’s epiphany has not died with him. His dream goes on with his company.”

Turning Wounds

INTO STORIES Interview with Serenella Iovino

Think Tank Serenella Iovino lectures at the University of Turin, Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures. She is considered one of the major Italian environmental philosophers and cooperates with the main international journals and institutions in the field of ecocriticism. She has published Ecologia letteraria. Una strategia di sopravvivenza (Edizioni Ambiente 2015). Her last book is Ecocriticism and Italy. Ecology, Resistance, and Liberation (Bloomsbury 2016). edited by Matteo Reale

When a territory is devastated by natural disasters, it is necessary to start a regenerative process for social, cultural, and environmental reconstruction. One such example is the Cretto di Gibellina, a monument symbolizing the wounds inflicted by the earthquake and the ability to turn them into signs. Italy is a fragile land and it has been increasingly devastated by seismic disasters, which have altered its profile by hitting people and destroying historic villages, settlements, and their artistic heritage. This is especially true today, after the earthquake that hit regions in Central Italy so rich in history and caused severe damage also because public and private buildings were not complying with the strictest seismic codes. The topics involved are, first of all, those of prevention and of social, cultural, and environmental reconstruction of settlements after the disaster. Not only have the affected areas become heaps of ruins, but also bonds between people, affections, social relationships, and people’s connections with their land were destroyed. Art has proved a powerful tool to give new life to prostrated towns, involving people, and allowing devastated environments to come back to life with a new spirit. An example is provided by the reconstruction of Gibellina. This Sicilian town, destroyed by a severe earthquake in 1968, became a productive laboratory of ideas, beauty, and sharing, capable of giving a new identity to this annihilated place and activating citizens’ participation through a monumental work of land art by Alberto Burri, a system of disseminated artworks by Schifano, Melotti, and Pomodoro; new buildings by Gregotti, Purini and Quaroni and the Orestiadi theatre festival. When Emilio Isgrò was the festival’s artistic director, the ruins of the old town destroyed by the earthquake were used as stage wings for the plays (ruins which, a few years later, will be covered by Burri’s Grande Cretto). The town’s citizens, who had returned to places from their old and by then shattered lives, watched the performances and that narrative gave them the strength to start again. This regenerative process has been analyzed

by the philosopher Serenella Iovino in her recent Ecocriticism and Italy. Ecology, Resistance and Liberation. The book retraces the history of some Italian areas (Naples, Venice, Sicily, Campania and Abruzzo – with respect to their earthquakes – and Piedmont) by means of those bodies and natural and artificial objects which constitute them and that provide us with an original interpretation of the country’s environment and culture. Your books’ cover is dedicated entirely to the installation set up by Alberto Burri in the town of Gibellina (Sicily), which had been obliterated by an earthquake in 1968. It consists of a giant labyrinth of cracks – the Cretto – in white concrete. Why is that photograph so symbolic? “Burri’s Cretto is the biggest monument ever been dedicated to an earthquake. It covers the old town’s area entirely, since Gibellina was destroyed completely by an earthquake hitting the Valle del Belice in the extremely cold January of 1968. The Cretto’s story is exemplary in many ways. Its quite controversial creation was the result of the will of Gibellina’s mayor, and that is to say Ludovico Corrao, who did not want to resign himself to his town’s disappearance. Thus, on a silent, abandoned hill, covered by a layer of white concrete which follows the town’s layout, the Cretto captures old Gibellina’s last scream and tells us about a place trying to keep on existing as a landscape despite destruction. In its minimalism – which is absurd and necessary, given the installation’s size – the Cretto symbolizes the wound the earthquake inflicted on those places’ body, but also the will to turn wounds into signs, thus transforming them into stories which are necessary to move on. Of course, telling these stories is not easy, especially

Photo by Panma Bolec

when there are still open wounds, such as Italy’s earthquakes in 2016. Nevertheless, without a transition from pain to stories, there will be no possible way to both territories’ reconstruction and places’ imagination.”

Photo by Giorgio Redaelli

Without a transition from pain to stories, there will be no possible way to both territories’ reconstruction and places’ imagination.

What were the urban and social consequences of this disaster? “The consequences were apocalyptic. Here, I am referring to apocalypse as intended by Ernesto De Martino in his book La fine del mondo (“The End of the World”), and that is to say people losing their ‘horizon of mundane operability’ and seeing their own places disappear, along with their past and their material, emotional, and narrative points of reference. A large number of cities in the Belice Valley were destroyed and some of them were rebuilt many kilometres away from their original sites, thus creating both a cognitive and emotional rift within their inhabitants. In addition, as it is the case for every earthquake, destruction was often magnified by inadequate building construction which, more often than not, went along with property speculation. In the Belice Valley’s case, the lack of a connection between town planning and economic development was a serious mistake. Indeed, instead of rebuilding settled areas, infrastructure construction was privileged, for instance that of big motorways

which were oversized for those territories, but certainly more profitable for those who wanted to make money. Nevertheless, in this apocalypse, some great social unrest was sparked off. I am referring, here, to the uniting power of Danilo Dolci and Lorenzo Barbera, who had already been active years before the earthquake in claiming farmers’ right against the excessive power of large landed estates and large-scale land ownership, not to mention the Mafia’s. There was a time when the presence of their organizations, i.e. Dolci’s Centre of Studies for Full Employment and Barbera’s Centre for Social and Economic Research in Southern Italy, triggered a great boost in solidarity. A glowing account of this situation is found in Carola Susani’s autobiographic book L’infanzia è un terremoto (“Childhood is an Earthquake”), where the story is told of a family moving from Northern Italy to Partanna’s shantytown in order to support Dolci’s work. Despite all the contradictions of reconstruction, such experiences of solidarity were important for the social and historical survival of those places. If development was marginalized by the Italian State, today, such experiences come back to life through the local community’s effort to take care of more a participative development.” Over the years, thanks to an unprecedented mobilization of artists and intellectuals

(from Sciascia to Beuys and Cage), Gibellina has been turned into an open-air museum of modern art and into a laboratory of art and architecture, disseminated all over the area. Why are you defining this as a path to reconstruction, combining memory and design? “Earthquakes always cause dramatic breaches. The horizon of meaning of a lifetime is wiped out and, along with it, one loses their habits, places, and landscapes. Gibellina’s example is eloquent: the new town of Gibellina Nuova was built various kilometres away from the old one and, apart from the name, they do not share almost anything. Somehow, it reminds me of the city of Maurilia, in Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. As in that story, here, it seems that we are facing different cities that ‘follow one another on the same site and under the same name, born and dying without knowing one another, without communication among themselves.’ However, Gibellina Nuova is not a separate case, because it tried to come back to life through the only possible artistic means – namely contemporary art. Corrao’s challenge lies in the belief that the only way Gibellina could resume its story was that of providing the town with another language. Undoubtedly, this feat was difficult. In order to realize how ambivalent this operation was, it suffices to read Vincenzo Consolo’s words, describing Gibellina Nuova as the ‘emptiness fair’ and the ‘metaphysical city.’ Yet, Corrao thought, as well as the artists who followed him did, that living in a city of art could generate the power to create identity – especially for Gibellina’s youth – and, over the years, the Cretto has also become a substantial part of the city’s evolutionary identity. It is not always easy to adapt to the changes of language which cross landscape, especially if it is a domestic landscape such as that of a provincial town. There is still an open challenge for the Italian State, namely that of not turning Gibellina Nuova into an archaeological site of the present era by leaving the town to its fate. Cities of art need their

State to become aware of them before they crumble. Funds and actual political attention are necessary to such particular and significant situations. Gibellina risks falling apart before it has become integral part of contemporary Italy’s fabric and, in this case, the blame should not be put on another earthquake but merely on indifference.” What tools allow the rebirth of a territory hit by a natural disaster to become an experiment reorganizing a community’s social and cultural life? “The recent earthquakes in Central Italy made those places’ inhabitants endure terrible ordeals. In addition to casualties, an equally irretrievable loss is that of heritage, which marks a temporal continuity between the voices following one another in those territories. Past earthquakes’ stories teach us that there are more ways to go through apocalypse. We have Belice Valley’s case – where many sites were rebuilt in different places and ways – Friuli Venezia Giulia’s – which privileged the method ‘where it was, how it was’ – and then Irpinia’s disaster and L’Aquila’s outrageous ruins, which are still there after almost eight years. It is not easy for a community and a territory to come back to life, but, in order to make that happen, the will is needed to turn wounds into a story. This can mean an often painful change in the language through which one describes their own reality. It is necessary to save whatever can be saved, but also to know how to design change, if the latter is an evolutionary choice and a survival strategy.”

It is necessary to save whatever can be saved, but also to know how to design change, if the latter is an evolutionary choice and a survival strategy.

ITALY The Italian bioeconomy is already Europe’s third largest one for employment and turnover and Italy has all it takes to consolidate its leadership, providing it will be able to organize a system of competences, know-how, infrastructure and to valorise biodiversity and resources. The role of the new national strategy.

Painter from central Italy La città ideale (“The ideal city”) 1490, details. National Galery of The Marche. Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, Sala degli Angeli – ©WikiCommons, Public Domain

Dossier

Policy

Industrial RENAISSANCE Today the Italian bioeconomy is at the forefront in the Euro-Mediterranean area but the objective is to reach a €300 billion turnover with 2 million jobs by 2030. This success story started many years ago and has continued thanks to the pursuit of excellence, the presence of many leading companies in this field, innovative plants and supply chains integrated at local level and the framework of economic, social and environmental opportunities offered by the national strategy.

by Mario Bonaccorso

Mario Bonaccorso is a journalist and creator of the Bioeconomista blog. He works for Assobiotec, the Italian association for the development of biotechnologies.

“The bioeconomy in Italy: a unique opportunity to connect the environment, the economy and society,” tinyurl.com/gt9tty6

Some of the world’s leading companies with unique production plants worldwide, some still excellent research despite many obstacles (investments in R&D is merely over 1.3% of GDP), the ability to build locally-integrated value supply chains. These are the elements that mainly characterize the bioeconomy in Italy, making the country a recognized point of reference. Last but not least, last 22nd November a national strategy (“The bioeconomy in Italy: a unique opportunity to connect the environment, the economy and society”) was introduced, providing a stable and consistent framework for this sector. In a country where in 2016 GDP only grew by 1% and where the employment rate is stuck at 57.3%, the development of a new economy based on the use of biological resources represents a great opportunity for a new industrial Renaissance. The National Strategy Italy aims for a leading role in the Euro-Mediterranean scenario, with a very challenging objective: to go from the current €250 billion turnover and from 1.7 million employees of this metasector – as estimated by an analysis by Intesa Sanpaolo Direzione Studi – to €300 billion and over 2 million employees by 2030. The strategy is the result of teamwork, involving the Ministry for the Economic Development

and the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the Ministry of Education, University and Research, the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, the Agency of Territorial Cohesion, the National Technological Clusters of Green Chemistry (SPRING) and of Agrifood (CLAN). “The strategy’s aim is to offer a shared vision of economic, social and environmental opportunities and related challenges to the implementation of a locally deep-rooted Italian bioeconomy. Moreover, it represents an important opportunity for Italy to strengthen its role in promoting sustainable growth in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin.” In addition: “The bioeconomy could considerably contribute to regeneration, sustainable economic development and political stability in the area and thus to the reduction of migration phenomena (for instance with the accomplishment of local investment projects with a high social and infrastructural impact, as expressed in the ‘Migration Compact’ paper proposed by the Italian government).” Then a few implementation tools are defined: supporting policies regarding demand such as standardization, labelling and public procurements. “The lifecycle approach and eco-planning should guide the transition, so as to find the right balance between fossil-based and bio-based products, in particular in sectors where environmental

concerns are higher, thus encouraging the use of solutions with a low environmental impact which are already available.” Not only that: the strategy intends to promote the right communication and information to consumers “in order to increase the level of knowledge of bio-based products, highlighting their positive impacts in social and environmental terms (green jobs, social acceptance, lower greenhouse gases, reduced extraction rate of non renewable resources, benefits for the Earth and ecosystems and conservation of biodiversity), aimed at increasing private demand.” It also encourages the need to create a market for the bioeconomy products, thus favouring matching demand and supply of biomass, technology and services. Novamont and the Intuition of Integrating Chemistry and Agriculture

The intuition to integrate chemistry and agriculture – forming the first unit of Italian green chemistry is ascribable to Raul Gardini, who at the time was Chief Executive of the Ferruzzi Group.

The strategy came only in late 2016, but the Italian bioeconomy has a much longer history. It dates back to 1989 when within the Montedison School of Materials Science – Italy’s main chemical company – Fertec was created, a centre for strategic research whose aim was to integrate chemistry and agriculture. The intuition to integrate chemistry and agriculture – forming the first unit of Italian green chemistry is ascribable to Raul Gardini, who at the time was Chief Executive of the Ferruzzi Group which since 1987 had become the majority shareholder of Montedison and whose main activity – up until then – had been in the agribusiness, in particular in the agricultural raw material market. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then but if nowadays Italy can boast a leading role in the field of the European bioeconomy it is all down to the first steps taken by the green chemistry within the Mondedison Group, where Catia Bastioli, Novamont’s CEO, was also emerging. From Fertec research centre she built what has become the world’s leading company in the development and production of bioplastics and biochemicals, through the integration of chemistry, the environment and agriculture. With 600 people, the Novara-based company, closed 2015 with a €170 million turnover and constant investments in R&D (6.4% of 2015 turnover, 20% of dedicated people), with a portfolio of approximately one thousand patents. Italy’s leadership built at the beginning of the Third Millennium has not depended exclusively on Novamont. Mossi Ghisolfi, ENI-Versalis and GFBiochemicals are now amongst the main protagonists of the global bioeconomy, with the world’s top plants for the production of new biobased chemical

products. We cannot forget Guido Ghisolfi, Gruppo Mossi Ghisolfi’s Vice-President and Biochemtex CEO, who died prematurely in 2015. Thanks to him, Italy’s first producer, and third at global level, of PET (polyethylene terephthalate ommonly used for mineral water bottles) made its debut into this sector and now it is ranking third worldwide in the field of chemistry from renewable sources. Guido Ghisolfi was a visionary and was convinced that the green sector was one of the leading industries of the economy, one of the fields where to invest to allow Italy’s economy to pick up again. The World’s First Biorefinery for Second-Generation Bioethanol “America is in Crescentino,” he had proudly declared on October 9th 2013 at the inauguration of the Crescentino biorefinery for second-generation bioethanol, the first of its kind in the world. Owned by Beta Renewables – a joint venture between Biochemtex, an engineering company of Mossi Ghisolfi group, the America fund TPG (Texas Pacific Group) and the world’s leader in biotechnologies, the Danish Novozymes – the Crescentino facility is the result of a €150 million investment, which focuses on green chemistry and has led Italy to the technological forefront worldwide, in a strategic industrial sector. The plant is completely self-sufficient with regard to energy consumption (13 MWh of power generated using lignin) and does not produce effluents from industrial production, thus guaranteeing 100% water recycling. The revolutionary “aspect” of the biorefinery lies in the technological platform used to obtain bioethanol. The innovative PROESA (Ethanol production from biomass) technology combined with Cellic enzymes produced by Novazymes does not use sugars present in lignocellulosic biomasses to obtain alcohol, fuels and other chemical products, with lower emissions and at competitive costs compared to fossil fuels. Moreover, PROESA, which in 2012 was awarded the Achema prize as the most innovative biotechnology, produces biofuels guaranteeing greenhouse gas emissions reduced by almost 90% compared to the use of fossil-based fuels. And not just biofuels, since Biochemtex boasts partnerships for the production of biochemicals with Amyris, Codexis, Genomatica and Gevo. The Matrìca Model in Sardinia Italy has also the first plant in the world for the production of azelaic acid and pelargonic acid using raw materials from oilseed crops and vegetable waste. That’s the Matrìca biorefinery – the equal joint venture set up

THE MAP OF THE BIOECONOMY IN ITALY

R&D centres

BA M RD

Pilot plants

Demo plants E PI

Industrial sites TO NE

O DM

Flagships Experimental fields

IL EM -R O NA

AG M

BR UM IA

UL AP IA

R SA

CA LY

PIEDMONT R&D centre bioplastics and biochemicals from RRM (Novara) R&D centre chemistry from renewables (Novara) R&D centre biochemicals and biofuel from renewables (Rivalta Scrivia – Alessandria) Pilot plant fatty alcohol (Rivalta Scrivia – Alessandria) Pilot plant biomonomers (Novara) Pilot plant green glycol (Rivalta Scrivia – Alessandria) Industrial plant lignocellulosic bioethanol (Crescentino – Vercelli) Flagship succinic acid (Cassano Spinola – Alessandria) LOMBARDY R&D centre green chemistry, process engineering and biolubrificants (Mantova) R&D centre biolubrificants (San Donato Milanese – Milan) Pilot plant for biobased butadiene (Mantova)

VENETO Flagship 1.4 bdo from rrm (Adria – Rovigo) EMILIA-ROMAGNA R&D centre bioelastomers (Ravenna) UMBRIA R&D centre, pilot and demo plants oleaginous crops and biolubrificants from local crops (Terni) Industrial plant bioplastics based on starch and polyesters from vegetable oils (Terni) LAZIO Industrial plant biodegradable polyesters (Patrica – Frosinone) CAMPANIA Biotechnological R&D centre (Piana di Monte Verna – Caserta)

Industrial plant levulinic acid (Caserta) APULIA R&D centre, pilot and demo plant aromatic biochemical from lignin (Modugno – Bari) Flagship aviation fuel (Modugno – Bari)

SARDINIA 1 flagship azelaic acid and pelargonic acid (Porto Torres – Sassari) 1 flagship basis for biolubrificants and bioadditives for rubber R&D centre LOCATION TBD Experimental crops and flagship for extraction of natural rubber and other valuable products (resins ecc.)

Source: “The bioeconomy in Italy: an unique opportunity to connect environment, economy and society,” November 2016.

renewablematter 14. 2017 In Campania [...] the world’s first plant for the production of biomass-derived levulinic oil is now operational.

by Versalis, ENI’s chemical division and Novamont – which is the result of the conversion of the petrochemical plant in Porto Torres (Sardinia) into a facility for the development of an innovative range of products (bioplastics, biolubricants, plant protection products, additives for the rubber and plastic industries, home and personal care products) with an integrated agricultural supply chain. Indeed, in Sardinia Matrìca signed a sector agreement with Coldiretti for the use of thistle, low input dry farming suitable for the Mediterranean climate which is grown on abandoned soils and all its components are usable. By pressing seeds, you can obtain oil – the raw material that feeds the biorefinery – a protein meal that can replace the soy that is currently imported to feed animals and numerous molecules with very high antioxidant properties. Vegetable waste deriving from transformation is also used to meet the energy needs of the whole industrial process and may be used as raw material for new initiatives now being experimented.

Mater Biotech in the Veneto Region for Biobutanediol The model of biorefinery integrated into the territory is replicated by Novamont through its subsidiary Mater Biotech, in Bottrighe di Adria in the Veneto region, where last 30th September the world’s first industrial plant for the production of butanediol from biomass was inaugurated. With an investment of over €100 million, the Mater-Biotech biorefinery, also born out of the reconversion of a dismantled industrial site, as of 2017 it will produce 30,000 tonnes of butanediol a year, with low environmental impact, with over 50% saving of CO2 emissions. Butanediol (1.4 Bdo) is a chemical intermediate obtained from fossil fuels (the main world’s producer is BASF), which is vastly used both as solvent and to produce plastics, elastic fibres and polyurethanes. It has a market value of approximately 1.5 tonnes, the equivalent of €3.5 billion, which – it is estimated – in 2020 it will reach 2.7 million tonnes with a value of over €6.5 billion. Novamont, starting from a technology developed by Genomatica – a leading Californian company in the bioengineering sector – set up a biotechnological platform to obtain biobutanediol starting from sugars through the action of aptly-engineered Escherichia-coli type bacteria. “Mater-Biotech – according to Catia Bastioli – is an element of plant systems unique in the world and interconnected which we must consider as a formidable accelerator, as a multiplier of opportunities in the bioplastic and chemical supply chain, for those producing raw materials, end products, for new entrepreneurial ideas, for the creation of new jobs, for those interested in planning a more environmentally and socially-sustainable future.” The Green Refinery Project in Sicily and Levulinic Acid in Campania From North to South: in Sicily the bioeconomy is linked to green chemistry reconversion of the ENI refinery in Gela, expected to invest €2.2 billion in the four-year period between 2014-2017 in the industrial area. Once the reconversion is completed, the Gela green refinery will deal with the treatment of palm oil refined for the production of energy and it will also use food waste products, animal fats and exhausted frying oils. While in Campania, in the Caserta area, the first plant in the world producing biomass-derived acid is now operational. Owned by GFBiochemicals, the plant aims at achieving in 2017 a 10,000 tonnes production

Policy

Bio-on, www.bio-on. it/?lin=inglese

and a 50,000 one by 2019. But more importantly, the company believes it will be able to market biolevulinic acid at a low price in a few years compared to the equivalent oil-based product with the same performance.

biopolymers in a new plant of 1,000 tonnes a year, which will be completed by 2017 with an investment of €15 million. The objective is to produce by 2020 a €140 million turnover with a cash flow of over 60 million.

SMEs and Start-ups

Pursuit of Excellence

And there is more to the Italian bioeconomy than large multinational companies. Over the years, a number of small enterprises have been set up, often university spin offs, which have managed to carve out a niche for themselves, which made them protagonists worldwide. One such example is Bio-on, a Bologna-based company that with over 50 patents registered in the last nine years is now amongst the leaders in the technologies for ecosustainable chemistry and in the industrial development of PHAs production (polyhydroxyalkanoates), bioplastics that can replace numerous traditional polymers, obtained with hydrocarbon-based petrochemical processes.

Behind Italian companies’ success lies research in laboratories and universities. ENEA – the national agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development – is one of the centres of excellence. Trisaia – a Basilicata-based research centre – is the pride and joy of Italian public research in green chemistry, recognized at international level, mainly for the use of biomasses as energy sources in the field of power and heat generation in small-sized plants (local agro-energy supply chains) and in that of second generation biofuels. Here, several pilot plants have been built that are used in research projects or supporting the industry in the sector, such as Mossi Ghisolfi. And in Rotondella, the Canadian Comet Biorefining is also testing its own technology. While the activities of technological research and development in power generation and biofuels from microalgae crops and other photosynthetic microorganisms are carried out in the laboratory of microalgae technologies of the Casaccia Research Centre, near Rome.

PHAs bioplastics developed by Bio-on are produced from renewable vegetable sources (for example the residues of beet and cane sugar production) with no competition with the food sector; they are entirely ecosustainable and biodegradable. Born as a technology provider, the Bologna-based company has just announced that it will start producing directly special

Interview

edited by M. B.

The First Master’s in Bioeconomy and Circular Economy Giovanni Sannia, Director of BioCirce Master’s

BioCirce, masterbiocirce.com

The first edition of the university Master’s Degree in Bioeconomy and the Circular Economy was inaugurated last 23rd January. This is a two-fold novelty because not only this Master’s is the first in Europe devoted to an in-depth analysis of the bioeconomy and the circular economy, but also because, for the first time, four major Italian universities have joined forces: University of Turin, University of Milano Bicocca, University of Bologna and University of Naples Federico II. The industrial support was offered by three important players in this sector – Novamont, GFBiochemicals and Lodi’s Scientific Park – together with Intesa Sanpaolo bank group, sole global financial partner of the Ellen McArthur Foundation. Renewable Matter interviewed Giovanni Sannia, professor of molecular biology at University Federico II and Master’s director.

What led four Italian universities to organize the first European Master’s in bioeconomy and circular economy? “The development of an economy that grows respecting the environment and reducing its reliance on resources such as fossil fuels appears the key objective of Europe’s and the world’s policies where to concentrate resources in research and development in education. The four universities that have collaborated in the planning of the Master’s are sites of excellence for the research in the industrial biotechnologies sector in Italy. Those academic environments also provide education for industrial biotechnologists, which are the future backbone of the industrial sector of biotechnologies.” What professional roles are you planning to create with your Master’s? “BioCirce offers a highly advanced curriculum

renewablematter 14. 2017 for the education in the sectors of the economy based on a responsible and sustainable use of biological resources and biotechnological processes. The programme will create professional figures able to interact on all aspects of production and marketing of biobased products and processes, with particular attention to those processes and products with the highest innovative potential.” What role do Novamont, GFBiochemicals, Lodi’s Scientific Park and Intesa San Paolo banking group play? “Non-academic roles are not merely ‘showcases’ but they are fundamental for the education and identification and creation of professional figures able to meet the needs of the industrial sector as best as they can. The idea was to start an on-demand curriculum according to such needs. So far the collaboration of non-academic partners involved the identification of a representative of the Master’s coordinating organ, teachers selected in the various sectors in order to add more variety to the teachings, the possibility given to students to accomplish internships.”

In your opinion what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian research in the bioeconomy? “Without a doubt the number one strength is the ability of all players to work as a team overcoming the tendency to self-referentiality while appreciating the added value provided by collaboration. The set up of green chemistry Cluster SPRING is a good case in point. In just a little over two years it managed to become an increasingly strategic entity in the biobased sector in Italy and a key player in the growth of the bioeconomy.” What is your opinion on the Italian strategy for the bioeconomy? “Although it has arrived a little late, the strategy represents a fundamental element for direction and planning at national level which also allows us to align planning and national priorities with the European ones. A tool thanks to which Italy is now a strong and compact interlocutor in the European context.”

Interview

edited by M. B.

The Italian Strategy: Focusing on Innovation and Interconnection Fabio Fava, scientific coordinator of the Italian strategy on the bioeconomy

Fabio Fava is professor and researcher of industrial and environmental biotechnologies at the School of Engineering at Bologna University. He is Vice-President of the department of Environmental Biotechnology of the European Federation of Biotechnology and a member of the Working Party on Bio-, Nano- and Converging Tech of the OECD and of Expert Group on Biobased products at the European Commission. He is also the scientific coordinator of the Italian strategy on the bioeconomy, presented last November. Renewable Matter encouraged him to expand on this new strategy. What are the main pillars of the Italian strategy for the bioeconomy? “Basically two: the first is research and innovation to increase productivity but also the quality of products and sustainability of every sector making up the bioeconomy. The second is the interconnection of sectors, in particular amongst those of the agro-food industry and those of chemical and energy valorisation of residual and lignocellulosic biomasses. In Italy there are well over 3 million hectares of land that are no longer farmed, vast agricultural areas that today can be regenerated

to produce local biomass and/or industrial one to feed our biorefineries. “Not only that: every year, in Italy 15 million tonnes of by-products and waste from the food industry are generated: a huge problem for the industry producing it, a very interesting feedstock for our biorefineries. Other relevant opportunities can derive from more substantial integration between biorefineries and thus the production of biobased chemicals, biomaterials and bioenergy and the forestry sector which today boasts a wealth of wood biomass guaranteed by over 13 million hectares of woodland, on average not very much used. But also from chemical and energy valorisation of non-food biomasses (algae, posidonia but also microorganism) generated by our seas. The bioeconomy offers us an unmissable opportunity to make the most of the biodiversity at our disposal, biomass in all its forms, as well as of the residues and organic waste. “In this respect, the strategy must be seen as the starting point for a more direct political action, with investments, better coordination between central and regional level, the creation of a market also through the right education and information of public opinion. Some incentives would also be useful, to mitigate the costs of biological products

which are higher than traditional products, aimed at getting in line with Europe.” So the ball is now in the Gentiloni government’s court. “Of course. The first thing I believe will happen is that the strategy will be adopted by ministries and regions that actively collaborated to its creation. It is a very important stage to make sure the various institutions can help support and implement priorities by integrating their actions, resources and infrastructure, while reducing fragmentation and duplication. To this end, it is imperative that there is coordination at national level so that the implementation of the strategy is monitored as well as its promotion at European and international level.” In what way must these strategies interconnect amongst them and with the national strategy? “It is good to include regional strategies to the national one. The strategies of Regions must be more specific and become systematic, in order to avoid over fragmentation and the right value of their complementarity. I’ll give you an example: Tuscany has 160,000 hectares of land that is no longer utilized, but it has no biorefineries. Umbria has the oldest biorefinery in Italy, but it has not got the necessary biomass. They are two neighbouring regions: it is pretty clear that a Tuscany’s smart strategy must include a synergy with Umbria and vice versa.” How do you see the Italian bioeconomy in the European context? And, more importantly, in the Mediterranean one? “The Italian bioeconomy is ranking third in Europe for employment and turnover and Italy is also in third place as winning country of R&I projects in the sector of the bioeconomy within Horizon2020 and BBI JU. So, Italy is already a leading country. Such leadership can only increase if we will be able to systematise our competences, know-how and infrastructure while enhancing our biodiversity and resources. We are in a good position to maintain our strong position, but also to grow. In this respect, the national strategy will play an important role also in consolidating the leading role of Italy in the Mediterranean where we lead two important initiatives: the BlueMed initiative aimed at promoting integrated and sustainable exploitation of resources of the Mediterranean and to support the agribusiness in the Mediterranean countries of Europe and Northern Africa. The bioeconomy represents a real opportunity to bring environmental regeneration, food and work, so equity and social cohesion, all over the Mediterranean.” In this area, can the development of the bioeconomy – as the strategy claims – contribute to solving the migration problem? “Bringing more food, work and value to abandoned rural or degraded areas as well as to the wealthy

forest and marine resources of the area means improving the living standards of local people and thus of social cohesion. So, it also contributes to solving some of the reasons pushing people to migrate. This clearly is not enough, but is a first and inescapable step: in this regard, environmental sustainability goes hand in hand with the social one.” The concept of the bioeconomy is still unknown to the Italian public opinion. But without public support it is difficult to find support for decarbonisation policies. What needs doing to communicate effectively what the bioeconomy is and what its advantages are? “Not only is the bioeconomy not very well known by the general public, I believe, but there is also some ignorance at scientific and political level. There is a need for communication professionals able to use a shared language, starting from schools, letting everybody know that we are not talking about a niche. But it is also important that the industrial and scientific worlds be involved, working in fairs, initiatives open to the public where things can be explained. Through an involvement of the traditional press and the new social media. There is really a lot to do.”

renewablematter 14. 2017 Interview

edited by M. B.

The Future of Chemistry is Biobased Pasquale Granata, co-founder of GFBiochemicals

Born in Caserta, a Bocconi University graduate, Pasquale Granata is the founder, together with Mathieu Flamini, of GFBiochemicals. The initial G of the company’s name stands for Granata, while the F stands for Flamini: but the two letters together are also an acronym of green future. The two young entrepreneurs, starting from the Caserta plant, the first in the world to produce biomass-derived levulinic acid, are strongly committed to achieving this “green future.”

GFBiochemicals, www.gfbiochemicals. com/company

Over the last few years GFBiochemicals established itself as one of the most dynamic companies in the biomass-derived chemistry panorama: first the start of the commercial plant in Caserta and then Segetis acquisition in the USA. What are your development plans? “At GFBiochemicals we believe that the future of chemistry is biobased and that levulinic acid is the next big chemical platform. All that will be prompted by the need to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on fossilderived raw materials. Oil reserves are limited, the question is to understand when we will be forced to break free from oil. Rather than waiting around, we prefer to be pioneers of the emerging bioeconomy, bringing new biobased solutions such as levulinic acid and by-products into the market. In 2017 we aim at achieving in our Caserta plant a 10,000 tonne production. And we would like to reproduce the Caserta plant in other parts of the world, through strategic partnerships.”

In Italy the bioeconomy developed in the absence of a national strategy, which came last November. What do you make of it? “I reckon it is an absolutely positive move. Having a national strategy is key, because there is a need for a solid and consistent framework promoting research and innovation. Moreover, thanks to the strategy Italy will gain importance in Europe. Italy has all it takes to become a European leader. It is fundamental, though, that the excellence that it boasts today is included in a medium to long term vision of the government.” What steps do you think the government will have to take to encourage the development of the bioeconomy? “A detailed action plan will have to be set up. I believe that three measures will have to be taken: the first is about the creation of a new market; the second is the support to the demand through green public procurement policies based on a clear standard and labelling system; the third is communication and popularization of the bioeconomy so that consumers and public opinion know that we are not talking about a niche, but about a sector that is already creating wealth and employment.” You are still amongst the founding members of the first European Master’s in Bioeconomy and the Circular Economy. How important is the relation between industry and university to promote innovation in the green chemistry? “It is fundamental. We strongly believe in this Master’s, because we think it is essential to train managers with multidisciplinary knowledge, able to manage complex issues in multinational contexts. The innovating industry is based on research and development. Against this backdrop, the relations with academia must be strengthened, starting from enhanced efficiency in the offices for the technological transfer of universities. “Italy is a country with a 40% youth unemployment rate and many graduates find jobs in line with their expectations only abroad. We are an Italian enterprise, willing to maintain strong links with its territory. And this means collaborating more closely with our universities, as we have done with BioCirce Master’s.”

Policy Interview

edited by M. B.

“Not only Biorefineries and Bioindustry” Ezio Veggia, Confagricoltura’s Vice-President

An excessive focus on the bioindustry and biorefineries. This is what Confagricoltura (Confederation of Italian farmers) criticizes about the Italian strategy on the bioeconomy. The confederation represents over 45% of the value of the saleable agricultural and forestry gross production (overall more than €47 billion) and its added value (€27 billion) covers about 38.5% (5 million hectares) of the utilized agricultural land in Italy. Renewable Matter interviewed Ezio Veggia, Confagricoltura’s Vice-President.

Confagricoltura, www.confagricoltura.it/eng

What is Confagricoltura’s opinion on the strategy for the bioeconomy? “As an association representing companies in the agricultural sector we would like to point out that the document – although a good starting point – should be improved in order to fully represent the complexity and the opportunities of the Italian bioeconomy.” What is the main criticism? “Altogether, the agricultural, forestry, fishing and agribusiness sectors represent over 60% of the value of the Italian bioeconomy. However, in our opinion, the document shows a strategy overly focussed on the bioindustry and biorefineries. “To organize the supply chain in the best possible way we believe it is necessary to promote the use of agricultural residue deriving from the first harvesting and from by-products for other economic activities. In this way farms become more competitive and employment in rural areas is consolidated and improved.” In Italy there is a lot of talk about marginal lands. Are they a viable option? “There is no such thing as marginal lands, but lands on which not all necessary conditions for a sustainable development can be met. Above all – above all on large hilly or mountainous areas in particular in the South of the country – the principle of economic sustainability is not met. As a result, these lands are progressively abandoned with serious damage from an environmental and hydrogeological instability point of view. “Today, with the opportunities offered by the bioeconomy, this trend can – or rather must – be reverted. The Italian and European agricultural policy must take a step forward and in addition to backing and enhancing the existing instruments such as CAP and RDPs, used as levers to implement a radical transformation towards an agricultural model

aiming for intensifying production in a sustainable way. “This is why the amendments proposals to the consultation document put forward by Confagricoltura are aimed at a wider role – including marginal lands – of the agricultural and forestry sector in the bioeconomy. With particular reference to bioenergies (biofuels, electricity and heat energy), from neutraceutics and biocosmetics to the production of organic soil improvers.” What else is needed to achieve the full potential of the Italian bioeconomy? “We wish that the paper highlights the important role played by the agricultural business along the whole supply chain that, not limiting itself to just producing biomasses is increasingly oriented toward the following transformation into new products (food, fertilizers, energy, bioproducts, for example). “A model of agricultural production in line with the principles of the bioeconomy and the circular economy towards which the European Union is headed, since farms can produce for the food sector and also recover waste within the same cycle, as highlighted by the energy supply chains of biogasbiomethane.” In what way can biorefineries integrated at local level – peculiar to the Italian model – act as a lever for rural development? “A very interesting example can be found in the energy supply chains of biogas-biomethane within which the anaerobic digestion systems can be considered biorefineries in their own right. “Farms, on their own or more often in association with others, using the new model of ‘network contract,’ keep on producing raw materials of great excellence for the food industry. But they use more and more company by-products, manure, chicken droppings and crops from rotations to produce electricity, biofuels and fertilizers. And tomorrow bioplastics and bioproducts for a variety of applications. “All this can be easily done all over Italy, thus creating new jobs, guaranteeing the presence of man also in marginal areas, making farms totally independent from fossil fuels as far as the consumption of electricity, fuels and fertilizers is concerned. “This is why we believe that the bioeconomy is the economy of the future. Not only because it is circular, but because it allows to combine technological innovation with local land, farms and food companies and active citizens in the recovering and recycling operations.”

renewablematter 14. 2017 Interview

edited by M. B.

A Paradigm Leap Catia Bastioli, Novamont CEO

Catia Bastioli, Novamont’s CEO and president of SPRING, the green chemistry cluster, is a beacon in the Italian bioeconomy. Renewable Matter collected her analysis on the Italian strategy presented by the government. “Italy – according to the CEO of the Novara company – can become a candidate to play an important role for the whole of Mediterranean area.” At last Italy too is now equipped with a national strategy for the bioeconomy. What’s your take on that? “Certainly very positive. First of all because this strategy is the result of a multidisciplinary effort involving all the most important institutional players in the field, combining the national plan with that – extremely important – of the regions. They also wanted to consult with national technological Clusters of the green chemistry and Agrifood, bringing together the numerous private and public entities committed to creating a solid bioeconomy in Italy. “This strategy, in addition to offering a shared vision of the opportunities and challenges linked to the implementation of an Italian model of the bioeconomy – an original one because it is connected to the peculiar aspect of its territory and production fabric – it represents a key opportunity to find forms of sustainable and inclusive development, able to safeguard the natural capital and at the same time to create new jobs in Italy which can also be replicated in other Mediterranean countries.” What measures should the government introduce in the very short term to promote full development of the Italian bioeconomy? “In many cases starting from environmental and social problems troubling us would suffice; defining challenging, measurable, achievable, progressive and respected standards; pushing low cost world’s best solutions and technologies ready to be applied, rewarding synergies amongst the various sectors and integrated supply chains. In Italy there already exist innovative bioeconomy supply chains which, with the right support, could become a formidable accelerator and catalyst of opportunities in several sectors: not a cost of decarbonisation imposed after Paris, but a successful investment for a thorough land regeneration. I am thinking about, for instance, the huge steps forward taken in the treatment and valorisation of organic waste to maximize its collection and transformation into products to improve the quality of soils and to obtain

biomethane, chemicals and much more: in such sector it would be possible to pass measures leading Italy to organic zero waste into landfills. Or the maximization of the use of high impact products, starting from the public procurement sector, thus guaranteeing the implementation of existing minimum environmental criteria and quickly defining fresh ones. Let me give you an example: reducing the use of throwaway products in favour of reusable ones, and where this is not possible, supporting the use of biodegradable and compostable plastics in those applications where traditional plastics are polluting organic waste, thus improving opportunities for recycling waste other than organic. Or measures maximizing repercussions on territories starting from what has already been done in sectors of the bioeconomy, such as integrated supply chains of bioplastics and chemicals, with new bioeconomy infrastructure in brownfields, each based on totally innovative technologies in several Italian regions (Piedmont, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Veneto and Sardinia), with the development of machinery and plants connected to downstream and upstream supply chains, with the recovery of marginal and degraded rural areas through low impact crops, also linked to the production of protein for animal use. “It is necessary to recognize and give value to all this, but we need to act now, because the highest costs may be those related to inactivity. So much so that Italy is a leader in this sector and other countries are accelerating in the same direction.” As things stand, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the bioeconomy in Italy? “The main strength lies not only in having the technologies and know-how, but in having created a shared model, based on the land recovery, from an economic, social and environmental point of view. The Italian bioeconomy focuses not on the quantity of undifferentiated biomass, but on the recognition of quality and diversity, in a circular economy logic and an efficient use of resources. Also, the development of products should not merely aim at replacing the existing ones, but they should contribute to solving real problems of society. “Even from a legal point of view many steps forward have been taken. However, an overall strategy focussed on the enhancement of natural capital, by adopting high and clear standards, supporting the innovations upgrading land and integrated supply chains is still lacking. Going in this direction with conviction could increase competitiveness in the Italian industry and supply chains and could help us get out of the structural crisis we are in, acting

Policy

Novamont, www.novamont.it/eng

The bioeconomy has the advantage of having really tangible and visible effects on people’s quality of life.

as a driver in other countries as well. Suffice it to see the case study of throwaway bags and the connection with organic waste: Italy has paved the way in Europe, allowing a virtuous growth of green chemistry and organic waste. Now there is a European directive and France not only followed Italy’s example, but boosted it with even higher standards and with positive repercussions for the environment, the economy and jobs. On the subject of legality, respect of quality standards, evaluation of externalities and social costs, there is still much to be done.”

“The local character is fundamental for Italy’s bioeconomy, where each region has its own peculiar aspect in terms of natural and agricultural landscape, of biodiversity, of industrial fabric and cultural traditions. The various territories, with their distinctive features, are Italy’s great resources to be enhanced. Long before the national strategy was officially launched, the national Clusters had already taken some important steps to promote dialogue and a debate with all the regions, with a view to harmonizing and integrating strategies and tools to implement them. Amongst the most active regions in the sector of the bioeconomy and the national Cluster of green chemistry, a working group has been operating for a long time with an aim to defining shared and coordinated positions and possible interventions in the field of technological innovation, development strategies and policies, educational activities and incentives to local employment in the field o green jobs. I think this is the direction we should be following.”

Italy, despite not having a national strategy, has always been a leading country at European level. The strategy specifically refers to the great potential of the bioeconomy for the whole Mediterranean area in terms of economic development, job creation, protection of biodiversity and resolution of migratory problems. What are your thoughts on your latter aspects? What do you really think the role of Italy could be? “As I said, I am convinced that Italy can become a candidate to carry out an important role for the Mediterranean area, so I can only agree with what stated in the strategy in this regard. “Here Italy could put its experience and good practice at the service of collaboration projects with a high infrastructural and social impact in the agribusiness, of land recovery, of the fight against water shortages and desertification. As it is well known, the disadvantages hitting soils and the agricultural sector of such countries with a strong rural tradition have important repercussions in both economic and social terms, which in turn are at the base of instability in the area and domestic and international migratory phenomena. This is why the bioeconomy can take on a much wider significance than the use of renewable sources and contribute to sustainable economic development of the area and even to its political stability.”

Another key theme tackled in the strategy is that of information and dissemination of the bioeconomy, on which the European Commission is also focussing. What needs to be done to engage with public opinion? “When we talk about the bioeconomy we should think about a true leap of paradigm. We must create the basis of a new culture of sustainable building through the pursuit of collaboration amongst the various interlocutors about local projects that act as workshops in their own right. Communication should talk about real cases that are emerging in Italy, showing the potential for multiplication and interconnection of the various projects, aimed at accelerating the advantageous opportunities for local areas. Creating the conditions for the development of new activities and new models now for widespread uproars both nationally and internationally is a very complex operation. The bioeconomy sector is growing well but it is still very young and fragile: to maximize the possibilities of success in the short term there is a need for common building and meeting ground, away from electoral and media clashes amongst the parties, since it is an opportunity that Italy must take with determination immediately. Indeed, the bioeconomy has the advantage of having clear benefits on people’s quality of life. Let’s think about the impact on the industrial sector or on employment, not just through the reconversion of no longer competitive sites, but also in terms of satellite activities and the revitalization of downstream sectors. Just think of how much could happen in agriculture, with the cultivation of abandoned marginal areas and the creation of new income opportunities in the Italian most troubled areas. Or consider how the consumption habits have changed and how the quality and quantity of organic waste removed from landfills and collected in our big cities has improved thanks also to the sustainable and innovative use of bioplastics, creating a series of precious raw materials instead of costly, smelly and dangerous waste, harmful for our health.”

Novamont is a deeply-rooted company in Italy: it is based in Piedmont, with facilities in Veneto, Sardinia, Umbria and Lazio and a research centre in Campania. How do you think the various regional strategies can best be integrated amongst them and with the national strategy?

renewablematter 14. 2017

What if we Went Back to

COINS AND CURRENCY? WIR, Ithaca Hour, Campino Real are just some of the 5,000 alternative coins circulating in the world today. These precious resources for local economies anchor the wealth produced to the territory and contrast the economic crisis. We look at the emblematic case of the Sardex: since 2010, 140 million credits transferred and 300,000 operations carried out. by Silvia Zamboni

Sardex www.sardex.net/?lang=en#

Over five thousand alternative coins are circulating the world, from Brazil to Japan and from the USA to Europe. Created to contrast the economic crisis and complementary to official currencies, they are the local, self-managed answer to private and public conventional finance bottlenecks which advantageously connect the wealth produced locally to the territory. Another type of circular economy, you could say, coming full circle on the value chain which is still anchored to the place of production. The USA’s most known case is the Ithaca Hour, launched in 1991, in the town of the same name hit by a serious economic depression after a factory closing. Merchants promoting the initiative began paying suppliers with the banknote worth 10 dollars (the hourly labour rate at the time). By the end of the nineties, the Ithaka Hour was already being used by hundreds of companies and consumers. In Brazil, faced with the great devaluation of the real, at the beginning of the nineties, the mayor of Campina do Monte Alegre decided to issue the Campino Real to be spent exclusively within the municipality, contributing to the local economy’s relaunch. While, in Argentina, devastated by the bank crash and the devaluation of peso, in 2002, over 200 complementary coins in circulation helped more than five million citizens to survive the crisis. However, the WIR (German for “us,” the Swiss network launched in 1934 by 16 members in answer to the 1929 crisis, is the longest-lasting local coin. The WIR cannot be bought or converted into Swiss Francs, nor can it be printed. It is more a unit of measure that governs credits granted to companies as well as purchases and sales of goods and services amongst more than 45,000 SMEs which are part of the network. In 2015, the transaction value exceeded a billion and a half Swiss Francs. Volker Strohm, in charge

of communications at WIR, explained what was behind its success: “We are a national player. The principle which this experience based on, that locally-produced money and wealth must stay in the territory, above all to benefit SMEs, is still current. Even more so today when cash flows are increasingly heading overseas and the financial crisis has taken away resources for investments.” Since 2000, WIR has also become a cooperative bank to full effect operating with Swiss Francs – “a decision made to satisfy the need of some partner companies to make use of loans in Francs for investments on the conventional market,” specifies Strohm. This step thus allowed for unifying the two financial channels, the one in WIR and the one in Francs, under the same roof. “In the future, I believe that the role of complementary currencies will take two directions. On one hand, there’s bitcoin (international electronic currency, editor’s note), which is expanding but which, I think, has risks. On the other are complementary currencies connected to local productive community development. They both tell us that we are changing how we consider traditional money,” concluded Strohm. In this lively context, an Italian initiative is holding court on the pages of newspapers like the Financial Times and is being studied at the outstanding London School of Economics. Even the WHO is taking an interest in the Sardex. For the past six years, all kinds of goods and services are bought and sold within this Made-in-Sardinia commercial credit network, using Sardex credits (conventionally, one Sardex is worth a euro). “Before buying something, I think about how I can spend my credits within the network,” Manuela Statzu, freelance in the construction sector with a bent for green building, tells on the blog Sardex.net. And so, from rent, to furnishings, to groceries in a specialist organic store, to clothing, to lingerie, to beauty centres, to cat food, holidays,

Policy The big Sardex family

©WikiCommons/Photo by Enlil Ninlil2

Liberex, www.circuitoliberex.net

Christmas hampers for customers, company meetings and lunches, she buys everything within the network and pays with credits which she collects by selling her services to other members on the network. “Apart from fuel, I rarely use the euro any more,” she concludes. According to Carlo Mancosu, one of the five young, enterprising founders of this innovative alternative economy, which at June 2016 already totaled more than 3,500 members including professionals, one-person companies, SMEs and large companies (for example, Tiscali) and third-sector associations, the Sardex idea originates from Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s idea of a people’s bank, the WIR experience, but, above all, the Proposal for an International Clearing Union formulated at Bretton Woods, unsuccessfully, by John Maynard Keynes. Since 2010, its start-up year, 140 million Sardex credits (+1.059% in 2015 compared to 2012) have been transferred in 300,000 operations. This boom

11 regional networks participate in the Sardex: in Piedmont there is Piemex, in Lombardy Circuitolinx, in Veneto Venetex, in Emilia-Romagna Liberex, in Umbria Umbrex, in the Marche Merchex, in Abruzzo Abrex, in Lazio Tibex, in Molise Samex, and in Campania Felix. Employees and collaborators total around 200 people. Overall, the Sardex included, there are over 7,000 Italian company/ freelance members. There are 10,000 open accounts, also held by company employees. It is estimated that, in 2016, commercial credit networks will develop trade operations between local companies for a value of over 100 million euros, of which 70 in the Sardex. Liberex’s growth is particularly significant. Launched in 2015, in October of this year it already totalled around 180 companies and more than 200 employee members, while it had transferred over one and a half million euro/Liberex. What is advantageous about being on the network? There are the same benefits as the Sardex, of course: “At the beginning, you have a loan in Liberex with zero interests. You acquire turnover through the community and spend without euros, which you would have to borrow from a bank paying interests,” revealed Paola Piras, head of communications. Who is in the Liberex community? “Big and small companies, like Achanto and organic supermarket chain NaturaSì, lawyers, accountants, labour consultants, dentists.” There is even a restaurant, where you can pay for your bowl of pasta with the Liberex.

spread across Italy like wildfire with eleven regional networks connected to the Sardex (see box). “Keynes highlighted that treating the debtor and the creditor in the same way creates a convergent, balancing push towards zero,” explains Mancosu. “We have applied this concept within the network, first of all, by eliminating active and passive interest. Through the Sardex, we have realised a mutual credit network as an antidote to the credit crunch, which is particularly hard on SMEs.” Basically, the system allows you to buy what you need in Sardex (possibly using an initial loan with zero interest), and offer your goods and services in exchange on the network. In this way, the network is an additional market to the traditional one and a chance to increase one’s clientele. And thanks to the trusting connections established, the community is perceived as such and anchors the economic

With the Sardex system, everything is traced and invoiced. From a legal and tax point of view, this complementary currency is above all suspicion in terms of evasion and counterfeiting.

renewablematter 14. 2017 wealth produced in loco to the territory, becoming social wealth. “With the Sardex system, everything is traced and invoiced. From a legal and tax point of view, this complementary currency is above all suspicion in terms of evasion and counterfeiting. The fact that the credit value is valued when used to buy goods and services encourages holders to spend it as soon as possible. This is confirmed by the Sardex’s circulation speed at 12.34 against the euro’s 1.5. Rather than a currency in the strict sense, the Sardex acts as a unit of account for measuring the transactions within the commercial credit network. It is no coincidence that, like the WIR, it is not printed, it cannot be purchased for an amount corresponding to the euro, and it is not convertible (protecting it from speculation). Unlike local complementary currencies, like the Bristol Pound, adopted by the British city of the same name, or the Brixton Pound, whose banknotes sport the impression of the transgressive David Bowie’s face and circulate in the London neighbourhood. A network of shops and businesses where consumers can make purchases has developed around these English currencies, which are bought in designated places in exchange for sterling. In this way, the countervalue corresponding to volumes of purchases made remains in the area. Returning to the Sardex, in order to access the network, you must pass a careful selection process which aims to accept those with market spaces on the network, both for buying useful goods and services, and for selling their own products. So, the network grows based on internal development needs and members are allowed to participate in relation to the foreseeable

demand and supply flow which they can benefit from by being part of the community. In other words, the aim is to avoid reproducing the conventional market’s issues with an excess of the same supply which would make the internal competition explode. Today, there are a thousand companies in stand-by waiting to trade in the Sardex. And how are management costs covered (only in Sardinia, the structure employs 80 people)? “Members are asked to pay a one-off membership fee, as well as an annual fee which is in proportion to their economic ‘size’: from a membership fee of 100 euros plus the same as an annual fee, to 1,000 euros for access plus 2,500 annually for bigger companies,” answers Mancosu. Plans are being made to extend the network to individual end consumers with the area B2C and possibly to quote it on the stock exchange. As regards overseas, Mancuso adds: “We have received requests from all over the world, from South America to North America, from Africa to Europe, and the adventure will probably begin right in the Old Continent, where we know the regulations in force.” As regards local networks, “they have to develop regional markets of reference so as to avoid, for example, bottles of mineral water from travelling the length and breadth of the country.” There is no need for studies on the network’s carbon footprint to conclude that it also works in terms of environmental sustainability, since goods’ transportation is confined to regional borders thus reducing the kilometres travelled on the road. Who would have said that, after being unsuccessful at Bretton Woods, Keynes would have been relaunched in Sardinia?

Interview

edited by S. Z.

“We have got to take back monetary sovereignty” Tonino Perna, professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Messina

Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Messina, Tonino Perna is author of the volume Monete locali e moneta globale. La rivoluzione monetaria del XXI secolo (Altreconomia, 2014), examining the changing meaning and form of money, over the centuries, until the diffusion, today, of complementary currencies and the decline of the dollar as the currency regulating international market exchanges. We interviewed him.

You write that, along with ethical purchase groups and zero-kilometre markets, local complementary currencies form part of a deglobalisation process from the foundations of finance and represent one of the most important phenomena of our time connected to the demand for an alternative economy which is ecologic, ethical and capable of giving people’s needs and rights priority again.

Policy “The public, consumers and local government promoting local currencies need to take back part of the monetary sovereignty which we have lost. The debt situation of some municipalities, throughout the world, has led to a reduction in services and an increase in local taxes. Let us take, for example, the municipality of Rome which has a debt of 12 billion euros, along with all its other problems ranging from the environment, to waste collection and the endless maintenance of public property. Having a sum of local complementary money available to keep the territory’s economy on its feet and to provide for all these needs would be a good thing. Of course, it would not have to be a new invention since before the arrival of the Mint, Italian municipalities could make local coins for trading in the territory, while the national currency was used for the rest of economic transactions.” Local Exchange Trading Systems are another type of complementary currency. Can they be identified as a time bank? “Yes, they are more or less the same thing. It is a matter of exchanging services or goods, like used clothing, which is no longer being used. It is a modern return to bartering with the advantage of creating an ethical network. Digital technologies have allowed for this relaunch. However, this is not a resolutive option, since it only involves the middle classes and exchanges are limited.”

When money is an end in itself, it becomes an instrument of power.

How do you rate local commercial credit networks, like the WIR and Sardex? “The advantages are clear. First of all, they offer the chance to access credit. For example, with the Sardex system, considering how impossible it is for some companies to get bank loans, there are no interests or banking intermediation costs. And, lastly, they create a trusting environment which is the founding adhesive forming the base of how these networks work: a trusting network is established between entrepreneurs and between consumers and entrepreneurs, where money becomes an intermediary, an instrument used for trading, which is not accumulable and must be spent within the community. Instead, when money is an end in itself, it becomes an instrument of power, as we have seen.” What do you think about the local currencies in consumer pockets, like the Bristol Pound? “These are important experiences. In Calabria, six municipalities print complementary currencies. The most famous is the Riace, introduced in the municipality of the same name of 1,700 inhabitants by mayor Domenico Lucano (the only Italian included by the magazine Fortune among the 50 most influential leaders in the world, editor’s note). Faced with the arrival of over 400 refugees and the need to cover the immediate costs of board, lodgings and welfare due to the greatly delayed arrival of public contributions, the mayor invented the Riace to be distributed to the immigrants, who can spend them on what

they need in the town’s shops. This solution has benefited local trade and craftsmanship as well as the refugees’ integration process into the local economy and community. Unfortunately, Banca d’Italia, having lost its historic function due to the euro’s adoption, rather than taking care of controlling banks, intends to hinder those printing the currency which is nothing more than a payment promise, a sort of voucher. It does not completely replace the euro which immigrants will need to buy, for example, a phone card.” Do you agree with the negative opinions about bitcoin? “The bitcoin is talked about because it has been involved in some cases of drug trafficking. Since it is an virtual international currency, it has nothing to do with local complementary currencies. To use it you need to be part of the society managing it. It was initially very successful but its value has suffered significant fluctuations and I think this has a lot to do with speculation.” You write that the dollar, above all, due to the push of the BRICS, will lose its role as global currency of reference for international trade. What do you see in the future for local complementary currencies? “If austerity policies do not change, if we do not loosen our grip on municipal financial statements which have been seriously hit by the current crisis, the necessity rather than the desire to try different ways will prevail. If they are doing it in England in somewhat well-off cities, like Bristol, it means that municipalities there are also suffering due to the crisis. That is why, I believe that local currencies will further expand there, possibly, as is already happening in several Brazilian cities, for example, in connection with local environmental protection. They will still be complementary: their role is to rebalance the market, favour income distribution, environmental protection, relations between the city and the countryside and between inland and coastal areas, not to replace official currencies completely. In this sense they are a part of a journey where people take back money as an instrument. It is difficult to foresee how far this phenomenon will spread across the world. Experiments underway, some with decades of activity under their belt, like the WIR case, are concrete proof of their feasibility. I believe, in particular, that the experiences involving local government in the front line will have a future, like the recent case of the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, who launched the local currency project, named the Virtula. And in Italy, it is beyond belief just how many mayors have telephoned me over the past years because they would like to try out route. But they seem to get scared off at the start line – because, compared to money, there’s a sort of taboo, a refusal to become interested in the easiest aspects of finance. We have a psychological subjection with the banks, in particular when we want to ask for a loan. Forgetting that banks exist because they lend money.”

renewablematter 14. 2017

When

DESIGN Meets

EXISTING Things by Irene Ivoi

Studio Pepe Heykoop, Brickchair 1

Today, the encounter between creatives and used matter involves very different topics, compared to what happened with Duchamp’s first ready-mades. In order to promote reused objects, the ability to narrate waste’s journey effectively is fundamental. Irene Ivoi deals with research, implementation and communication of product policies and strategies for environmental impact prevention for supply chain consortia, public administration and businesses. An industrial design graduate, she believes in the designer role with special attention to (eco) processes and services.

It has already been a few years since the media started talking increasingly often about the regenerative economy: an economy born out of the cooperation between different trades acting within the same territory. A symbiotic economy, based on the possibility that some business’ or trade’s waste (not only materials, but, for example, also power and water) become by-products and are used by another company. It is a seemingly new frontier aimed at sparking off a virtuous circle of matter. In fact, the idea of industrial symbiosis is quite old. After having set an example with Gunter Pauli’s Breakthroughs (Epsilon Press 1996), it was consequently

mentioned by the European Union as a tool the Member States should equip themselves with in their transformation strategies towards a sustainable economy – “Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe,” COM (2011) 571. Few years later, the European Union reminded us – “Green Action Plan for SMEs,” COM (2014) 440 – that 44% of big European companies sell their own discarded materials to another company, while only 24% of SMEs do the same. However, one of the first, actual examples of industrial symbiosis had already been set up in the Seventies. Over the years, in the Danish town of Kalundborg – 20,000 inhabitants; 100 km from Copenaghen – a complex exchange network has formed, involving resources such as

Pepe Heykoop graduated in 2008 from the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Heykoop often focuses his designing/ autoproducing activity on discarded and recovered matter, manufacturing truly surprising objects. www.pepeheykoop.nl

Meeting Used Matter In order to promote and give expression to the symbiotic processes’ outputs, businesses turn to creatives. Sometimes, the latter’s meeting with used matter – with waste –

has an individual reason and new objects are produced overturning almost entirely their original functions. If in the Twenties Dadaists had called this ready-made – even though the first who did something similar was Marcel Duchamp in 1913 – today, the reasons behind it are completely different. Companies promoting these virtuous practices know perfectly well that if the latter are not communicated effectively, they risk losing most of their value. Accordingly, there is a call for creatives and designers not only to shape new outputs, but also to describe the paths followed by matter in a captivating, attractive way. When the meeting between discarded matter takes place privately – often not serial and, thus, occasional – and creative thinking, there is the risk of sparking off again an ancient debate on what “is or is not”design. Vico Magistretti, Italian designer and architect (1920-2006), would say sententiously that “if an object is not produced in at least a few thousand pieces, it is not a design artefact.” However, the Sixties, the Seventies, and the Eighties are very far in time. Meanwhile, many things have changed and designers have started to carry out their own projects by themselves (thus turning them into products) and have consequently become micro-businesses without middlemen. Similarly, the reuse of spaces, architecture, matter, clothes, and components has become a must: a pulverisation of making where, seemingly, there is a place for everyone.

Pepe Heykoop. Photo by Annemarijne Bax

Some years ago, in Italy, ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Sustainable Economic Development), thanks to RISE’s work (a laboratory for resources’ development in productive and territorial systems), set up Symbiosis. The latter is a platform of industrial symbiosis available to the local companies and operators, with an aim to match supply and demand and setting up transfers of resources and agreements on materials, energetic by-products, water, services, and skills. In addition, Symbiosis cooperates with some Italian regions (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Latium, and Sicily) and with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. However, aside from their value, the fact remains that such experiences need to become models and be spread as much as possible, since only in this way Bricks and Bits of Wood it will be possible to repeat them.

Studio Pepe Heykoop, Bits Of Wood 3. Photo by Annemarijne Bax

water, power, and a considerable amount of industrial waste having become secondary raw material for other processes. Born as a private initiative, today, the network concerns the whole urban area. It is also often mentioned as an emblematic example, indeed because it did not result from urban and industrial planning, but it developed naturally thanks to voluntary and lucrative bilateral agreements that succeeded in reducing production costs by guaranteeing access to less expensive secondary resources and to the remunerative disposal of process waste. Of course, there are also other cities where the public sector has promoted interesting initiatives. Suffice it to think of Amsterdam, Birmingham, and Stockholm, whose municipalities have devised a mapping system for used materials’ flows, in order to detect the chances of recovering, reusing, and integrating them. Or to projects such as Retrace, set up by the Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin and aimed at an intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive planning which is able to anticipate – for any single moment of products’ lifecycle – waste control and, in case it is produced, its exploitation.

“A Systemic Approach for REgions TRAnsitioning towards a Circular Economy,” www.interregeurope.eu/ retrace

Symbiosis, www.simbiosiindustriale. it/Simbiosi-Industriale

renewablematter 14. 2017

Studio Pepe Heykoop, Chandelier. Photo by Annemarijne Bax

Reuse has no fathers and no consortium will be created to finance and support it. Consequently, self-management rules supreme and various networks have already been created which are able to connect more re-creators and to magnify the effect of their disseminated wit.

But beware: reuse can also be a serious affair, firstly because, thanks to its diffusion, it is imposing itself as aesthetic category, similarly to what happened with the ethnic style in the late Nineties; secondly, because it is socially inclusive and succeeds in giving sense to often forgotten manual skills. In addition, reuse easily involves public and private stakeholders, thus establishing a communication between agents that, by crafting discarded matter with a hint of creativity, find the code for mutual understanding. Lastly, it brings designers back to issues such as the restoration of an identity for stratifications of different components; the use and combination

of colour spectres and of materials that, sometimes, cannot age decently and that come back to life in unusual forms. The disassembling aimed at reassembling forces one to express unforeseen virtues: what used to be a filling can be converted into a surface and what used to be cut up is now reassembled. Memory of what things used to be like gets lost to be recovered; things once born as not repairable can become so, and so on. Thus, discarded matter becomes the travelling companion of a journey does not seem to have, at first, a destination but that, in fact, reveals itself through making. At the moment, this is a universe of pulverized experiences, restricted to a market niche producing not very much, yet having interesting consumer prices. It is necessary to actually enter the market. There is a need for the ability to commercialize and enhance efforts in the best possible way, as well as professional competences are required which can boost such experiences by stimulating demand and, consequently, acting on knowledge and diffusion. Buyers must know that this option exists and they must be able to locate, identify, and appreciate it. This is why knowledge and access are two crucial points. Reuse has no fathers and no consortium will be created to finance and support it. Consequently, self-management rules supreme and various networks have already been created which are able to connect more re-creators and magnify the effect of their disseminated wit.

Networks and Communities

Campagnoli G., “Riusiamo l’Italia – Da spazi vuoti a start-up culturali e sociali,” Il Sole 24 Ore, 2014

Appcycle Appcycle is a project based on a community that uses the Web to aim at a circular economy applied to the recovery of unused matter. On the portal, donors and re-creators can interact: the former, namely those who manage or produce waste – i.e. unused matter – make available to others the material which, in turn, will be traced in order to obtain information on its destination, transformation, and CO2 saving and to gain the pre-emption right over the purchase of what the re-creators will produce. The latter are designers and craftsmen that, through upcycling logics, will choose what “waste” to use in order to produce new outputs, also by uploading tutorials on the re-elaboration phases. Eventually, there is a shopping area where it is possible to sell these objects. In 2016, Appcycle attended “Icché ci vah ci vole” – an experimental festival for the creation of shared imaginations – where it introduced its platform to Source – Self made Design, a project whose aim is to connect the universe of creatives from the design world to businesses and small and medium enterprises in the field of production and distribution. Starting from February 2017, Appcycle

will enter the incubator CoopUp within the project OPP! – Confcooperative’s network of young cooperative entrepreneurs. www.appcycle.it Reusing cities The reuse of cities is an extremely topical subject, which was much discussed at the 1st Legambiente’s Festival of Civil Economy (17th/19th November 2016, Campi Bisenzio, Florence) with Enrico Fontana, co-author and editor of Legacoop’s book “Regenerating Cities.” The two subjects have been cooperating for some time, also thanks to an agreement protocol for promoting business plans aimed at developing a network of community cooperatives, which commit to the protection of public and common properties by restoring neglected constructions and enhancing local communities. Special mention is deserved by www.riusiamolitalia.it and www.universitadelriuso.it: these two platforms conceived by Gianni Campagnoli are rich in original tips, useful data and ideas for rethinking the future of neglected places. Then we have www.kcity.it, one of the 12

Policy organizations that founded the international network Urban Renaissance, which connects innovative professional firms active in six countries by gathering skills ranging from landscape to planning and economics, in order to promote integrated interventions of urban regeneration. Lastly, there is Salento Solidale, an operation by association Coppula Tisa, which turned a roadman’s house called Celacanto, in the town of Marina Serre di Tricase (Apulia), into a gathering centre for local non-profit organisations. All the furniture has been obtained exclusively from the disused wooden beams of the area’s abandoned tobacco factories. celacanto.coppulatisa.it

Ri.Accademia This research project on reuse and the circular economy was born in Turin in 2013 from the meeting between Cristian Campagnaro and Claudia De Giorgi – Professors of the Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin – Antonio Castagna – educator and advisor on such topics – the social cooperatives Triciclo and Liberi Tutti, the association Mana-Manà, and the artist Walter Visentin. A first activity of research and action has investigated possible ways of reusing and exploiting melamine veneered particleboards from the disused furniture’s supply chain. It is available in great quantities, it does not have a commercial value after its use, and it presents itself as a material with a low quality of expression and a quick semantic obsolescence, though it maintains good mechanic properties. The research path is structured on three levels of experiment. •• Upcycling: studying in depth how recovered semi-finished products become suitable for new product solutions identifiable by consumers and having economic value.

•• Cooperative supply chains: giving prominence to relationships and co-design in order to remove the mainly semantic and expressive restrictions which, today, are limiting reuse processes. •• New utilizations of wood shavings: testing appropriate technological processes aimed at disassembling materials and recovering matter for new products’ creation. Rreuse Born in 2001, Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises is a European platform promoting the development of social businesses operating in materials’ recovery, reuse, and recycling. It groups over 20 national and regional networks located in more than ten EU countries. The recent report Reuse in the UK and Ireland by the British Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (Ciwm) states that reuse is distinguishing itself and growing considerably – despite the lack of strategies of the current government – but this trade’s progress could be sped up by confronting issues such as delivery and strategic communication and commitment of businesses’ top managers. www.rreuse.org Etsy With respect to disseminated creativity, the platform Etsy, which, in fact, has a B Corp certification (B Corps are companies that keep up voluntarily to the highest standards of purpose, responsibility, and transparency – editor’s note), plays a role of promotion and sale of handcrafted products created by privates in small and very small series, or as unique specimen, though not necessarily obtained from reuse. Another curious case is that of Ikea Hackers: she is a young blogger suggesting innovative solutions for giving Ikea’s products a new look or function.

Report Ciwm, “Reuse in the UK and Ireland,” tinyurl.com/ht5jktx

jules.ikeahackers.net www.ikeahackers.net

WRP (Wood reinforced Paper), 50%

Samuele Baruzzi, 2016

From left to right: WRC (Woos Reinforced Concrete), 50%

Samuele Baruzzi, 2016

Right: Samuele Baruzzi. 2016, Una materia prima di terza generazione (“Third-generation raw material”). Experiment on faced chipboard reuse, Design and Communication Course thesis, supervisor C. Campagnaro

renewablematter 14. 2017

The Economy that Came from OUTER SPACE

Interview with Roberto Battiston

Our planet is a closed system with limited resources. That is why many innovations used within the context of space research are considered fundamental for material recovery and circularity. A branch of research has already started to produce results. The Ket-Lab, or “Key Enabling Technologies Laboratory,” markets technologies deriving from aerospace research. edited by Emanuele Bompan

What happens when you work in an environment where there are no material supplies, the only resource is waste, oxygen is lacking, external conditions are extreme and the only energy is that of the stars? Easy. You use the resource that humanity has always possessed almost endless provisions of: talent. And if this environment is outer space, then the challenge is momentous. Experimental physics professor at the University of Trento, Roberto Battiston chaired the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics Commission II for astroparticle physics and was a member of the Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications. He is the current chairperson of the Italian Space Agency.

The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, narrates the great challenge space engineers must face every day when they plan journeys into space, to orbital stations and to research centres in the deep cosmos. Or, even, when they begin creating future colonies on Mars, where one day humans could live in order to continue conquering space, exploring it as they seek new matters or even offering “out of this world” holidays. Obviously, space economy is not only an economic sector of vectors, ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles), remote-controlled vehicles and new satellites. It is also a great opportunity for creating future technologies which can support a sick planet, which has at its disposal increasing less raw materials and has a growing need to exploit renewable energy sources and promote efficiency. Renewable Matter is launching a series of articles which investigate the direction of these investments and the cutting edge technologies which may one day come into our homes or become part of global productive industries. Let us begin with Italy, one of Europe’s players in the space economy sector which the government has decided to invest in, with 350 million Euros in funding going to the Italian Interministerial Economic Planning Committee for the development and cohesion fund for an Italian development plan. According to the minister of economic development, Carlo Calenda, this sector is one “of excellence for the Italian productive system.” But is it really? We spoke to the chairperson of the Italian Space Agency, Roberto Battiston, one of the most

Temple atop Shackleton Crater (Moon) – ©Jorge Mañes Rubio. Spatial design & visualisation in collaboration with DITISHOE ditishoe.com

visionary minds on the scene, who is considering Mars and beyond. For many, the space economy is an “alien” concept, if you forgive the pun. “The space economy should be considered from two points of view: one implies the passage from considering space activities, above all, in terms of its technological exploratory element, connected to an increase in knowledge and man’s investigative skills, as well as a vision of space as an environment where economic activity produces wealth. At the moment, the space sector has a global turnover of about €300 billion a year, of which 70-85% is connected to telecommunications. It is, indeed, a market economy. But the new entry of recent years regards the growing quantity of data that space manages to provide us regarding the Earth, not to mention the exchange of telecommunications data. In other words, we are producing a quantity of data originating from space, that is connecting with the new dot.com economy, which is increasingly connected to services and network management.”

It includes a technological element reminiscent of the green economy. These innovations used in space are considered the key to a future where material recovery and circularity are fundamental. Tell us more. “There are two important aspects. Observing the Earth from space, one of the first things that leaps out at you is the weather and, above all, climate processes. Space observation helps us to better understand what our planet is experiencing and its climate evolution, allowing us to verify the effects of these processes and the actions implemented by different countries for containing and improving the environmental impact. This is a particular chapter of the space economy and space data use. There is also a second aspect. In space, there are endless resources available: there is solar energy but we do not have other materials other than those which we bring. The challenge is, thus, to transform energy into food, into power for moving quickly from one place to another, and into communication capacity and whatnot. Let us consider what goes on in an international space station, where people have been living continuously for 15 years.

The Earth is a closed system, very similar to that of a space station. Of course the figures are different: 7 billion people live on our planet and only 9 people would be on a space station.

Policy

Comet 67P/C-G – ©ESA/Rosetta/OSIRIS/NavCam – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

The challenge is to optimise resources, exploit the materials available and the energy arriving from the sun. Let us consider that the Earth’s raw materials are those which it already has and there are no more.” However, the Earth is also a limited system like a spaceship. It is just much bigger. “Yes, of course. There is only solar energy, because gas and oil are actually solar energy accumulated over the course of millions of years. The Earth is a closed system, very similar to that of a space station. Of course the figures are different: 7 billion people live on our planet and only 9 people would be on a space station. In space, the principle of a closed system is ever more evident: 95% water is recovered from urine and sweat, in a continuous cycle. Today, we throw organic waste into the atmosphere to burn it, however, if we had a farm in the space station (we have already tried to cultivate salad and flowers and we are getting set up for tomatoes), we could reuse it in a circuit which could exploit and reuse all the materials brought into space, using solar energy to transform it. Thus, it is a fantastic system for testing out extreme reuse of primary resources in the most advanced way.” How does Italy rank in the space economy? Are we leaders or followers? “In the space sector, we are an international power: the sixth country in the world in terms of space activities and the third in Europe, after France and Germany. And we have a 50-year-long tradition which covers the whole industry: from launch systems,

like the San Marco launches at Malindi with General Broglio in the sixties, to the extremely important contributions provided to the international space station, whose residential infrastructures were produced in Turin. The COSMO-SkyMed constellation is the only one of its kind in the world. It allows the Earth to be monitored 24/7, both day and night, since, being radar, it sees through the clouds and also works in the dark. We have a wealth of extraordinary skills which we try to maintain and develop through the work of the Italian Space Agency. Today, the national space industry provides work for 6,500 employees and has a turnover of 1.7 billion. The challenge is to set upon external markets and many of these technologies are indeed on the market.” How much potential for growth do you think there is? “In principle, there is no real limit because it depends on the competitiveness that we manage to cultivate in the system. Unique products or competition between a couple of companies often derives from the space economy. For example, the Vega launch system (a rocket, editor’s note) which was a mainly-Italian production and is currently used two or three times a year by the European Space Agency. We believe it could be used in a market two or three times its size, if appropriately included in international agreements or even sold to non-European countries. The potential for growth is at least 100%. It depends on how much the Italian system, the government which invests in industries, plans this development model.”

World

37 25 38

300

Domestic VOP/ Global VOP (%) 100

20 60 Italy

France

United Kingdom

Germany

1.6

6.6

0.6

20 40 40

2.1

70 10 20 20 40 40

5.3

2.3

% of VOP from istitutional market % of VOP from private market: upstream % of VOP from private market: downstream

H36W-1 arrives in Kourou – ©ESA

Value of Production in 2013 (VOP, Billion of euro)

Comet 67P/C-G landing site – ©ESA/Rosetta/OSIRIS

How much is the space sector worth

renewablematter 14. 2017 More or less how many patents from the space economy world have become industrial distribution products? “Too few. Italy does not tend to produce patents, neither at university level nor at industrial level. It is not in our DNA. At university and research centre level, the figures are negligible. Really very few. At industrial level, we are doing slightly better, but we do not have the systemic patenting strategy that northern countries very often have, as do the USA. Having said that, the way in which space evolves hardly ever involves buying patents from other companies. Rather, agreements are made and they involve sharing out activities, creating joint ventures and favouring the development of collaborations. All this is facilitated by a great deal of public funding, both at a national and an international level, in Italy, the United States and Russia.” New joint ventures reveal the increase in private partnerships. Just think of the Lavazza “espresso in space” project

and the Virgin Galactic investments. What role will they play? “Let us consider what is happening in America where the private citizens of the new economy based on the web and services are personally involved in space activity in order to boost their own businesses based on non-space matters. As these partnerships emerge, producing patents will become an increasingly more important strategy.” Italy excels in the green economy, with great know-how and a high interest in the circular economy. Could space technologies make the difference in the renewable energy field, in material recovery, recycling, and reuse and in the study of new materials? Is a public-private round table needed, involving the space industry and the green industry? “I think so. As the Italian Space Agency, we are trying to boost the process of technology transfer to other commercial sectors, both in terms of pure research and in terms of industrial prototyping. Over the past few months,

Key Enabling Technologies Laboratory, ketlab.it

Ariane 5 liftoff on flight VA233 – ©ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016

Herschel’s view of the Horsehead Nebula – ©ESA/Herschel/PACS, SPIRE/N. Schneider, Ph. André, V. Könyves for the “Gould Belt survey” Key Programme Swarm Upper Composite – ©ESA–S. Corvaja, 2013

Flight dynamics team – ©ESA/J. Mai ESA’s Malargüe (Buenos Aires) tracking station – ©ESA/U. Kugel

As the Italian Space Agency, we are trying to boost the process of technology transfer to other commercial sectors, both in terms of pure research and in terms of industrial prototyping.

we have set up the Ket-Lab, ‘Key Enabling Technologies Laboratory’, in Rome along with Consorzio Hypatia. We have already started making products aimed at marketing technologies deriving from aerospace research. Here are some examples. High-efficiency solar cells: the solar panels that we have to realise can achieve a 60% yield, while those we currently use on our roofs achieve 15-18%. They currently cost a lot but, as is always the case, once the technology is developed we can think about largescale production processes which lower costs.” As far as water is concerned, what inventions are in the pipeline? “In the space station, as I said, 95% of water is recovered from sweat and urine. But when you are on a planet, even just the Moon, we literally have to be able to extract water from stone. Water is often chemically bound in very small quantities to a whole series of molecules present on the surfaces of planets. In order to be able to use it we must develop techniques which, from the Earth, we do not even consider, because there is so much water available.” From the spaceship to the home? “Absolutely. All the possible and imaginable

filters: in order to obtain drinking water from dirty water, in order to produce oxygen from an atmosphere full of CO2. This is all being researched and developed, also in Italy.” What are the space economy’s production clusters? “Turin, Milan where OHB is an important company, the Leonardo group, EX in the Milan area, the Tuscan cluster at Campi Bisenzio, the Lazio central hub, the Abruzzo hub at L’Aquila, the Italian Aerospace Research Centre and the Campania aerospace district. These are, above all, business networks.” What is the most bizarre (and most Italian) technology that you have tested? “I would say the coffee maker designed by Lavazza which can make coffee without gravity. It was more of a gadget for the media but it provided a lot of visibility for the space sector. It was a first: we used the space and international space station brands intelligently along with the national competences to support a process which then, in the end, will provide a direct, economic benefit. However, the space economy has only just begun. It will be a great journey through the cosmos, to save our planet too.”

VIETNAM OPENS UP by Dinh Thao Hoa

to the Circular Economy

This article was originally published in the SwitchasiaMAG, winter 2016/17; www.switch-asia.eu

One of the 10 most polluted countries in the world, Hanoi looks at the circular economy to combine growth and environmental protection, competitiveness and social benefits. Even if 80% of the country’s businesses currently haven’t got a clue of what it is all about.

Dinh Thao Hoa is a Researcher and Business Analyst at the Centre for Creativity and Sustainability Study and Consultancy in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The concept of closed-loop production was very popular in Vietnam during the 20th Century, especially in the agricultural sector. At that time, the Vườn (Garden) – Ao (Pond) – Chuồng (Cage) farming model used waste from one activity as input for another activity. For example, organic waste from growing vegetables, such as damaged vegetables, old leaves, etc., was used as animal feed for fish in a pond or for poultry and livestock living in an enclosure (cage). Nowadays, with all the profound economic, social and cultural changes, Vietnam has been developing away from a low income agricultural economy to become one of the most active processing service providers in the world. This has raised the national income level and population’s living standard considerably. However, the fading of environmentally friendly production models (such as the V-A-C) is one of the downsides of that economic development pattern. As a replacement for such models,

1. According to the 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) released during this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 2. tinyurl.com/z9quxco 3. The sources of Lung disease – Dr. Dao Bich Van, Dean of Pulmonary rehabilitation department, Vietnam National Lung Hospital, 2013.

the use of chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides) and the application of automatic farming devices have not only broken the natural circle of materials but also generated more waste, even toxic waste, often released into the environment. Waste generated by industrial activities and urbanisation is one of Vietnam’s serious issues. Vietnam has been named as one of the top ten countries in the world with the worst air pollution since 2012.1 On 6 October 2016, Hanoi – Vietnam’s capital – was ranked the second worst city in the world in terms of urban air pollution.2 As a consequence, the number of people suffering from cancer, acute and chronic respiratory diseases and allergic reactions in big cities in Vietnam is increasing. The Hanoi-based Central Lung Hospital said that 95% of patients suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to living in a polluted environment, according to a 2013 study.3 Another 2013 study by the Vietnam Ministry of Health noted that

Case Studies 4. tinyurl.com/zdkq8cm 5. European Environment Agency, Circular Economy to have considerable benefits but challenges remain, 2016. 6. www.uncrd.or.jp/ content/documents/ Country%20Analysis%20 Paper_Vietnam.pdf 7. tinyurl.com/hdu6tff

©Khuutuong/www.goodfreephotos.com

SWITCH-Asia project “Sustainable Product Innovation in Vietnam, Combodia and Laos,” www.switch-asia.eu/ projects/spin-vcl

of every 100,000 people, 4,100 or 4.1% have lung diseases; 3,800 contract inflammation of the throat and tonsils; and 3,100 have bronchitis. Most worrisome is that people of working age are those most often affected by air pollution.4 These shocking data are a result of extreme pollution in the country, which forces Vietnam to transform its production towards cleaner, safer and more sustainable methods to protect both the national environment and the population’s health. In this context, a circular economy could be a good solution. In a circular economy, waste from factories becomes a valuable input to other processes – and rather than disposing of defunct products, they could be repaired, reused or upgraded. Circular economy strategies could also result in considerable cost savings, increasing the competitiveness of the nation’s industry while delivering net benefits in terms of job opportunities.5 This concept seems to be an essential solution for Vietnam to continue serving the growing energy and resource demands in the domestic market, while decreasing pressure on waste, pollution and climate change. In June 2016 the Centre for Creativity and Sustainability Study and Consultancy (CCS), a spin-off of the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia project “Sustainable Product Innovation,” conducted a research with 152 Vietnamese SMEs operating in a variety of sectors. 78.8% of surveyed

enterprises stated not to have any idea about the circular economy concept. Only 13.3% of the surveyed firms had some knowledge related to the circular economy, such as sustainable production and consumption, cleaner production, cradle to cradle and resource efficiency. However, in general, Vietnamese SMEs’ practice towards applying these concepts in business is still very limited: according to another report conducted by the Vietnam Environment Administration in 2014, only 0.1% (around 200 out of 200 000) of firms all over Vietnam have been applying cleaner production technology in their factories.6 The Circular Economy in Vietnam Though not many companies are aware of the term circular economy, there are already a variety of circular business models in Vietnam, which have proven not only able to improve firms’ economic value and competitiveness, but also able to generate benefits for both society and the environment. According to the report, Circular Advantage,7 by the National Zero Waste Council Circular Economy Working Group in 2014, there are currently five types of circular business models (see figure 1). Among them, several have already been applied in Vietnam by SMEs to increase their economic values and competitiveness.

Figure 1 | The five business models of the circular economy Circular Supplies: Provide renewable energy, bio based- or fully recyclable input material to replace single-lifecycle inputs Resource Recovery: Recover useful resources/energy out of disposed products or by-products

Other loop

Circular supplies

Returning

C byproducts Waste as a resource

MANUFACTURING

Product Life Extension: Extend working lifecycle of products and components by repairing, upgrading and reselling Sharing Platforms: Enable increased utilisation rate of products by making possible shared use/access/ ownership Products as a Service*: Offer product access and retain ownership to internalise beneﬁts of circular resource productivity

LOGISTICS

SALES AND MARKETING

Resell PRODUCT DESIGN

PROCUREMENT

Remanufacture

Repair/ Upgrade PRODUCT USE

Recycle/upcycle

*Can be applied to product ﬂows in any part of the value chain

Share END OF LIFE DISPOSAL

REVERSE LOGISTICS WASTE LEAKAGE (eliminate)

Source: Accenture, “Circular Advantage: Innovative Business Models and Technologies to Create Value in a World without Limits to Growth,” 2014. Design adjustments of graphs by Elmar Sander and Katharina Olma.

renewablematter 14. 2017 Below, two case studies of companies that have applied business models of the circular economy in Vietnam. Resource recovery: The case of Green Street JSC Founded in early 2016, Green Street JSC (Green Street Trade and Service Joint Stock Company), is an SME located in Hanoi, with two main activities: •• Trading: exporting sustainable and innovative products made from Vietnamese bamboo to Australia, New Zealand and the European Union (EU); and •• Services: consulting on resource recovery processing models and providing commercialisation services for SMEs processing bamboo in Vietnam. Vietnam has approximately 1.4 million hectares of bamboo growing areas, providing from 12 to 20 tonnes of raw bamboo per hectare per year.8 However, traditional bamboo treatment methods applied in Vietnam are time-consuming, capital-intensive, affect the environment negatively (by releasing CH4, CO2, and SOx due to the use of sulphur, diesel, and bleach during bamboo treatment processes) and are detrimental to health. Understanding the existing environmental problems of the current bamboo processing industry, in April 2016, Green Street JSC, provided consultancy to Viet Linh bamboo processing enterprise, Thanh Hoa province, to apply a zero-waste bamboo processing system

in its factory. The system, transferred from Green Street JSC to Viet Linh, has successfully changed the physio-chemical properties of Vietnamese bamboo and improved its quality. After treatment, the bamboo materials both look better and boast a quality and durability equivalent to hard woods, like teak. Additionally, almost all by-products resulting from the treatment, such as fibre, shredded parts and other organic elements (lignin, etc.), are collected, which then are used as an energy source to feed biomass gasification equipment in the next treatment round (see figure 2). This helps reduce the firm’s energy cost, eliminates waste destined for landfill and improves health and safety at the workplace. The company was also advised to use environmentally friendly glues, which make bamboo products safer for humans, as well as decomposing after use. Green Street JSC, also provides consultancy to suppliers of bamboo raw materials, who plant and harvest bamboo, on how to apply a closed-loop cultivation model in their bamboo forest. In this model, bamboo suppliers replant bamboo plants and protect the biodiversity under bamboo shades (e.g. raising buffalo or goats and planting comfrey), and produce bio-fertilizer using bamboo by-products. By providing value-added services for stakeholders in the upstream of the bamboo product value chain, the service department of Green Street JSC ensures local sustainable and high quality bamboo sources while empowering enterprises along the bamboo

Info dichungtaxi.com/en dichung.vn

8. Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, “Annual report,” 2014.

OLD TECHNOLOGY

Figure 2 | Comparison between the two technologies used in the Viet Linh company

Lime

Water Pre-process raw material (bamboo)

Bamboo debris, top and root

Waste

Heating process

Sewage, heat and emission

Waste

Finalise product

Bamboo debris, top and root, chemical waste

Waste

Wood/Coal/ DO oil

NEW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Bio-coal

Whole bamboo Water circulation

Boiler

Bio-mass fuel (bamboo debris, betel, etc) and lignin*

Provide heat with steam

Boil and carbonisation

After-boiled water

Excess heat from chimney 40°-50°

Dry

Excessive hear from boiler

Bamboo debris

Cut Press Product

*Reused as fuel

Water retrieval

Lignin retrieval Collect lignin for*

Source: Green Street Jsc. Design adjustments of graphs by Elmar Sander and Katharina Olma.

Case Studies

Photo by Falco/Pixabay – CC0 Public Domain

and commodities to utilise their vehicles’ empty slots. Established in 2010, Dichung has already successfully engaged 20 business customers all over Vietnam to use the online platform (70% of which is airport taxi companies, the other 30% is truck taxi companies), providing an average of 500 shared rides from cities to airports and vice-versa every day, earning 147,100 euro per year. There have also been 233,770 successful matches between vehicle owners and passengers. Dichung has popularised their mobile application with more than 200,000 users (both share-riders and drivers) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities, with revenue of 90,000 euro per year gained from advertising and registration fees.

The system allows the recovery of nearly all treatment by-products such as fibers, chipboard and other organic fractions such as lignin which can be use as energy sources.

value chain to enhance profits through cutting production cost from 10% to 20% and increasing both productivity and product quality. The trading department of Green Street JSC then uses these sources to realise their creative, smart designs of bamboo flooring, furniture, décor and to export them to Australia, New Zealand and the EU. The innovative resource-recovering business model of Green Street JSC is expected to provide services for 470 bamboo-processing enterprises and bamboo forest owners of over 70,000 ha, gaining 450,000 euros annual revenue by 2018 and doubling revenue every three years. The expected revenue for trading activities is 3.1 million euros revenue per annum from 2018. Sharing platform: The case of Dichung company Dichung is a social enterprise which provides customers with a convenient web-based platform to solve their transportation needs. It helps connect people who need a ride with others who want to share empty seats in their vehicles. The business goal is to create a ridesharing culture in Vietnam, in which Dichung acts as a middleman, bringing users (passengers and drivers) together and overcoming barriers to sharing vehicles. It also works with transport companies to provide standardised ride-sharing services (taxi-sharing, van pools) via a B2B and B2C platform (dichungtaxi.com) which helps those companies collect extra customers

To develop the customer database, Dichung. vn runs a marketing campaign aimed at target groups such as students, ofﬁcers, travellers and tourists. The company also set up a team of volunteers providing free ride-sharing for people with disabilities. Unlike Grab taxi and Uber taxi, which subsidises drivers financially and incentivises them to use their apps, Dichung.vn and Dichungtaxi.com focus on filling otherwise empty seats in private vehicles and taxis. This means that Dichung just helps drivers to save their fuel costs while reducing the transportation cost for ride-sharers based on their willingness to match, not solely for profit purposes. Over the last six years, the innovative business model of Dichung has helped drivers (individuals, taxis and truck taxis) to save 6,315,200,000 vietnamese dong (263,362 euro) as well as 568,368 kg CO2 for the environment, combined with lowered travel cost for passengers and reduced traffic jams. On the other hand, Dichung operates an innovative business model at a very low operational cost as they provide a sharing service without owning any motorbikes or cars. Conclusions Although the implementation of a circular economy in Vietnam is not yet obvious, there is still a vast potential to apply it, as proven by case studies. In order to take advantage of the circular economy concept and learn from the pioneering companies, other Vietnamese firms should consider the whole value chain to find opportunities for innovating their own business models. Capacity building, an increase in productivity and especially the promotion towards factory workers and stakeholders along the value chain (upstream to downstream) are also necessary for companies to apply a circular economy approach successfully in the longer term. Finally, a strong commitment to these long-term sustainable strategies is essential to ensure the development of circular economy business models and to convince investors to invest in new circular economy ideas.

Now it is by Rudi Bressa

SOUTHERN ITALY’S Chance

While in North and Central Italy sorted waste collection of paper and cardboard remains substantially unvaried, the South has great development and growth potential. COMIECO has launched an extraordinary plan, while Naples and Palermo are giving good examples. Rudi Bressa is a freelance journalist and naturalist, who writes about the environment, science, renewable energy and circular economy for various national newspapers.

“La raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti urbani nel Mezzogiorno: i ritardi e le proposte per superarli e per raggiungere i nuovi target europei” dossier, tinyurl.com/zzzbwk2

Municipal solid waste sorting is increasing in Italy. There has been a constant, significant increase over the past ten years, or rather in the 2005-2014 period. Furthermore, according to ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) data valid in 2016, we went from 24% to an excellent 47.5% of national production, with a further increase of 2% compared to the previous year. What is more, in view of a 0.4% reduction in municipal solid waste production, 29.5 million tonnes of municipal urban waste were produced in 2015, i.e. an overall drop of almost 1.9 million tonnes compared to 2011 (ISPRA data, “Rapporto Rifiuti Urbani 2016”). The North is leading sorted waste collection, with 8 million tonnes, representing 58.6%, while Central Italy has reached almost 2.9 million tonnes collected (43.8%). While, on the one hand, these numbers lead us to believe that the 50% mark by 2020, as requested by the European Directive 2008/98/EC, is attainable, on the other, they show the South’s serious delay. Even today only 33.6% of waste, equal to 3.1 million tonnes (an ever-increasing figure), is collected and sorted. “In order to reach the 60% municipal solid waste recycling objective by 2025 (and 65% by 2030)

recycling performances will have to improve throughout the South,” writes Italy’s Foundation for Sustainable Development in its “La raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti urbani nel Mezzogiorno: i ritardi e le proposte per superarli e per raggiungere i nuovi target europei” dossier, presented in November 2016 during the Stati Generali del Sud meeting to discuss the matter of sorted waste collection in the South. “Exceptional efforts will have to be made in the 5 regions which are lagging behind because they are way off the required results and, if the trend of the past ten years does not radically change over the coming years, we will be off in a certain direction, a long way off those objectives.” Molise, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia and Sicily are the flip side, not only in terms of reaching a satisfying level of sorted waste collection, but also in terms of the creation of an extensive, functional sorting and treatment system, which would lead to an increase in investments and employment. Paper and Cardboard at the top of Sorted Waste Collection If we have a look at the data, we can see how sorted and treated municipal solid waste,

Case Studies

21° Rapporto “Raccolta, Riciclo e Recupero di carta e cartone 2015,” July 2016, tinyurl.com/zhadbtl

Info www.comieco.org

after biodegradable waste, is formed by paper and cardboard. “In most of North and Central Italy, the collection of sorted paper and cardboard, which, historically along with glass, was one of the first activated in Italy. That is why, with the exception of Liguria, the growth margins are not very large,” explains Roberto Di Molfetta, head of the COMIECO (Italy’s National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-based Packaging) recycling and recovery area. “The reports from recent years show that we have many cities, in particular in the North, that, in terms of paper and cardboard, have almost reached the limit of what they can possibly intercept. Yet, there are several municipalities, more often than not in the South and in Central Italy, where the level of collection is still low. That is why COMIECO has devised the Piano per l’Italia del Sud (plan for southern Italy) – specifically to recover the amounts of paper and cardboard that end up in with unsorted waste.” If we take a look at the most recent data gathered by COMIECO in its 21st annual report on paper and cardboard collection, the South emerges with the best results: +4% in 2015, equal to 26,000 tonnes, compared to the previous year with 31.5 kg collected per capita. 21% of the total of paper and cardboard waste sorted in Italy comes from the South, while in 1998, when the COMIECO system was set up, the figure was 5%. This increase was confirmed in 2016 too: +20,700 tonnes in the first semester (or rather, a 9% increase compared with the previous year), with the “families” collection the driving element with 140,000 tonnes (+10.1%). “The big challenge is to develop a real ‘families’ collection in the South,” underlines Di Molfetta. “The missing volumes come from collection from family units. This is due to a significant gap in terms of collection: in many cases, there is no equipment, they do not collect regularly, they use waste disposal practices which do not

Focus on the South. Collection is going up, but potential interception is double the current rate PW* sorted 2014 (t)

Rate of PW* sorted out of total MSW*

Abruzzo

67,990

11.30%

Molise

6,565

5.30%

Campania

198,572

7.80%

Apulia

137,250

7.30%

Basilicata

17,087

8.20%

Calabria

47,074

5.70%

Sicily

76,357

3.20%

Sardinia

73,196

9.90%

SOUTH

624,091

6.70%

CENTRE

759,280

11.40%

NORTH

1,728,002

12.50%

ITALY

3,111,373

10.40%

Source: COMIECO. *PW = Paper Waste MSW = Municipal Solid Waste

In the context of 50% total waste sorted, the growth potential of sorted paper waste is considered at least 650,000 tonnes (almost double the 624,091 tonnes collected in 2014).

follow official channels.” This organisation deficit often leads to badly implemented, often multimaterial collection. “The quality of the material collected is fundamental, because this is the first step of a process which ends with powering a paper mill to make new paper. But the more the material presents foreign bodies, the more it needs to be processed and cleaned. And so, the whole process ends up costing much more, not to mention the further production of unsorted waste,” continues Di Molfetta. Constant Improvement, Additional Limits According to COMIECO, the growth potential for paper and cardboard sorted waste collection can be evaluated at 650,000 tonnes a year, at least. If we evaluate these figures in economic terms, as returns and lower disposal costs, the value is around 100 million Euros a year. Around three quarters of these quantities come from family collection. The figure reaches more than 60% in Campania and Sicily. That is not all. As Italy’s Foundation for Sustainable Development underlines: “Compared to 2014, the additional 800,000 tonnes to be recycled in 2025 would lead to an increase of around 1,4000 workers for the paper and cardboard industry, in addition to another 400 workers in 2030 needed to recycle 190,000 additional tonnes in order to reach the objective set for 2030. Overall, by 2030, the increase in employment in the South, determined by the objectives reached, would be around 1,800 employees in the paper and cardboard sector.” A crucial factor for this growth will be the rationalisation of services that are still missing in action in countless small-scale, short-term contracts and assignments. The “Piano per l’Italia del Sud” and its Tools In order to reach these results, the “Piano per l’Italia del Sud” has up to 7 million Euros at stake which are a downpayment for the collection payments. This sum may be used for interventions aimed at consultancy and support for project evaluation and identifying collection objectives, up to 50% for economic support for purchasing equipment and means, in relation to collection objectives defined beforehand and for specific communication actions. Until today, at least 16 projects have been activated, or are underway. These involve more than 1.7 million inhabitants, with downpayments of around 5 million and objectives for reaching 60,000 tonnes of new collected waste. That is not all. Thanks to the agreement between COMIECO and ANCI (Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani), in 2016, the national call for tenders for municipalities with collection deficits was renewed, allocating three million Euros to 98 municipalities (93% to the South), intended for all the administrations with collection results below 30 kg/inhabitant and a population of up to 100,000 units. Since 2014, COMIECO has contributed

renewablematter 14. 2017 to boosting paper and cardboard sorted waste collection in around 200 municipalities, using 4.5 million Euros in resources to purchase 760,000 bags and boxes, 220,000 bins, 33,000 wheelie bins, 3,700 dumpsters, 25,000 waste paper bins and 800 roll containers for shops. However, there are still some difficulties, connected mainly to planning the collection. “Once the project has been identified, the step which is perhaps most complicated is finding a company to put it into practice. This (problem, editor’s note) increases where services organised at municipal or supramunicipal level are lacking,” explains Di Molfetta. “Often, unfortunately, the activation times of a call to tenders are very long. In Sicily, we are able to support municipalities such as Siracusa and Ragusa, but we are awaiting the conclusion of the process for identifying the waste collection service manager.” The Cases that Work Of course, there is a South that works, thanks to specific projects and structural

interventions. Like the one set up in Naples, involving a basin of 200,000 inhabitants, with two new vehicles made available and 7,500 new containers for the collection. This investment of 1.35 million Euros aims to increase city collections by 4,500 tonnes. Or like the “La via del cartone” initiative set up in Palermo in December. Along with RAP (Risorse Ambiente Palermo), COMIECO involved 610 commercial users, clothes shops, bookshops, hardware stores and more, in 24 streets where a specific collection service did not yet exist. “We set up a daily collection service which comes by at the end of the day. RAP arrives to collect just the cardboard, before the unsorted waste,” says Di Molfetta. The users involved in the experimental project are positive about the initiative which has an average daily increase from 800 to 1,300 kg. According to CONAI (Italy’s National Packaging Consortium) data, recycling paper and cardboard packaging has allowed the secondary raw material generation equal to 329 million reams of A4 paper. This is a sign that the circular economy means, first of all, savings in resources and energy.

Interview

edited by R. B.

“We need a political vision and an operational capability” Edo Ronchi, chairperson of the Foundation for Sustainable Development

In October, the Foundation for Sustainable Development presented its “La raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti urbani nel Mezzogiorno: i ritardi e le proposte per superarli e per raggiungere i nuovi target europei” dossier which examines the current delays and provides several solutions for overcoming the waste management impasse in the South.

www.fondazionesviluppo sostenibile.org

A significant delay in sorted waste collection emerges from the figures presented in the report for southern Italy. What is needed? “Regulations are the same nationwide. At least three southern regions are doing well, for example, Sardinia has exceeded 50%, Campania and Abruzzo are gaining on these figures. So, I would say, the situation is not the same all over the South. There remains only the regional and municipal administrative delays, in terms of both political vision and the operational and managerial capability of the waste sector. It is the administrative industry which does not work.” Your report presents at least ten proposals for making up for the delays. How would that work?

“We have submitted these proposals to the Ministry of the Environment. We wish to implement an agreement involving CONAI and the southern regions and develop central support. We want to verify the pre-existing system and management plans, improve the quality of the collection already occurring and conduct an educational and informative campaign in these regions. I also believe specific, focused pilot projects are fundamental and may act as an example for other cities.” If implemented well, the circular economy brings a whole series of benefits, not only in terms of employment. “Sure. And this also applies to biodegradable waste. However, the industry it is connected to, which is the most undervalued industry in these five regions, requires an adequate system for powering industrial sectors, such as biomethane and green chemistry production. In Italy, the circular economy is already developed and we can extend it to the southern regions, creating sound employment, investment and development chances.”

Case Studies Interview

edited by R. B.

Paper and cardboard collection boosted in over 120 municipalities Piero Attoma, chairperson of COMIECO

With an allocation of 7 million Euros, the “Piano per l’Italia del Sud” launched by COMIECO aims to incentivise waste collection in the South, by buying new equipment but also by reorganising the service. While, in the North and Central Italy, the percentage is substantially unchanged, the South has the most growth potential. Is that right? “Precisely. In 2016, the South reported almost 10% in growth (double compared to 2015) in paper and cardboard waste collection. But we still have a lot to do. If we were to correctly sort all the paper and cardboard which can be intercepted, we can recover more than 6,000 tonnes of materials which still end up with unsorted waste.” What is the “Piano per l’Italia del Sud,” sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment?

“It is a COMIECO project, developed along with CONAI and the Ministry of the Environment, devised to incentivise paper and cardboard sorted waste collection in the South through purchasing new equipment and public communication and awareness-creating campaigns. COMIECO has allocated 7 million Euros to support 8 southern regions: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Puglia, Campania, Calabria, Molise, Sicily, Sardinia. The agreements signed in several regional capitals have lead to, for example, in Palermo’s neighbourhoods, 200 new dumpsters with a view to collect 2,100 tonnes more in paper and cardboard over 18 months and placement of a further 70 dumpsters in 2016. In Messina, resources have been allocated in order to expand door-to-door collection in two neighbourhoods and boost the service in the commercial circuit throughout the municipality. As well as this intervention, waste collection in public administration offices and schools has been developed. Along with CONAI, in the context of reorganising the collection service, COMIECO has allocated 79,000 Euros for the equipment used in cellulosic material collection to Catania and 100,000 Euros for purchasing equipment necessary for boosting the waste collection service in Catanzaro. In Naples, a supplementary agreement between the municipality and ASIA (Azienda Speciale per l’Igiene Ambientale, editor’s note) for the development of paper and cardboard sorted waste collection with funding equal to 1.4 million Euros and the objective of collecting 9,000 tonnes more by the end of 2017. In Bari, finally, 14 bin lorries specifically for cardboard and paper took to the city’s streets to spread awareness among the public about correctly sorting paper and cardboard waste.” What are the most important problems that COMIECO has to face in these regions? “The delay is not due to a single industry’s problems, but to difficulties in the organisation and management of sorted waste collection as such. We need to identify the most effective strategies for some parts of the South necessary in order to change the pace. Paper and cardboard waste collection can be an important driving factor in this development because that public agreement between local bodies and industrial sectors is consolidating around it. This involves those that are called to implement effective local policies regarding the collection service, as well as those, operating through respective recovering and recycling industries, who are responsible for guaranteeing the collection of that collected and the use of the secondary materials in their own productive cycles.”

renewablematter 14. 2017

Columns Innovation Pills

Sustainability, the Final Act Federico Pedrocchi is a science journalist. He directs and presents the weekly programme Moebius broadcast by Radio 24 – Il Sole24 ore.

A community sensitive to sustainability must be capable of committing personally. So let us talk about how we can bury ourselves. Afterwards, obviously. Not in general and arbitrarily, I mean. When it is time to abandon the planet, which is, in any case, not the right definition for what this page is all about. There are different techniques. One is based on freezing the corpse in liquid nitrogen, with equipment which completes this passage by distributing the substance through nozzles which spray the body which is stretched out on a metal platform. The result is a structure which is actually a somewhat fragile “frozen block.” At this point, the metal surface begins to move, making rapid jolts. The body “granitises,” we could say. The granulated material undergoes a process which eliminates all traces of humidity. This is a type of lyophilisation or freeze-drying. What remains is compacted, so that a tile around five centimetres in width is achieved. This tile can be buried at a depth of about twenty-five centimetres. After six months, the tile undergoes a normal decomposition process releasing substances which are very nutritious for the plant world. And that is the specific point in the earth where a sapling can be planted which, to grow, will make use of a particularly valid accelerator. So, cemeteries could be transformed into parks, with trees sporting a little nameplate for the loved ones of the deceased. And public parks could even be populated by former citizens, and why not? Then, there is alkaline hydrolysis. This is how it works: a machine is required – they already exist in the United States – where the corpse is immersed in a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide, brought to 160 °C under a high pressure. This sidesteps the boiling phase (the pressure bypasses it) and the result is the complete decomposition of the body and all its chemical elements, such as peptides, amino acids, sugars and different salts. The result is the same: ingredients which are very useful for nourishing plants. According to Wikipedia, this technology is operational in Colorado, Florida, Georgia,

Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming. In other states, there have been protests by religious communities and other groups. But, in general, there are doubts all over the place. This probably depends on a rash promotion by machinery dealers that have declared the final “product” to be a liquid which can be used to irrigate garden plants (I am unaware as to whether they have also suggested using a planter saucer), and that the whole operation is also great because its CO2 production is significantly lower than that released in normal cremation. But – and here is the mistake – if desired, the liquid can be disposed of via home waste management devices. This is not a pretty picture. So, these are the most interesting scenarios for final sustainability. If we stay in the United States, there is a section of the public that is creating a problem for these new techniques. Requests from motorcyclists who wish to be buried with their bikes are increasing. But Harley Davidsons are bad for plants, even when dissolved.

Columns

The Media Circle

An Eco-Dark 2049 Roberto Giovannini, journalist, writes about economy, society, energy, environment, green economy and technology.

P. K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, New american library 1969

Very few films have marked and influenced the collective consciousness of entire generations. Although we probably do not all share the same list, I am convinced that many of you cannot help but include Blade Runner in it. The film was released back in 1982, a good thirty-five years ago. And despite all the time that has passed, the world generated by Ridley Scott’s imagination and launched by Philip K. Dick’s genius is now, more than ever, alive and real in the mind of millions of people. The world we saw on the big screen, the one where Rick Deckard, played by an unforgettable Harrison Ford, operated, that Los Angeles of November 2019 (incredibly we are just two years off), was “true,” credible, real, and possible. This was, perhaps, the first time that the cinema managed to propose a plausible version of our future, which was not sweetened, or anaesthetised, idealist, or cleansed by marvellous technologies. This version was undoubtedly dystopic, gloomy, worrying, and distressing. In a few months, as many fans will already know, the first film’s sequel, Blade Runner 2049, will be released. The director is the talented French-Canadian, Denis Villeneuve, while Ridley Scott is the producer. Harrison Ford is back in the role of Deckard, while Ryan Gosling has the starring role as new replicant hunter, “Officer K.” For now, we know very little about the story, plot and setting. However, the trailers reveal that, thirty years on, the state of the planet’s health has gotten worse. Instead of an overcrowded, chaotic Los Angeles, we find a city which has mostly become uninhabited and is in ruins. For those who have read the original, the degradation and decay is more similar to the situation which Philip K. Dick describes, where the consequences of World War Terminus, fought to the sound of atomic bombs, have hugely reduced the human population, and made a horse or a cow a priceless asset and symbol of wealth. However, Blade Runner 2049 presents us with something more modern and terribly contemporary, and worrying. As director Denis Villeneuve said: the film unravels in a world where “the climate has gone berserk – the ocean, the rain, the snow is all toxic.” We do not know much more. In due time, we shall see if the sequel keeps its promises.

If it chooses nature’s gradual death, like “Interstellar,” or an alternative scenario. It will not be easy for the sequel to reproduce a monolithic, integrated, but credible dystopic vision of the world, as the 1982 managed to: a distressing, worrying atmosphere, where it is clear that corporate power has no limits, where the police are omnipresent and have absolute powers over the public’s and their android copies’ lives, a world where men and animals can be controlled by biomedical and mental implants, which are even capable of constructing artificial memories. The 2019 world, Ridley Scott said, was inspired by some nocturnal Edward Hopper paintings, cartoons by French artist Moebius, and the industrial landscape of Northern England, as well as the fantastic, imaginary architectures of Italian futurist Antonio Sant’Elia. In the kinematic universe of Blade Runner, the leading and supporting characters act within an environmental catastrophe. It is not clear whether it is only imminent or it has already come to pass. They experience continuous, freak, perhaps acid rainfalls and no sun. Natural, animal life has probably been completely wiped out, and replaced with cloned, engineered gadgets. There are mysterious blazes symbolising energy sources which are by no means “clean.” People hate this world so much that they escape at any cost emigrating to the off-world colonies. These space colonies are so terrible and horrendous that their rulers are obliged to let relentless propaganda loose on the oppressed masses of this denaturalised earth. Fear and desperation, apathy and alienation reign. It is what we could define a future-less future. And what scares us most, as citizens of 2017, is that this nightmare is too similar to our own reality. Taking the leap from the life which we live, to this life which is only imagined by a handful of great artists, requires no sudden, drastic change. The future depicted in Blade Runner is, rather, the one which awaits us if we continue in this direction.

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