Ecological transition. Political will and participation are needed
The Montefeltro Green Festival interviews Alessio Ciacci, ecomanager who will be a special guest on Saturday 24 September in Novafeltria.
Alessio Ciacci, eco-manager and prominent personality in the environmental sector, was an Environment 2012 figure for his commitment to the themes of recycling and waste reduction. In 2017 he was the only Italian awarded in Vienna at the European Innovation in Politics Awards competition.
He is at the helm of Minerva Ambiente with the intention of acting for the rebirth of the Sacco Valley and demonstrates that a service can be efficient and advantageous.
Dr. Ciacci what was your path and what are the reasons that have you to play such an important role in this precise moment in which the need for change is so felt?
As a boy, before the end of high school I decided to take a trip on a mission inside a Brazilian favelas, from that experience I have to commit myself to try to leave a positive mark on this planet, in the direction of greater social and environmental sustainability. From the associative commitment in my territory (Capannori and Lucca) they called me to fill the role of Councilor for the Environment of Capannori. An experience to which I have dedicated a lot of energy, for six years, building, together with many others, a path that has made that municipality a model of sustainability in separate waste collection. Then I was called by several municipalities, in different parts of our country, to manage their urban hygiene companies. I have worked and work in this sector from Sicily to Piedmont, from Tuscany to Lazio, always trying to enhance the professionalism of the employees, working on environmental motivation, teamwork and of course on sustainability as a mission without which there is no quality service.
There are territories throughout Italy, such as Montefeltro, with great tourist potential, as well as a significant biodiversity of agricultural crops. What advice do you feel to dare to politics and the local ruling class in order to fully grasp the moment of change that is being offered?
In various territories in which I have worked, Taormina or Bardonecchia for example, we have developed interesting projects that have involved the economic actors of catering and hospitality, creating around sustainability, reducing the value of waste and communicating the value of the environment as a added value of the tourist attraction of the area. More and more environmental tourists and trying to reduce their environmental impacts and knowing how to develop projects that enhance the territory by communicating both the naturalistic value and attention to the future is a sign of that it can increasingly make a difference.
We arrive at a topic such as waste, starting from the assumption that the right key to effectively intervene on the waste issue is to radically review our lifestyles. Having said that, how is it possible to see waste as an opportunity for development for a territory?
“The best refusal is non-national” was the attack of an interview in a magazine that they made to me in 2008. Italy is a country poor in raw materials, we must consume them with extreme parsimony and do our best to recover them from our waste . Because it is madness to pay to dispose of our waste when we can extract value from it. And their value is valid only from the quality of the differentiated collections. Quality that can only be achieved with good company organization and teamwork between administration, company and citizens. Reducing waste often means favoring local producers, reducing packaging, encouraging reuse and building an environment that looks to ecology.
To close a question about her, more than anything else a balance on her work in the field of ecological transition, in the roles that belong to her.
Every day, in the different roles I have held, from the easiest to the most complex experiences, I have always focused on two elements, the enhancement of people, working on trust and environmental sustainability, working on hope. If we do not understand the urgency of everyone to work, every day, to reduce our environmental impacts, our children will ask us for an account of the disaster we risk leaving them. We have very little time and everyone plays a fundamental role in this match where no one can remain on the bench.
Alessio Ciacci will be the top guest of the Montefeltro Green Festival, Saturday 24 September in Novafeltria.
Press release
Montefeltro Green Festival