In Rome and Ferrara UNIDO training courses on industrial policy and circular economy
ROME/FERRARA, DECEMBER 13 – It was held in Italy, in collaboration with the University of Ferrara and the University of Rome 3, a training course organized by UNIDO on the integration between industrial policy and circular economy.
Carried out as part of a project financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the initiative saw the participation of 17 policy makers from Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, with whom reflection was launched on possible action plans for develop circular economy practices in the industrial production process of their countries.
There is a growing awareness that the world cannot continue to increase its consumption of materials. Resources are limited and the ambition of low-income countries to move up the development ladder affects the availability of factors of production and the opportunities for economic growth for future generations.
Although sustainable production and consumption represent one of the main UN goals to be achieved by 2030, there is still skepticism in the political debate about the possibility of reconciling industrialization goals and environmental protection.
After an online course held in March 2022, the face-to-face course, “Industrial policy for the circular economy”, was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and implemented by UNIDO, in collaboration with the Department of Economics of the ‘Roma Tre University, the Department of Economics and Management of the University of Ferrara, the Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies (SEEDS) and the Research Center on Circular Economy, Innovation and SMEs (CERCIS).
The course brought together various disciplines and professional figures, including those from the public sector, such as the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, from the private sector in the energy, financing and recycling sectors (such as Eni, Banca Intesa Sanpaolo – through its subsidiary Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Enel, Guidetti Systems). Research institutes also participated, such as the National Institute for Nuclear Energy and Alternative Energies ENEA, training institutions, such as CENTOFORM, institutions involved in the definition of policies through public-private partnerships, such as the Emilia Romagna Region and the Cluster Emilia Romagna – ER companies, and UNIDO experts.
The course provided participants with new methods to integrate industrial and environmental policies, defined the contours and tools of industrial policy and circular economy, and presented up-to-date evidence in support of the circular economy as a tool to increase the competitiveness of businesses industries and business opportunities of green industrial manufacturing.
Participants were asked to form working groups and to start thinking about action plans to develop circular economy practices in the industrial production process of their countries, using the concepts and information acquired during the different lessons.
Participants agreed on the need to change the decision-making process through new forms of coordination between different stakeholders and on the need for new ways of designing industrial policy integrating the circular economy instead of the traditional linear model of production. (@ONUItalia)