ITALY - UK PARTNERSHIP

PARTNERSHIP | Autumn 2019 18 Interview with U-EARTH’s CEO and Founder, Betta Maggio A new technology to clean air N ational and international strategies are now focusing on a smart growth, in other words, action based on the implementation of eco- innovative systems which are linked to production and consumption, in order to achieve a sustainable economic development of the territory. The environmental issue has structurally been included into the aims of business management: investments to reduce the environmental impact of production processes, to minimise the use of raw materials and to save energy are increasingly present in company balance sheets. A contribution to the environment is given by U-earth, a European-based company dedicated to the development, production and marketing of an exclusive biotechnology for the decontamination and treatment of air, water and land in medical, industrial and commercial applications. The CEO and Founder of U-earth, Betta Maggio, won the “Gamma Donna 2017 Award” thanks to her system that captures pollution with natural bacteria, being awarded within the category of ​female and youth entrepreneurship. The competition was founded in 2004 in order to recognise the entrepreneurial skills and the attitude of women and young people, with the aim of revitalising the country’s economy and of discovering entrepreneurial talents in every sector. A further accolade of this start-up is its victory at the “Female Founders Challenge” at Unbound London 2018, who participated thanks to the ICCIUK. Betta Maggio had the opportunity to compete with 5 other leading female entrepreneurs and was judged by a jury composed of investors, industry-leading innovators and serial entrepreneurs, who recognised her company as the best innovative project. The ICCIUK had the opportunity to interview Betta Maggio about U-earth and its projects. ICC: How did U-earth start? Where did the idea about air purification come from? BM: My uncle is an American scientist, an expert in Biotechnology who studied the subject for 30 years as a university