ITALY - UK PARTNERSHIP

PARTNERSHIP | Autumn 2019 20 The Zero-Waste Embassy Project A step towards a more sustainable London  G lobal awareness for our planet’s health is exponentially increasing, also thanks to citizens and companies who contribute to change their impact on the environment, inviting others to do the same. One of the most recent examples is the one of the Embassy of Italy in London, which proudly launched the Zero-Waste Embassy project in June 2019, one of the initiatives of the wider action plan supervised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Farnesina Verde” (Green Foreign Ministry). The aim is to commit the worldwide Italian diplomatic network to improve the sustainability of their offices. Hence, after Rome, Vienna, Tehran, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, it was London’s call.  THE PROJECT The goal of Zero-Waste Embassy is to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the diplomatic office’s energy supply, waste management and consumption. As suggested by its name, the project aims at emulating sustainable natural life cycles using thrown-away materials as resources for something else. The deeper message, though, is to spread a cultural change to give an example on how to efficiently reduce the global impact that each of us has on the planet. CONTRIBUTING PARTNERS The Embassy of Italy in London managed to activate the project thanks to the expertise of two Italian partners, Green Network Group and Novamont. The first one is a dynamic company in the energy and gas sector that started in 2003 and that successfully became the 4th largest energy operator in Italy for the volume of power sold. Operating in the United Kingdom with its English branch, Green Network Energy, the company is a benefactor member of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK. In 2017, Green Network Energy became the first Italian independent supplier of renewable energy and gas for households, small and medium enterprises in the UK, fuelling its production plants mainly through photovoltaic and wind energy, but also biomasses. As part of Zero-Waste Embassy, Green Network Group is the first supplier of 100% green energy to the Italian Embassy, integrating the one deriving from the photovoltaic panels that had been installed on the roof of the Embassy building in 2015.  Novamont Group is a worldwide leader in the sector of bioplastics, involved in the manufacturing of biodegradable and compostable goods from renewable sources. With its help, the Embassy was able to minimise the use of disposable products, switching to products made of Mater-Bi bioplastics, developed by the Novamont research centre. Moreover, the firm ensures that the organic waste from the Embassy is gathered and converted into compost. Since April 2019, when the waste management system changed, the Embassy registered a reduction of almost 20% of the total waste produced and, out of the produced waste, 50% was recyclable and 30% compostable, becoming useful again in the productive system as in a circular economy. Obviously, the Embassy is only a small player in London but, having in mind the ambitious goal pledged by the UK Government of “net-zero” emissions by 2050, the project is an exemplary contribution for a more sustainable city. ·