Do you remember the 2008 waste emergency in Naples?
Try going back to that moment:
maybe even remember what you did, the bridge of May Day 2008.
I do not know about you, but I was right in Naples.
It was a wonderful city,
with marvelous monuments and a spectacular blue sky.
And a mountain of waste.
Garbage everywhere: next to the museums, next to the monuments, even in Capri.
It was an incredible sight: this.
(Music) (Video)
In 2008, for some time,
I was trying to create my own business idea
that would gratify me
and could gratify me in the future as a profession.
I was a consultant then:
I supported companies
in projects of innovation and organizational change;
but help others,
and make things happen for others,
they made me feel a gregarious
and not the protagonist of my professional life.
I do not know about you, but I believe in those subtle signals
that are not the case, but I am absolutely your destiny.
And so,
in front of that incredible vision of culture, beauty and waste,
the idea was born absolutely clear and strong:
I would have made design objects, high-end “Made in Italy” objects,
but with regenerated materials!
Of course,
but only a fool can imagine thinking
to combine fashion and design with waste.
Fortunately my last name – Pazzi –
he helped me keep this vision and believe it to the end,
even at a time when, in reality, waste was a problem, a cost,
and they were not yet seen as a business opportunity.
You must know that Italy paid other companies and other nations,
especially in Northern Europe,
to transfer our waste to them and dispose of them.
For us they were a cost:
for these markets and these nations were a double opportunity
because on the one hand they received money from us,
and on the other they received them,
because they turned our waste into energy,
and so they could resell the energy.
In these countries, an economy had already been activated
which is called circular economy.
It is a revolution, therefore, economic
in the management and transformation of waste.
Obviously, in Italy all this did not yet exist.
What is the circular economy?
It is actually a change of mentality.
It starts from a model of linear economy,
where typically a product is produced, used and then thrown away.
In fact, in this way, we do nothing but generate waste,
and then generate a problem,
that our planet is no longer able to sustain.
In contrast, the circular economy is based on a concept
engineering and product rethinking,
where every product, once a need is met,
it can become something else, it can change function,
have a new life, better than the previous one
and not [being] more, then, a refusal.
So it’s a new paradigm,
where words such as reuse, recycling, recovery are used.
Such as these products,
which are made by the transformation of interior panels of refrigerators
and from the cups of coffee machines.
This is the paradigm of the circular economy,
which is very different from linear economy,
also in its results, as you see at the end.
I want to bring you some numbers: we are seven billion in the world.
Three of these live in urban areas,
and produce 1.5 billion tons of solid waste annually.
It is estimated that in 2025 this waste will become 2.2 billion.
I do not want to scare you,
but these are the times of waste degradation, in terms of years.
You take this into account
that in the world there are floating islands of waste.
There are five, in the oceans,
the largest of which is in the Pacific Ocean in the north.
It’s almost as big as the United States.
Nobody recognizes this waste as its own,
and as such no state is interested, or whatever it is, is engaged
to ensure that these wastes are cleaned up.
At this point we have created a project:
we decided to turn it into gold, what would otherwise be waste,
and a mantra was born, which is to transform waste into beauty,
because there is no antithesis
between beauty, functionality and eco-compatibility.
Because we believe that from the market, from the consumer society,
something beautiful and absolutely compatible can be born
with a function and a sustainability-related aesthetic.
To do this we have created a world, where we have combined various skills:
skills of a productive, creative nature.
We made these people meet
and find a fertile context, to be able to carry out these projects.
It is incredible to think that of internationally renowned designers
have accepted, from the beginning, to be part of this project
and even more accepting a very important challenge
because these materials you see, which are part of our materioteca,
they are materials that they did not know, and we did not even know them.
Above all in terms of workability of these materials.
For this we have been helped by the Polytechnic University of Turin
and from Matrec, which is a research portal for regenerated materials,
to get to create a library,
a collection of regenerated materials,
with attachment of course also cards and samples.
It was naturally a journey, which started almost 10 years ago,
but that continues today
because for us it is a continuous experimentation,
to realize these products of waste regeneration.
It is obvious that for us the transformation process is fundamental,
because it is technologically advanced and innovative.
What interests us
is that these materials have a quality equal to that of virgin raw materials,
an obviously appealing aesthetic and above all an economic sustainability.
This is absolutely an important challenge
because they are a whole series of filters that obviously lead to
to take roads, which then lead to nothing.
For example, we make this tray with 100 cans,
rather than with regenerated skin, folded like an origmani,
this basket for the paper.
They are little beauties, – small poems, sorry, beauty –
related to sustainability and waste.
Absolutely products, where “beautiful” is combined with “sustainability”
and where luxury can absolutely be compatible
with these terms of eco-sustainability.
In my path I was inspired by a series of people,
that for their charisma and their strength
they had the ability to spark very strong debates on these issues
obviously taking advantage of their notoriety and public presence.
One person is Livia, wife of Colin Firth,
that for more than a decade has been a champion of a commitment
linked to respect for man and the environment.
Constantly he denounces to the public opinion
of unethical behavior,
typically in the fashion and fast fashion sectors.
As well as challenging the divas of cinema and fashion
with his Green Carpet Challenge project
to use ethical clothing, then ethical clothes,
in the most mundane events, as well as the Oscar night.
Ellen McArthur is a girl who grew up in the English countryside
and had the dream of becoming a navigator, far from the sea.
But she succeeded, better than anyone else
because in 2005 he broke the record
of the solo circumnavigation of the globe,
and, of course, this success has given it international fame.
Notoriety that in 2010 decided to use
to face a new challenge:
has created a foundation,
has put together industry and education
and he made sure that there was a very strong acceleration,
in the transition from linear economy to circular economy.
Obviously it is an economy that absolutely only brings advantages
in the transformation of materials, into sustainable energy,
and therefore a positive impact on the economy.
Keep in mind that the European Commission
has calculated that in the future there may be 580,000 new jobs,
if these policies are adopted,
with annual savings for European companies
of 72 billion euros.
It’s a lot of money, obviously linked to a more responsible consumption,
but also to a more efficient use of materials.
It is clear that at this point, for me, the dream has changed considerably.
I’m not as good as Ellen, in solo sailing,
but surely mine was also a solo trip.
Finally a new challenge has arrived:
that of being able to involve other companies, make a system
and then create a portal,
where companies can be interested
to apply these concepts of circular economy,
and realize, for example, a wallet like this,
which was born from the recovery of the suits of the GP motorcycle riders.
Naturally the challenge is great: it is very important,
because the circular economy asks a lot for companies.
But also gives, a lot.
He asks so much why companies
they have to rethink their business model,
they have to redesign the products,
think in terms of greater efficiency,
costs, energy, expenses and other elements
which, of course, involve all the business areas:
production, marketing, logistics.
It is a very strong change.
On the other hand,
the circular economy also gives a lot,
in terms of competitiveness, reputation and even turnover.
This is because redesigning its products from the beginning
naturally leads to rethink
and to have a competitive advantage over other companies.
It is equally true that, for example,
when you optimize your production cycle
there can be huge savings, in terms of efficiency,
but also dictated, precisely, by the use of sustainable energy
which leads to both a lower cost in terms of energy savings,
but also of use, in fact, of alternative energies.
Last but not least the fact
not having to spend more money to dispose of your waste
but, in reality, to be able to give even new resources and therefore new value.
These are fundamental elements,
the search for materials is not enough, as we have done,
but for us, for example, there is also redesign,
and I want to reiterate it
because for example this bracelet is made with 270 buttons
but it is not simply recycled: it is also recyclable,
because being monomateric
I can throw it in the plastic bell
and as such it will be able to relive in another way.
This is just an example:
each company can, of course, evaluate its own reality.
But the important thing is to take into account
that it is unthinkable that a company is not involved in this change,
because change is already taking place, it is irreversible
and it’s absolutely always faster.
You can choose to take the opportunity
and transforming it into a critical factor of personal and corporate success;
or get carried by the circular economy
and adapt to it, to survive on the market.
It is clear that everyone plays their own game:
but it is unavoidable,
and therefore we must, however, take into account that this will happen and very quickly.
Now my journey obviously acquires an even greater force,
because it is no longer just a solo trip.
I left Naples
with the dream of turning waste into beauty.
Now my dream is to involve other realities,
because together we will succeed even more, strongly and quickly,
to make an economy that can bring business,
so not only a respect for the planet but also a market opportunity,
can ensure that the protection of the planet
then you become an even stronger, still common interest.
Are you ready to take this trip with me?
(Applause)
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