Forget stereotypes: Italy is a green economy superpower, and we are first in waste recycling

Forget the stereotypes that portray Italy as a country of wasteful backwardness and inveterate waste producers: our country is in fact a green economy superpower. This is the picture that emerges from the GreenItaly Report 2009, presented last week in Ancona: now in its tenth edition, the report, which measures the strength of the Italian green economy, is promoted by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere in collaboration with Conai, Ecopneus and Novamont, with the partnership of Si.Camera and Ecocerved and under the patronage of the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea.

The first figure is the number of companies that have invested in green products and technologies, in the period 2015-2018, to reduce environmental impact, save energy and contain Co2 emissions: they are 432 thousand, 31.2 percent of the entire non-agricultural entrepreneurship (in other words, one in three Italian companies). And in 2018 alone there were 300 thousand. And investment is good for business: 51% of manufacturing companies that invested in green technology reported an increase in exports in 2018, compared to 38% of those that did not invest. And again, 79 percent of companies that invest in green develop innovation activities, compared with 61 percent of those who do not invest. The number of jobs related to the green economy is also on the rise: in 2018, the 3 million green worker threshold was crossed for the first time (3.1 million, 13.4% of total employment, up from 13% in 2017, a growth of +3.4% compared to 0.5% for other occupations). The green revolution is driven by young people: among businesses led by those under 35, 47 percent have invested in green products and technologies, compared to 23 percent of those led by those over 35. And again, 56 percent of green businesses also invest in the economic and social well-being of their workers and communities, compared with 48 percent of those that do not invest in green.

The Report also highlights Italy’s leadership role in the sector. We are second in the particular ranking of energy inputs, measured by the ratio of tons of oil used to generate one million euros (14.8 equivalent tons per one million euros produced), behind the United Kingdom (13.7), and ahead of France (15.6), Spain (17.3) and Germany (17.8). Second place also in the ranking of material inputs, which uses the same unit of measurement: for Italy 285.9 tons of oil equivalent per million euros, behind the United Kingdom (240.1) and ahead of France (340.5), Spain (355.3) and Germany (399.1). Italy ranks first in waste reduction: we produce 43.2 tons of waste per million, compared to Spain’s 54.7, the UK’s 63.7, Germany’s 67.4 and France’s 77.4. Third in the emissions ranking: first the French (80.9 tons of Co2 per million euros), followed by the British (95.1), us (97.3), the Spanish (125.5) and the Germans (127.8). We are also the European leader in the circular economy: we send 79 percent of the waste we produce for recycling, compared with 55 percent in France, 49 percent in the United Kingdom and 43 percent in Germany.

“Defending the environment and responding to the climate challenge is not only necessary but an extraordinary opportunity to create jobs and new economy,” said Symbola President Ermete Realacci. “Already today, as told by GreenItaly 2019: the tenth report of the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere, this year there has been a record of eco investments, in fact the share reaches a value of 21.5 percent, corresponding to an absolute value of almost 300 thousand companies and 7.2 points higher than in 2011. A productive and social model that offers our country the opportunity to have a relevant international role: already today Italy is the European superpower in the circular economy with 79% of total waste sent for recycling and has a far higher incidence than all other major European countries: France is at 55%, the United Kingdom at 49%, Germany at 43%. Italy’s green economy is the most advanced frontier for seizing these opportunities. It is an Italy that makes Italy, that does not lose its soul and is both innovative and able to face the challenges of the future, without leaving anyone behind, without leaving anyone alone.”

Forget stereotypes: Italy is a green economy superpower, and we are first in waste recycling

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