Against a backdrop of growing global awareness of the importance of environmental protection, the Embassy of Italy in London has launched Zero-Waste Embassy, aiming to reduce significantly the environmental impact of the mission’s energy supply, waste management, and consumption.
The initiative falls under the umbrella of the Green Foreign Ministry, a plan for the Italian diplomatic network worldwide, overseen by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The partners for the project in London are Italian companies Novamont and Green Network, both leaders in innovative business models based on the sustainable economy.
With their assistance, the embassy has already achieved its objective for waste management, with a radical reduction in unsorted waste and with all waste returning to the productive system in a closed loop.
Ambassador Raffaele Trombette said: “We have been working for several months on the Zero-Waste Embassy project, rationalising the management of our waste and our energy supply.”
“We are already seeing results, as since we introduced the new system in April, our regular measurements have shown a reduction of approximately 20 per cent in the quantity of waste produced. Unsorted waste now accounts for only about 20 per cent of our total, while 50 per cent of waste is recyclable and 30 per cent is compostable.”
Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont, said: “The current environmental and social challenges can no longer be ignored, and we need a long-term strategy, while also achieving as much as we can in the sort and medium term.”
“The embassy’s laudable decision to minimise the use of disposable products, to use compostable products where necessary, and to ensure that organic waste is collected and transformed into high-quality compost, is a concrete step towards more careful approach to resources.”