The first and only Environmental, Social and Governance knowledge hub in the Middle East & North Africa https://esgmena.com/ sat with the Alessandra Astolfi –http://linkedin.com/in/alessandra-astolfi Global Exhibition Director of Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) https://www.iegexpo.it/en/Green& Technology Division
1- What’s special about this edition of Ecomondo 2026
The event taking place from 3 to 6 November at Rimini Expo Centre will be the 29th edition of Ecomondo https://www.ecomondo.com/en, an event that is already preparing us for the 30th anniversary, which we will celebrate in 2027.
Ecomondo 2026 will be even more cross-sectoral than in the past, involving an increasing number of specialised communities engaged in the ecological transition, even more innovative, giving space and visibility to a growing and diverse range of new technologies for the circular economy, and increasingly international, expanding beyond the Euro-Mediterranean region and opening up to new markets.
But what truly makes Ecomondo special is its ability to bring together different ideas, people, expertise and sectors around a common challenge. Ecomondo is not just a showcase for technology, but a genuine ecosystem.
The themes related to the green, blue and circular economy cannot, in fact, be addressed individually, but require an increasingly integrated vision. This is an approach that is also reflected concretely in the new organisation of the exhibition spaces: this year, for the first time, the event layout includes a new pavilion entirely dedicated to Textiles, the strengthening of the Waste as Resource sector and a new configuration for Water Cycle & Blue Economy.
2- How is Ecomondo establishing itself as a platform for cross-border partnerships within Europe and beyond notably the Middle East?
We build Ecomondo’s international dimension through initiatives and projects that we carry out throughout the year, and not only during the event itself, with the aim of bringing together Italian and European companies, operators, expertise and know-how with international markets, while also encouraging business matching to create synergies and new partnership opportunities.
We can rely on a network that includes events in Mexico and China, and this year we have embarked on a roadshow to present the event, with stops in Spain, Morocco, Germany, Hungary and Canada.
Furthermore, thanks to the valuable collaboration with MAECI – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – and ICE – the Italian Trade Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalisation of Italian companies https://www.ice.it/en/– we plan to involve an increasing number of buyers, delegations and associations from every continent, with a qualified presence of highly targeted industry professionals.
From this perspective, the countries bordering the Mediterranean and the Middle East are particularly significant markets for Ecomondo, as Europe shares many of the most urgent environmental challenges with them, including water resource management, urban resilience, resource recovery and security, and the development of more efficient infrastructure for waste management.
3- Knowledge sharing is essential to progress in the sustainability space including recycling. What’s your strategy in this regard?
We are convinced that knowledge should be shared and, for this reason, through its programme of conferences, defined by the international Technical-Scientific Committee, Ecomondo aims to bring it together, connecting research, businesses, institutions and international operators. The events and meetings scheduled during the exhibition are conceived as a genuine space for discussion, addressing all the most pressing and current issues affecting the entire circular economy value chain today.
We will offer insights into regulatory aspects, but we will also discuss the circular design of products, recovery, recycling, repairability and reuse, with particular attention to strategic sectors such as plastics, textiles, WEEE, water and construction.
Other central topics, within the framework of a continued focus on international cooperation and strengthening partnerships with the Mediterranean and Africa, will include healthy and circular cities, artificial intelligence and new digital technologies supporting the ecological transition, as well as the bioeconomy and bioenergy.
4- Green finance is another important aspect to progress with mega deals. What announcements are you projecting at Ecomondo 2026?
Finance is certainly a fundamental element in transforming environmental objectives into concrete and scalable projects, and for this reason it will once again be a central theme at the next edition of Ecomondo.
We will dedicate some of the events in the conference programme to this topic, with the aim of providing a space for dialogue between businesses, investors, institutions and financial operators, creating opportunities for new collaborations and investment opportunities to emerge.
5- Policies play another major role in advancing them. How will Ecomondo 2026 highlight them through participants and visitors?
The constant dialogue between institutions and those operating directly in the market is fundamental to accelerating the ecological and circular transition.
Ecomondo contributes to this dialogue by bringing together institutions, businesses, researchers and operators from different countries and sectors, with the aim of creating a direct dialogue between those who define policies and those who have to turn them into concrete solutions.
Thanks to its conference programme, the event also offers exhibitors and visitors attending Ecomondo the opportunity to understand how regulatory changes are influencing market trends and to discuss the opportunities that may arise from them.