Symbiosis Users Network (SUN)
The SUN network (Symbiosis Users Network) aims to be the Italian reference for operators seeking to implement industrial symbiosis at the industrial, research, and regional levels. Promoted by ENEA in 2016, the network currently has 39 partners, including universities, political institutions, research organizations, private companies, technology networks, and local authorities.
What is industrial symbiosis? In short, it is a new production model necessary for the transition to a circular economy, which involves reducing dependence on raw materials, also with the aim of decarbonizing industry and making production processes more efficient. In June 2022, the updated "National Strategy for the Circular Economy", one of the 63 key reforms for implementing the measures of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, identified industrial symbiosis in our country and also provided support for the development of projects on the topic, including through specific regulatory and financial instruments.
The SUN network is divided into the following 6 Working Groups:
Mapping of the State of the Art, Regional Policies and Actions for Industrial Symbiosis, Economic and Social Assessment of Industrial Symbiosis, Certification and Standards for Industrial Symbiosis (with a representative from the Politecnico di Milano), Regulations, Communication, Dissemination, and Training.
Among the most recent achievements is the publication, edited by SUN Working Group 4, coordinated by POLIMI, ENEA, and CNR, of the volume "Technical Standards for Industrial Symbiosis."
Among the contributions, noteworthy is that of Eleonora Perotto, Head of the Environmental Sustainability Service/Politecnico di Milano, who has followed the work from the beginning, with the collaboration of Andrea Betteo, Christan Buurstee, and Chiara Minerva.
The publication was previewed in Rimini on November 6th at Ecomondo 2024, during the eighth edition of the SUN Conference on the topic: Supporting the Transition of Italian Industrial Areas and Brown Areas into Eco-Industrial Parks and the Implementation of Industrial Symbiosis as a Routine Management Tool for Companies.
The book offers a broad and comprehensive overview of existing standards to support organizations wishing to implement or already practicing industrial symbiosis. Standards can indeed serve as a channel for technology transfer and innovation diffusion and are increasingly inspired by national, European, or global references (e.g., the Green Deal).
The book is available free of charge at: Technical Standards for Industrial Symbiosis
Interdisciplinary Committee on Waste and Health (CIRS)
Health today is the primary concern for communities affected by the presence of waste treatment and disposal facilities. At the same time, the need to address the issue of waste management in a sustainable and rational manner is clear to all.
On these two important issues, in the interest of the community, there has long been a need to harmonize the differing approaches, based on verified technical and scientific data, through constructive dialogue open to all interested parties.
The Tavolo di Roma (a platform for reflection on waste management that brings together politicians from various political parties, environmental experts, doctors, journalists, lawyers, etc.) has therefore promoted the creation of an Interdisciplinary Committee on Waste and Health, with the free and voluntary participation of all qualified experts from the academic and professional worlds, as well as representatives from associations and committees, in synergy with institutional bodies (Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Health, ISPRA, ENEA, CNR, local authorities, etc.).
The CIRS was presented in Rome in January 2019 (at the Group Hall in Montecitorio, in the presence of government and parliamentary representatives) and has since then conducted intense activity, based on in-person and online meetings, organized into thematic discussion groups.
CIRS is a non-institutional, spontaneous organization, free of formalization and structures, open to all those active in various capacities in the fields of waste management and health protection and who wish to freely share their knowledge and experience in the spirit of a working group.
To date, the Committee has attracted over 200 qualified experts in various disciplines and professional fields (biologists, chemists, geologists, engineers, doctors, etc.), with a predominance of members from the public sector (62%), due in particular to the high presence of academics (approximately 50% of the total).
The Committee is coordinated by Raffaello Cossu, Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering at the University of Padua, and by Professor Margherita Ferrante, Full Professor of Hygiene at the University of Catania. Professor Federico Viganò (Department of Energy) and Dr. Eleonora Perotto (Head of the Environmental Sustainability Service) participate in the Committee's activities on behalf of the Politecnico di Milano.