Ecomondo 2026 sets circular economy conference programme

Ecomondo 2026 will bring together companies, associations, institutions, researchers and other participants in the circular and regenerative economy for an international scientific and institutional conference programme. The 29th edition of the event, organised by Italian Exhibition Group, is scheduled for 3 to 6 November at Rimini Expo Centre. More than 70 events, conferences and workshops will be organised by Ecomondo’s International Technical Scientific Committee in cooperation with European and international public and private institutional partners. Sessions in English are intended to extend the event’s reach beyond the Euro-Mediterranean region, while partners and exhibitors will add further events. The programme will address resource efficiency, packaging, plastics, textiles, cities, paper, natural risk management, soil restoration, bioeconomy, bioenergy, water, international cooperation, finance and environmental regulation.

Resource efficiency, plastics and packaging

The conference "Circular Economy in Action: e-waste and waste batteries best practices", organised with ERION, will review European experience in recycling critical raw materials. It will examine conditions in Italy and assess the role of waste electrical and electronic equipment and battery recycling in reducing Europe’s dependence on imports.

Plastics will be addressed during "Plastic circularity: new perspectives and critical issues", which will examine European measures supporting the transition towards a more circular economy and efficient resource use. The Circular Economy Act will also be discussed in sessions on its challenges, opportunities and implications for European packaging, organised with CONAI, and on expected changes for waste management operators, organised with UTILITALIA.

The built environment will be covered by "Scaling the circular economy in the built environment: urban mining", organised with the Green Building Council Italy and the Polytechnic University of the Marche. The session will examine the regulatory framework, opportunities and technologies for implementing urban mining models. A separate event prepared with ANPAR/ASSOAMBIENTE will support dialogue on tools for accelerating the circular economy in construction and infrastructure.

The programme also includes "EU-Africa Strategic Corridors to a mutually beneficial cooperation for critical raw materials", prepared with Turin University, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and two Italian ministries. The fifth workshop on measuring circularity across the entire value chain will be organised with the Sant’Anna High School in Pisa, ENEA and UN Global Compact Network Italy.

Textiles, cities and paper

Several sessions will examine the textile sector’s role in the European circular economy. Topics will include reuse, repair and ecodesign; harmonisation of extended producer responsibility systems in Italy and Europe; implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and Digital Product Passport; and ecodesign tools and opportunities for textile companies. Partners include ASSOAMBIENTE-UNIRAU, AISEC, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and ENEA. Ecomondo’s Textile Working Group will define an additional sector-specific programme.

Urban transition will be discussed during "Building healthy cities: from vision to action", organised with the CNR, the UNESCO Chair on Urban Health and ANCI. Further sessions will consider how cities can accelerate circularity, as well as the use of digital technologies, sustainable infrastructure and governance models to improve resilience and climate neutrality.

Federazione Carta & Grafica and Largo Consumo will organise the Paper District GDO & Grocery Summit on cooperation between the paper industry and large-scale retail, with attention to sustainability, regulatory compliance and market trends. Comieco and Nomisma will present a final assessment of the environmental and economic benefits generated by paper recycling projects co-funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Soil, bioeconomy and natural resources

Natural risk prevention will feature in a session prepared with the Italian Geotechnical Association on recent developments in geotechnical engineering for environmental protection and land safeguarding. The discussion will focus on designing sustainable and resilient structures and interventions.

The soil, regenerative bioeconomy and bioenergy programme includes sessions on farms as biorefineries, biodegradable and compostable bioplastics for soil protection, artificial intelligence and investment models in the bioeconomy, and innovation for the circular bioeconomy. Partners include the Italian Biogas Consortium, Novamont, Coldiretti, the Re Soil Foundation, Biorepack, Confagricoltura, Federalimentare, ENEA, Cluster CL.A.N. and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

The fifth "States General for Soil Health" conference will examine links between soil health, urban development and the resilience of agri-food systems. The "National Conference on composting and anaerobic digestion" will hold its 28th edition. Other sessions will address forest resources, woody crops, biodiversity, climate mitigation and the regulatory transition affecting remediation in Italy.

Water and international cooperation

Ecomondo 2026 will include events on marine ecosystem regeneration and the sustainable, efficient and safe use of water. The programme covers coastal adaptation under the European climate resilience framework, emerging contaminants, circular resource use, basin governance, nature-based solutions, crisis management, pollution prevention, biodiversity, water efficiency in industry and agriculture, smart networks, digitalisation and infrastructure security.

International panels will examine water resilience in Europe and the Mediterranean, resource recovery from end-of-life products, oil pollution in the Mediterranean, bioeconomy-based alternatives to plastics and source-to-sea approaches. Participants and partners include Water Europe, Imperial College London, BETA Tech Centre, the Polytechnic University of the Marche, UTILITALIA, the Italian National Institute of Health, the Italian Chemical Society, ISWA International, ATIA-ISWA, CMCC, the European Commission and the SPRING Cluster.

The sixth Africa Green Growth Forum will focus on the Mattei Plan and dialogue between institutions and the private sector concerning sustainable development in Africa. Its dedicated session will address water and agriculture as elements of inclusive and resilient value chains.

Finance, policy and research

Ecomondo’s Technical Scientific Committee and the Forum for Sustainable Finance will present an analysis of corporate transition plans during the conference "Climate transition plans for ESG risk management: what role for companies and investors?" Further discussions will cover ESG risk management, bankability and investment models for innovation in sectors including water services and the bioeconomy.

The fifth Forum on Responsible Communication, organised with Ferpi, will examine communication around the sustainable transition, environmental urgency and social cohesion. The third ESG CEO Summit, organised with TEHA - The European House Ambrosetti and IPSOS-DOXA, will consider the relationship between compliance, competitiveness, reporting and industrial transformation.

The States General of the Green Economy will take place on 3 and 4 November. It is organised by the Foundation for Sustainable Development in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and promoted by the National Council for the Green Economy.

Policy sessions will cover water service regulation and governance, waste management updates, traceability and corporate compliance requirements, new best available techniques for landfills and end-of-waste criteria. The programme also includes a session on the strategic and operational implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive 2.0.

Calls for papers have been issued for conferences on innovative waste prevention and circular resource management, as well as industrial symbiosis, resource diagnosis and circular eco-districts in Italy. With Imperial College London, the European Innovation Council and ART-ER, the committee will also organise "Scaling Impact: Cleantech’s path to growth", bringing together experts, companies, investors and institutions to discuss the scale-up of clean technology.

The programme is being updated on the event website. Ecomondo 2026 is organised by Italian Exhibition Group with institutional partners including the European Commission, UNIDO ITPO, Italian ministries, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Rimini Municipal Council, CONAI, ENEA, the European Environment Agency, FAO, OECD, Recycling Europe, UTILITALIA and Water Europe.