The circular society according to Applia Italia

0
2322

From today CECED Italia is APPLiA Italia. The formalization took place in Milan during the General Assembly of Members, which reconfirmed Manuela Soffientini (Electrolux) to the Presidency of the Association. Alongside her, as Vice President Vladimiro Carminati (De’Longhi Appliances), Antonella Ferrara (O.L.S), Beppe Fumagalli (Candy Hoover Group), Giorgio Marazzi (BSH Appliances), Evaldo Porro (Electrolux Professional). The Assembly also ratified the entry into the General Council of Massimo Bordin (Whirlpool Italia) and Mario Salari (Ariston Thermo Group). The rebranding operation will further reposition the Association on the market and support the achievement of the objectives: promoting sustainable lifestyles that allow citizens and operators to live in the” connected world “by accelerating economic, environmental and social growth and development of the Italian country system.

The journalist Francesca Gambarini, Enrico Finzi (Sociologist and President of Sòno and AstraRicerche), Massimiliano Dona (President of the National Consumers Union), Manuela Soffientini, Monica Tommasi (President of the Friends of the Earth) and Paolo Falcioni (General Manager APPLiA Europa)

On the occasion of the Assembly, the journalist Francesca Gambarini moderated the conference entitled “The Circular Society”, which was attended by Enrico Finzi (Sociologist and President of Sòno and AstraRicerche), Massimiliano Dona (President of the National Consumers Union), Manuela Soffientini, Monica Tommasi (President of the Friends of the Earth), Paolo Falcioni (General Manager APPLiA Europa) and – in Skype connection – Dario Tamburrano (Member of the European Parliament), who introduced the topic talking about the new European directive on energy labeling that at the end of 2019 will lead to the introduction of the first energy labels on the market with the return to the scale of origin that goes from A to G. Dario Tamburrano (Member of the European Parliament) Dario Tamburrano (Member of the European Parliament) Many themes and reflections related to the concept of Circular Society, which as Paolo Falcioni underlined “involves the involvement of all the operators in the supply chain”. It is worth stressing, however, that in the case of the appliance we can take advantage, given that up to now – thanks to the WEEE consortiums – it is possible to recover about 90% of the materials. During the round table there was also talk of planned obsolescence, harshly criticized by all the speakers, and reconditioned. In this regard, Manuela Soffientini confirmed the concerns of the industry for the lack of EU and national regulations able to draw a border and define the necessary transparency and safety “The reconditioned products are not adequately regulated by rules and guarantees. The interventions involve the involvement of a third actor, who often does not have the necessary skills to guarantee security “. The intervention of Monica Tommasi was interesting, and she advised to evaluate the environmental impact too. “Sometimes it’s not worth choosing a refurbished refrigerator, because in the long run, energy consumption risks heavily affecting the family budget compared to the savings guaranteed by a new, less energetic appliance”. Among the interventions, that of Finzi, extremely critical of the reconditioned, which – to protect the corporate image – suggested the inclusion of a second separate brand. “The reconditioned market is regulated by the price differential. The error in these years has been to focus exclusively on the discount, placing security in the background. I would propose to the distribution of bringing quality back to the center of the sales activity”.