Africa Green Growth Forum: Mattei Plan at Ecomondo

Cooperation between Italy and Africa, the use of water resources and prospects for African agriculture dominated the sixth Africa Green Growth Forum, held on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Ecomondo 2026, Italian Exhibition Group said in a statement.

The forum was organised with the Task Force for the Implementation of the Presidential Office’s Mattei Plan, Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and RES4Africa. Participants examined how the Mattei Plan can support cooperation models that link institutions, international organisations and companies, and discussed what private business contributes to sustainable growth across the continent.

Crowd of visitors at a trade show exhibition with banners and signage displayed

Water Forward Initiative discussed

Three speakers opened the session: Professor Fabio Fava, President of Ecomondo’s Technical Scientific Committee (TSC); Fabio Massimo Ballerini, a member of the Mattei Plan Task Force at the Presidential Office; and Francesco Corvaro, Special Envoy for Climate Change at the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Energy Security (MASE).

A panel then considered the obstacles and openings for private investors within the Water Forward Initiative. Case studies on sustainable water management for productive uses closed the programme, with the agricultural sector among the areas in focus.

Packaging, climate plans and defence

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Paper District GDO & Grocery Summit addressed the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), eco-design, recycled and bio-based materials, and the value of CO₂-derived polymers. It was organised with Largo Consumo and the Italian Paper and Graphics Federation.

A separate session the same day, chaired by Francesco Bicciato, Director-General of the Forum for Sustainable Finance, treated climate transition plans as tools for handling ESG risks. Representatives of the European Investment Bank, the Green Climate Fund, Eurosif and the Hera Group took part. The statement said the credibility of such plans is decisive for investors.

Another conference, co-chaired by Fava and Lucia Leonessi of Cisambiente Confindustria, presented the circular economy as a strategic lever for Italian and European defence industries facing dependence on foreign critical raw materials. Officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Air Force and the Navy attended, alongside industry representatives.

Ten projects receive green innovation award

The Lorenzo Cagnoni Award for Green Innovation, named after the group’s long-standing President, went on Thursday to ten projects: six from Ecomondo exhibitors and four from start-ups in the Innovation District. IEG President Maurizio Ermeti opened the ceremony.

The exhibitors honoured were Idro Group, Sumus Italia, Planetek Italia, Idealservice Soc. Coop., D.E.S.O.T.E.C. International N.V. and Circular Materials. The winning start-ups were Rarearth, Nemoris S.R.L., Flugantia Lab and Limenet S.R.L.

Friday’s programme includes a session on forest resources, poplar cultivation and carbon farming, as well as a national table on green jobs and the Green Jobs&Skills Award, both organised by Ecomondo’s Technical Scientific Committee.