A sustainable formula?

15th of June 2010

From Italy, reporter Anna Garbagna looks ahead to a round table discussion on sustainable cleaning later this month in Milan.

The round table event is being organised by AfidampFAB (Italian Association of Manufacturers, Equipment, Machines and Products for the professional cleaning sector) with the scientific co-ordination of Legambiente and Kyoto Club. The title is 'Ecocleaning – Research and New Technologies: the Formula for Sustainable Cleaning'. The work carried out by AfidampFAB in drawing up a PCR Product Category Rules (PCR) concerning professional cleaning machines will be
presented and this work will  facilitate the procedure for cleaning companies to obtain the product environmental certification EPD.

Nowadays we all talk about being environmentally friendly, especially as far as industry is concerned. But how is it possible to achieve this? The challenge lies in being able to match the needs of the environment with those of economic development.

AfidampFAB claims today it is no longer possible to pursue profit without having environmental awareness and cites as a virtuous example the professional cleaning industry, a sector of the Italian economy which has always given priority to the environment and is also a leader in eco-compatible research.

High level representatives

At the round table in Milan, national and international experts, high level representatives of institutions and companies such as Fred Pearce, Stephen Ashkin, Maurizio Fieschi, Andrea Poggio, Gianni Silvestrini, M Rosaria Spagnolo and Giulio Guizzi will gather to voice their research goals and define their application in future scenarios.

The event has been organised with the objective of addressing a mixed audience which represents the whole professional cleaning supply chain and also involves institutions, public administrations and other sectors linked to the cleaning industry which often underestimate its social relevance and don't recognise the value of it at environmental protection level.

There will be discussions about a sector which is often unappreciated and operates in silent mode, normally at night and in the absence of other people - so it's as if by magic that premises are cleaned. It is a sector of great economic and human value but often its potential and its strengths are unknown, especially in respect of the environment.

In Milan there will also be discussions about the professional cleaning industry and its strategies in facing the green challenge which has been outlined on the horizon for quite some time and cannot and must not be ignored.

At the end of the discussion there will be a prize-giving for the Clean Green Afidamp Award – an Award for Ecodesign and innovation for environmental sustainability in the professional cleaning sector. This is where the results of research and new technologies, discussed in the morning, will find concrete application. It is vital to stimulate a debate about the best practice in order to improve outcomes in the future. The best product candidates have been selected by a panel of technical experts in cleaning and the environment who, on the basis of scientifically proven data, will award one prize for each category: machines, equipment and detergents.

 

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