The Academy Project
‘THE SUSTAINABILITY FACTORIES’
The first part of the Green Economy Festival (14-16 april 2026) is dedicated to a tour of the most innovative companies in terms of eco-sustainability. The selected candidates will meet entrepreneurs and company specialists through a program of guided tours, workshops, and conferences during which the various scientific, cultural, and technological approaches adopted will be revealed.
Among the companies that have opened their doors to participants of the Green Economy Festival Academy in the past: ABS – Accaierie Bertoli, Amorim Cork Italia, AMB, Autorità di bacino distrettuale del fiume Po, Cielo e Terra Vini, Cereal Docks, Conceria Gi-Elle-Emme, Conceria Montebello, Consorzio Melinda, Dal Maso Group, Davines, Feralpi Group, FITT, Fomet, Gemata, Goglio, Italscania, Irsap, IREN, Lago, Lapi Gelatine, Manteco, Mutti, Medio Chiampo, Metlac, Officine Mario Dorin, Medio Chiampo, Officine di Cartigliano, Piovan, Revet, Rosa dell’Angelo, Sicit, Simonelli Group, Sirmax group, Sofidel Group, Saib, SNAM Sergnano, Verallia Italia, Viacqua, Tfl, Zordan 1965.
THE GREAT TALKS OF PARMA
The second half of the week (April 17-19, 2026) will see the city of Parma take center stage, transforming into a vast laboratory of ideas for the future of the planet. Three days of visionary talks where top global experts, Nobel laureates, and scientists will address the crucial challenges of the ecological and energy transition.
The debate reaches the highest global level with Joshua Angrist, Nobel Prize in Economics, and physicist Federico Faggin, the father of the microprocessor. Leading the focus on research and resources will be CNR President Maria Chiara Carrozza and 2025 Stockholm Water Prize winner Günter Blöschl.
Key industry figures will take the stage, including Antonio Marcegaglia (Marcegaglia), Davide Bollati (Davines), Angelica Dallara (Dallara), Lorenzo Delladio (La Sportiva), and Valentina Aureli (Aetna Group). They will be joined by entrepreneurs and managers who are redesigning production chains, such as Irene Rizzoli, Giangiacomo Ibba, Roberto Siagri, Matteo Leonardi, Andrea Ferrazzi, and Vincenzo Colla, offering a collective narrative of a changing economy.
Sustainability becomes a competitive strategy with leaders in manufacturing and the regenerative economy: Antonio Marcegaglia (Chairman, Marcegaglia Steel), Davide Bollati (Chairman, Davines), and Lorenzo Delladio (CEO, La Sportiva). The spotlight will also be on innovation against food waste with Mette Lykke (Global CEO, Too Good To Go).
An open dialogue on political and social challenges will feature MEP Giorgio Gori, Vice President of the Emilia-Romagna Region Vincenzo Colla, and WWF Italy Director Alessandra Prampolini. Rounding out the program are the great voices of contemporary thought: writer Paolo Giordano, sociologist Aldo Bonomi, expert Andrea Segrè, and Don Dante Carraro (Doctors with Africa CUAMM), among many others.
THE THEMATIC SECTIONS IN PARMA
From April 14 to 19, 2026, in Parma, the program of talks with distinguished guests will be accompanied by over 10 thematic sections, featuring the participation of around 300 experts and industry professionals. Participants in the Green Economy Festival Academy will be able to choose which events to attend. Among the thematic sections: construction and infrastructure, logistics, reuse and recycling, economic sustainability and social sustainability, food industry, fashion, research and technology, energy, water, tourism.
