Ecomondo beyond the Euro-Mediterranean borders: a 14% increase in international visitors

An international hub for forging new partnerships, exploring business opportunities and shaping the future of the green, blue and circular economies. The 29th edition of Ecomondo, organised by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) and held at Rimini Expo Centre from 3 to 6 November, closed with a 14% increase in foreign attendance. Four days of workshops, conferences, meetings and networking opportunities: <<Ecomondo has established itself as a leader at the European level and is now gaining increasing prominence on international markets: from Rimini to the wider world, it has become the leading industrial platform for businesses, institutions, research, policy-makers and all key players in the circular and regenerative economy. We will continue to invest along this path, with vision, determination and confidence in the future>>, said IEG President Maurizio Ermeti at the opening ceremony.

In the presence of Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, and following a video message from Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, the proceedings of the 15th edition of the States General of the Green Economy, organised by the Sustainable Development Foundation, began. An opportunity to discuss the prospects for the ecological transition in Italy and around the world, addressing unresolved issues and exploring new opportunities linked to energy security, industrial competitiveness and the circular economy.



The figures behind the 29th edition of Ecomondo
Spread across 30 exhibition halls and covering 171,000 square metres, the event welcomed more than 1,800 brands, 21% from abroad, as well as 651 accredited journalists, 15% of whom were foreigners.
Around 1,300 hosted buyers and delegations attended, representing Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, North America and Latin America, thanks to collaboration with the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). Rimini also welcomed 14 international group stands from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland, bringing more than 100 companies to the exhibition.

Mexico, one of Latin America’s most promising economies, was the first Guest Country in Ecomondo’s history: a relationship that will continue to grow stronger with the next edition of Ecomondo Mexico, scheduled from 20 to 22 April 2027 at Expo Guadalajara.

Among the latest developments, reflecting the growing focus on international markets, was the visit by a delegation of 11 Brazilian start-ups operating in the agri-food sector and the creation of a dedicated space for business and networking with African associations (Africa Investment HUB), which ran alongside the sixth edition of the Africa Green Growth Forum, organised in collaboration with the Task Force for the execution of the Mattei Plan of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and RES4Africa.

Through more than 10,000 business-matching meetings, Ecomondo also facilitated networking and the exchange of technology, knowledge and expertise among companies, institutions, associations, researchers and innovators.

A hub at the heart of the ecological transition
With 200 events, 70 of which were organised by the international Scientific Technical Committee chaired by Professor Fabio Fava, Ecomondo placed European policy, research and innovation at the heart of discussions on the main industrial value chains. Alongside waste valorisation and secondary raw materials, which remain key pillars of the event, the program also addressed technologies for the remediation of contaminated sites, soil recovery and ecosystem restoration. Together, these themes presented a broad vision of the ecological transition, in which sustainability, growth and competitiveness go hand in hand.

Water resource management featured prominently, spanning water and wastewater treatment to the monitoring and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems. The Blue Economy complemented integrated water management solutions, while trenchless technologies offered ways to install and rehabilitate underground infrastructure with less excavation and reduced impact. Other growing sectors included the bioeconomy, with agricultural waste recovery, biogas and biomethane production, renewable-based chemicals, bioproducts and bioplastics. Eco-design, repair and circular production models completed the picture.

Earth observation and environmental monitoring were also in the spotlight, with satellite technologies, big data and artificial intelligence applied to land monitoring, biodiversity protection, the prevention of hydrogeological instability and urban management, where planning, construction, environmental quality and circularity are becoming increasingly integrated. Among the new features for 2026 were the launch of a district dedicated to the textile value chain, focusing on the opportunities and challenges arising from new European regulations, and the further development of the Innovation District. The latter provided a meeting place for start-ups, research centres, investors and established businesses, with initiatives on green jobs and the skills needed to drive the transition.
 

• You may also be interested in: Green Jobs and Skills: Ecomondo connects institutions, businesses and universities

Winners of the Sustainable Development Award
As is customary, the event hosted the 16th Sustainable Development Awards, promoted by the Sustainable Development Foundation and Ecomondo-IEG. In the Urban circularity category, the first prize went to the Municipality of San Lazzaro di Savena for its project Essenziale – Scelte sostenibili che durano nel tempo (Essential – Sustainable choices that stand the test of time), an integrated strategy to promote the circular economy and the Zero Waste philosophy throughout the local area.

In the Circular economy businesses category, the award went to Iride Acque Spa for Emer (Enhanced Magnetic Heterogeneous Reactor), an industrial wastewater treatment system that uses an iron-based catalyst, also produced by recycling materials recovered from spent batteries. Applied to wastewater from the textile industry, the system has enabled the recovery of around 80% of the sodium chloride used in dyeing processes.

The award for Climate change resilience and adaptation went to Forestami, a project launched in 2018 from research by Politecnico di Milano and now active across the 133 municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Milan. Through the creation and management of urban forests, green infrastructure and ecological corridors, the initiative aims to increase the area's natural capital and raise metropolitan tree cover from 16% to 21% by 2030, planting three million trees.

Lorenzo Cagnoni Award for Green Innovation: ten projects recognised
A further ten projects received the Lorenzo Cagnoni Award for Green Innovation, named after Italian Exhibition Group's long-standing president. Six were presented by exhibiting companies, one for each of the event's sectors, while the remaining four came from start-ups in the Innovation District.
The winners were Idro Group for bioenergy and agriculture, Sumus Italia for the circular and regenerative bioeconomy, Planetek Italia for Earth observation and environmental monitoring, Idealservice for site and soil remediation, Desotec International for the water cycle and the blue economy and Circular Materials for waste as a resource.

Awards were also given to the start-ups Rarearth, Nemoris, Flugantia Lab and Limenet.

Ecomondo Off and Oltre: bringing the event into the city
The program extended beyond the exhibition halls with Ecomondo Off and Oltre, a series of initiatives promoted by Rimini Blue Lab that brought a series of cultural, scientific and educational events to the city, focusing on sustainability, marine protection and the coastal environment. One of the events on the program was Un Ecomondo di poesia (An Ecomondo of poetry): the poet Franco Arminio took part in a reading and a discussion to mark the publication of the new edition of the book Terracarne.

Stay tuned for 2027
Ecomondo will be back at the Rimini Expo Centre from 9 to 12 November 2027, celebrating its 30th anniversary with an edition packed with new developments.
Article written by Maria Carla Rota


This blog is a joint project by Ecomondo and Renewable Matter