Casablanca, 6th July 2023 – The seminar “The Italian Circular Economy applied to the Construction sector of Morocco”, organized by the Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO ITPO Italy) in collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD) and the Moroccan Federation of Construction Material Industries (FMC) was successfully held on 6th July 2023 in Casablanca.

Within the framework of the project “Fostering International Partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the Energy and Environment sectors” (#FIPEE) funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy – the seminar was aimed at presenting the study performed by UNIDO ITPO Italy “Guidelines on the application of the Circular Economy in the Construction sector in Morocco” through the interventions of several Italian experts, facilitating the exchange of best practices, know-how and solutions in the field of the two countries, also thanks to its participated Q&A sessions.

Moderated by UNIDO ITPO Italy Investment Promotion Expert for Morocco Enrico Siepi, the event featured the presence of more than 90 participants – notably including, among its institutional remarks and technical panel sessions, multiple relevant representatives of the most important public and private stakeholders in the field from both Italy and Morocco. Namely, among these: UNIDO ITPO Italy’s FIPEE Project Coordinator Valentina Maltese; Andrea Alfio Maccarrone from the project donor MASE; Hafsa Lakhlifi and Loubna El Abed, respectively Directrice des Programmes et des Réalisations and Chef du Service de Valorisation des Déchets non Dangereux at MTEDD, local project counterpart; David Toledano, President of FMC; Taoufik Cherradi, President of the Training and Human Capital Commission of Morocco; Francesco Pagnini, Director of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) in Casablanca; Giorgio Bressi and Luca Grillini, respectively Technical Director of the Italian National Association of Recycled Aggregated Producers (ANPAR) and Delegate of ANPAR Emilia Romagna Region; Rossana Cintoli, Director General of the Italian Regional Agency for Environmental Safeguard (ARPA); Professor Alessandro Marradi from the University of Pisa; Sanaa El Maghri, Project Engineer at the Moroccan Construction Techniques and Materials Center (CETEMCO); and more.

An already-tangible result in this direction is the partnership agreement officially signed between FMC and ANPAR – celebrated during this seminar and that had been supported by the several promotional activities carried out by UNIDO ITPO Italy since 2022. This partnership will boost international cooperation between the two associations in terms of business collaborations, technology transfer and technical assistance, paving the way toward a more sustainable supply chain in the Moroccan construction sector and beyond, in line with the mandate of UNIDO and the United Nations 2030 Agenda.