PANEL OF EXPERTS FRAMES THE PRESENTATION OF THE INNOVATIVE ECOTAN TECHNOLOGY, A CUTTING-EDGE EXPRESSION IN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF MATERIALS BY SILVATEAM S.P.A.

With over 160 years of experience, Silvateam – a world leader in the production, processing, and marketing of vegetable extracts, tannins and their derivatives – looks to the future by launching a new sustainable leather project, which will mark a turning point in the fashion and lifestyle industry. The project was presented during the webinar ‘Ecotan: the first bio-circular leather,’ moderated by Matteo Pasca, CEO of Edizioni AF. Deborah Taylor, Managing Director at the Sustainable Leather Foundation, opened the session, starting with the concept of ‘sustainability’ defined in the Brundtland Commission Report for the United Nations in 1987 as ‘the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ When talking about sustainability, the key areas to consider include both indirect factors, such as animal welfare, deforestation, biodiversity and carbon footprint, as well as direct factors, such as energy consumption, air and water pollution, water consumption, chemical and solid waste management, social responsibility, equity, wellbeing and safety. When a company decides to embark on the path to sustainability, it must first carry out an honest self-assessment defining an action plan and the resources to be allocated to it, also in partnership with other stakeholders. The next step is to take action and evaluate its effectiveness and success. “Once the action plan towards greater sustainability has been completed, however,” Taylor emphasises, “it is necessary to start again with a new project, because the path towards sustainability knows no end. It is necessary to invest in personnel, R&D, collaboration along the supply chain and promote the work of the various associations to support the sector. Gustavo Adrian Defeo, CEO of Ars Tinctoria S.r.l., instead addressed the extremely important issue of the scientific measurement of sustainability, which makes it possible to identify falsely sustainable materials, and to avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing