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The Economy of Francesco

The Economy of Francesco (ENG) IN CORSO

A caring event for the custody of creation

The Ecology of Francesco

On behalf of the Organising Committee of The Economy of Francesco – Global Event, Sisifo Società Benefit realised a Plan for the Custody of Creation aimed at significantly reducing the environmental impact of the event, during which young entrepreneurs and changemakers gathered in Assisi from 22 to 24 September 2022 to sign with Pope Francis the pact for a new economy. At the conclusion of the event, Sisifo developed the event’s carbon footprint calculation and prepared the Impact Report available here.

BIO

90% Green economy
90% Sostenibilità
80% Networking
80% Comunicazione
60% Pubbliche relazioni
60% Lobbying

Indice di resilienza

8/10

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT OF THE ECONOMY OF FRANCESCO (ENGLISH)
REPORT DI SOSTENIBILITÀ DI THE ECONOMY OF FRANCESCO (ITALIANO)

On 1 May 2019, Pope Francis addressed a letter to young economists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers from around the world in which he invited them to an event to come together, get to know each other and sign a ‘pact’ to change the current economy and give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.

The Pope pointed to St Francis as a model of inspiration and in fact wanted the event to be called ‘The Economy of Francesco‘ and to take place in Assisi from 26 to 28 March 2020. The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic forced the event to be postponed.

Despite being unable to experience that moment of encounter, the young people who joined the initiative committed themselves to initiating, albeit at a distance, a process of reflection, confrontation and dialogue that has never stopped since.

Two years later, the path initiated at that time could finally be completed in the in-presence meeting held in Assisi from 22 to 24 September 2022.

SCENARIO

From 22 to 24 September young economists and change makers from all over the world met in Assisi to try together to rethink a model of economy inspired by integral human development, social friendship, and universal fraternity and to sign a pact for a new economy with Pope Francis.

These days of work and sharing took the form of both plenary sessions and group work organized in 12 thematic villages located in various parts of the city.

OBJECTIVES

The encyclicals Laudato si’ and Fratelli tutti outlined an organic path of integral human development and constitute the indispensable guidelines for the planning of all human activity. The Economy of Francesco has adhered to these lines to become a sign of the common Pilgrimage of Integral Ecology. This intention has been translated into Actions of Custody of Creation directed towards the realisation of an event that is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.

The main objective was to limit the negative impact the event would have on the environment through actions to care for the common house that could mitigate the impact caused.

ACTIVITIES

The Plan for the Custody of Creation was divided into eight areas of intervention:

Set-ups: use of PEFC-certified pallets, wood, and cardboard for which post-event reuse by a local company has been defined.
Disposable materials: the initial intention of completely eliminating disposable materials had to be adapted to the provisions of the health authorities, which required the use of disposable packaging for the distribution of foodstuffs; it was therefore decided to use disposable supports made of biodegradable and compostable materials in compliance with UNI EN 13432, which could be collected in the organic fraction and subsequently taken to composting plants. The same type of media was used in vending systems for hot drinks and snacks. For the water supply, a reusable water bottle was made available to each participant to be filled at the water distribution points set up in the event’s refreshment area.
Catering: the distribution of meals was planned with the support of young people from the city’s Hotelier Institute; raw materials were provided by farmers working on property confiscated from organised crime and the earthquake crater in Umbria, from organic farming and local producers. Honey snacks were provided in the vending machines to draw attention to the important issue of bee extinction caused by climate change and pollution. The tables in the refreshment area used were those provided by the territorial Pro Loco, which made them available for the event.
Waste sorting was implemented at the various designated locations with the placement of both indoor and outdoor bins adapted in number and type to the needs of the event. The collection points were manned by volunteers to facilitate the sorting of the materials handed in.
Sustainable diary made of certified paper and pen made of Mater-Bi bioplastic
Other actions: the paper stationery, the toilet paper and the paper napkins were selected for their environmental impact
Impact calculation: through a monitoring system of the event’s activities, the overall impact of the event was calculated with particular attention to the CO2 equivalent emitted into the atmosphere and that avoided thanks to the choices implemented by the Plan for the Custody of Creation.
Impact report: a detailed carbon footprint report was prepared, highlighting not only the carbon footprint of the event but also the tonnes of CO2 equivalent avoided through the implementation of the Actions for the Custody of Creation

Scarica il Report in Italiano

Download the English Report

THE RESULTS OF THE REPORT

A reading of the impact report shows significant achievements in terms of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, and in particular:

Waste sorting: 93% sorting and 75% organic fraction collected with subsequent delivery to composting plant
Climate change emissions avoided through Custody of Creation actions: 116 tonnes of CO2 equivalent
Climate-altering emissions actually generated by the event: only 27 tonnes of CO2 equivalent
Significant reduction in food waste: of the 3437 meals distributed, surpluses of about 440 meals were delivered to local organizations committed to helping families and people in need

THE BENEFITS DERIVED

The drafting of the report describing and then analysing what was planned and realised does not only have a reporting function with respect to the sustainability of the event, but also intends to:

increase awareness of anthropogenic pressure on the environment with special attention to events
call for a commitment to activate virtuous actions to absorb the CO2 emitted that can offset up to zero climate-changing emissions
provide a model that can be an inspiration for other church and non-church events
promoting a sustainable economy
promoting legality
disseminate the principles of integral ecology and good practices of environmental, social and economic sustainability inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclicals Laudato si’ and Fratelli tutti