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The goal of the award is to identify projects, products, patents and technologies that help overcome the traditional model of “take, produce, use and dispose”. We challenged startups and public research centres in Italy to propose ideas for how to make the most of natural resources and reuse materials that are typically discarded.Aquafil has also promoted a culture of sustainability in relation to all of its stakeholders. This has been achieved through constant training and employee awareness, and through the activation and promotion of projects in partnership with customers, suppliers and local communities.For example, Aquafil’s facility in Ljubljana, Slovenia has agreed to transfer excess thermal energy to the adjacent water park. Through this innovative partnership, the Atlantis water park uses 100 per cent recovered thermal energy, reducing its environmental impact in Ljubljana. The same principle has been applied to Aquafil’s headquarters in Arco (Trento), where the excess energy is transferred to nearby businesses. These examples demonstrate that private entities can grow in efficiency and profitability while improving the environment in which they operate.Aquafil’s Energy & Recycling business unit was created in 2007 because we believe that the only way to be sustainable and competitive in the long term is to grow in harmony with the land and the surrounding communities. This business unit supports all of the Group’s activities, from implementing projects to improving the environmental performance of industrial processes.One of its objectives is to promote an innovative culture that uses energy from renewable sources, reduces emissions and improves overall process efficiency while increasing profitability. In addition, the business unit is constantly working to promote the use of raw materials, and is committed to ensuring that materials can be recycled throughout its value chain.Through working with the Energy & Recycling business unit and several prestigious universities, we established the first synthetic waste regeneration plane in 2011. This ambitious project has allowed the Aquafil Group to produce a regenerated yarn (ECONYL®), which has the same chemical and technical properties of traditional yarn. In fact, it was in that same year that the “The ECONYL® Regeneration System” was inaugurated. It is a production model that starts from the recovery of both pre- and post-consumer nylon waste. It allows for a transformation into regenerated caprolactam (a raw material fundamental for the Group’s productive activities), which is then used to produce 100 per cent regenerated ECONYL® yarn.Due to the chemical properties of caprolactam, the regeneration process is practically infinite and allows for materials to be recovered that would otherwise be destined for the landfill, abandoned in nature, or incinerated.Today, ECONYL® fiber is well-known on the global market and is chosen by famous brands such as Adidas, Levi’s and Speedo, who recognize its high quality and environmental value.In March 2013, in support of our recovery strategy for nylon waste and our goal to reduce ocean pollution, we co-founded an international project with ECNC Land & Sea Group and Star Sock called “The Healthy Seas, a Journey from Waste to Wear”. The project’s key objective is to reduce the amount of solid waste abandoned in the ocean (in particular fishing nets), “WE CHALLENGED STARTUPS AND PUBLIC RESEARCH CENTRES IN ITALY TO PROPOSE IDEAS FOR HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND REUSE MATERIALS THAT ARE TYPICALLY DISCARDED ”024