Sustainable innovation between ethics and technology

Florence, 30 May 2023 – The Social Hub

Moaconcept promoted, in partnership with Agenzia Generali Italia SpA of Florence Rifredi, Change Capital and The Social Hub, a summit on the topic of the circular economy. In the common belief that a new relationship with the ecosystem is necessary today and can no longer be postponed, the various promoters of the meeting and the many excellences who agreed to participate in the awareness that we must act together, one step at a time and with inspired behaviors by a renewed ethical awareness.

Doing business today implies taking on a concrete and defined role towards the community and the planet, so that one's activity does not end only in the pursuit of the logic of profit.

Sustainable innovation, in addition to having become an imperative and dictating the timeline of change towards a conscious world, is worthwhile. In fact, the world of finance was among the first to understand that this new approach was necessary.

The proceedings, moderated by the journalist Gianni Rusconi, opened with a greeting from Matteo Tugliani, CEO and Founder of Moaconcept and Paolo Merelli, Agent of the Generali Italia Spa Agency of Florence Rifredi and then got to the heart of things with the intervention of Stefano Galassi,

Co-Founder & Open Innovation Director of Limitless Innovation. The manager explained how Open Innovation is driving fashion circularity and outlined the current perimeter of the most relevant innovations currently under the attention of the fashion sector. Virtual fashion, metaverse, digital twin and industry 4.0 but also research on new materials, biocircularity and upcycling were thus brought to the attention of the audience.

Following the lawyers Lorenzo Micacchi and Giacomo Pailli of the MPM Avvocati firm, they were invited to summarize the corporate framework of Benefit Company and BCorp and then move on to delve into issues that are very sensitive today such as greenwashing and the issue of labeling and, finally, to analyze how intellectual property and patents can be protected and what the EU legislation - DNSH - provides and what are the requirements in terms of sustainability to be able to access funding.

The afternoon then continued with the speech of Mafalda Maffettone, ESG Advisor for Rewind, who presented the sustainability report as an element of competitive advantage. In particular, in fact, this tool represents a factor of modernity and an asset compared to competitors, especially for SMEs. We then analyzed more specifically what it entails to draw up a sustainability balance sheet.

Following this, Guido Mengoni, CMO & CDO Temera, introduced the topic of the growing importance of traceability as a necessary prerequisite for certifiable sustainable management. In the new circular vision, the environmental impact of a product must in fact refer to its entire life cycle.
Jacopo Laganga, Global Head of Digital | eCommerce | Marketing & Communication at Monnalisa then shared its case history of a pilot project carried out on 4 bestselling garments from Monnalisa's couture line. They have developed labels which, by scanning a QR code, allow access to a dedicated mobile site which tells the story of the product, the supply chain and all its production phases in a transparent and traceable way. This sort of digital identity card will allow you to track the
garment also in the future, for example if it were included in a second hand circuit.

When questioned by the moderator about any future projects, the manager declared the company's desire to proceed with expanding the pilot project and reducing the company's energy consumption.

To close the first part of the proceedings, the interview with Simona Innocenti, CEO of Leather Bis and President of ASPRI. The entrepreneur spoke about her own case history, of a company that reuses waste from a supply chain, that of leather, which in turn uses a raw material that is waste from the food supply chain. The desire to create beauty and luxury from waste and the desire to make this opportunity also accessible to other companies was the driving force from which ASPRI (Italian Recovered Leather Association) was also born.

After the break, to reopen the proceedings, the interesting interview with Stefano Dorigo, Associate Professor in tax law at UNIFI. The professor introduced the new jurisprudence tools for the sustainability sector.

Afsoon Neginy, COO Business & Sustainability Director of Pettenon Cosmetics Spa, then presented the case history of the Pettenon Group, a company that is concretely committing to reducing its impact on the planet and which has chosen to become a Benefit company. After sharing some concrete projects aimed at achieving carbon neutrality, reviewing one's formulations so that they are increasingly biodegradable and natural, studying packaging with software that evaluates its environmental impact during its life cycle and then acting with the adoption of recycled plastics, reweighting of the packs and inclusion of product refills in the range. And we also talked with the manager about saving water, training and the importance of promoting a sustainable corporate culture also towards one's partners.

Following, Eva Di Franco, Idi Marketing Ethics & Fashion Design Professor at IED and Founder of the EVADIFRANCO Timelessclothing brand, spoke about the sustainable approach in the design of fashion collections, the fact that sustainability today is becoming a necessity and that consumers are starting to be annoyed when they perceive that brands use sustainability as a marketing and communication lever despite not having the concrete requirements. The entrepreneur then brought her concrete experience by introducing the experience gained with the brand she founded.

Matteo Tugliani, CEO and Founder of Moaconcept, then shared his entrepreneurial experience by describing his choice to convert his sneaker company into a Benefit Company and to invest in projects that would allow him to leave a positive footprint on the planet. In particular, he retraced the start of the My Own Action project which started at The Social Hub hotel with the installation of the first Used Sneaker Collector, and then became the protagonist of various initiatives, gaining great resonance
not only at a national level but also abroad where the prestigious Stockholm store Nordiska Kompaniet not only asked to be able to make the Used Sneaker Collector available to its customers but also wanted to dedicate the takeover of an entire showcase for everything to the project the month of April. Finally, Paolo Merelli, Agent at the Generali Italia Spa Agency of Florence Rifredi, closed the proceedings and, in a lively exchange with the moderator and Matteo Tugliani, summarized a summit truly full of ideas and stimuli and which, above all, has created an important network between different realities but with a common vision.

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MOACONCEPT
Moaconcept, founded in 2013, is a sneaker Benefit Company, with operational headquarters in Bagno a Ripoli (FI), led by CEO Matteo Tugliani. The brand creates contemporary collections of sneakers with a medium/high positioning, made up of comfortable products inspired by the urban fashion world.
Born with the clear intention of leaving its positive mark on the footwear market, today through a new business model based on sustainability, the company wants to become an example and a stimulus to promote change for the benefit of people and the planet. Over the years, the company has confirmed its commitment and social responsibility through actions to support the community and projects that aim to reduce the impact of co2 emissions, also through great attention and always greater control of the supply chain, committing to re-localising part of production in Italy.