Italy Pavilion at Downtown Design opens with focus on sustainability

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Italy has inaugurated its pavilion on Wednesday at Downtown Design with over 39 exhibitors to highlight quality innovations and sustainability. Italian companies will be showcasing their creativity and designs with main focus on sustainability during the four day exhibition.

Italy has the highest number of design companies in Europe, confirming the country’s position as one of the global leaders in this sector with 7.8 billion euro exported worldwide.

An array of Italy’s finest creations in furniture, home accessories and lighting are on display at the Italy Pavilion at Downtown Design, which is taking place from Nov.9-12 at d3 in Dubai.

The 39 exhibitors at the official ITA Pavilion will be showcasing their creativity, design and style and embody a true representation of Italy as a purveyor of culture and design innovation.

Lorenzo Fanara, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE, said “Italian design is an expression of beauty and innovation. Over the last decade, Made in Italy has also become synonymous with sustainable design. Italy’s furniture and design industry is exported around the world. It’s an industry that we are renowned for, especially here in the UAE, and one of the main Italian manufacturing sectors, a highly integrated value chain from raw material to the finished product.”

Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Consul General of Italy in Dubai, “The trade relations between the UAE and Italy are very strong and we have witnessed a very robust growth every passing year. The UAE is one of the largest market for Italian companies in the region. The bilateral trade between the two countries reached 6.8 billion euro last year. The Italian exports to the UAE reached 5 billion euro last year. We have recorded a 22% increase in the trade in the first half of 2022. We expect a remarkable trade growth between the two nations in the near future.”

Amedeo Scarpa, Italian Trade Commissioner to the UAE continued, “The UAE is a fundamental market for Made in Italy. Last year we exported a record value of 200 million euro and we celebrated the 1st semester of 2022 with an additional increase of + 21% (105 million euro). The driver for this success is the perfect match between the Emirati clients, who are more and more demanding in terms of quality and exclusiveness, and the flexibility of the Made in Italy offering, which is every day more committed to sustainability. This is why our motto at Downtown Design 2022 is “Sustainability is Sustainab-ITALY”.

Indeed, the Italian wood interior decoration industry is 1st in Europe and 3rd in the world in terms of circular economy, by releasing less CO2 emissions than any other large EU producers: 26 kg per thousand Euro of production, compared to 93 kgs average by the 4 main European producing countries.

Furthermore, almost all of the Italian production of chipboard panels (93%) is made entirely with recycled wood.

In terms of production processes, 64% of companies have implemented efficiency measures that reduce production waste, and more than half reuse internal or external waste. In the last three years, 44% have activated mechanisms to reduce water consumption, including the reuse of process water. 60% of companies also procure from renewable energy sources and 40% manage to cover at least half of their needs with renewable energy.

Italy’s participation at Downtown Design is realised by ITA -Italian Trade Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Confartigianato Imprese CNA (the National Confederation of the Craft Sector and Small and Medium Enterprises), CONFAPI, FIAC (the Italian Association of Cutlery, Flatware, Hollowware and Cookware Manufacturers).

The Italian Trade Agency is the Government agency which promotes the globalisation of Italian firms, under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ITA helps to develop, facilitate and promote Italian economic and trade relations with foreign countries, focusing on the needs of SMEs, their associations and partnerships. ITA sustains Italian firms in their internationalization process, promoting the marketing of Italian goods and services as well as the image of “Made in Italy” products around the world, while facilitating outward Italian investments and encouraging FDI attraction into Italy. ITA provides information, support and consultancy services to Italian companies on foreign markets, in order to foster exports and economic cooperation in all sectors, with the objective of increasing the effectiveness of their presence on international markets. ITA works closely with the Italian Regions, the network of Italian Chambers of Commerce, business organizations and other public and private entities.