Program 2026

Low-carbon and circular products for future-proof infrastructure

European competitiveness cannot be based on cutting costs at the expense of rights, the environment and the social model. The challenge lies elsewhere: in building a reindustrialisation strategy capable of combining sustainability, innovation and equity.

In this context, public demand plays a strategic role. Through procurement, public administrations can steer markets and support the development of a green and circular European industry, promoting quality employment, environmental protection and technological innovation. Infrastructure — roads, railways, ports — represents one of the main areas of application. It is here that public procurement can stimulate the uptake of low-carbon materials, such as low-carbon steel and concrete, strengthening European supply chains and accelerating the industrial transition.

The conference invites reflection on this paradigm shift: to what extent can public procurement become a concrete lever of industrial policy? And to what extent is a model that combines sustainability, competitiveness and strategic autonomy already feasible today?

SPEAKERS

Lorenzo Orsenigo
President of the Sustainable Infrastructure Association (AIS)

Tudor Cherhat
Programme Manager Buildings & Industry, Environmental Coalition on Standards

Giulia Novati
Senior Researcher on Industrial Transition at ECCO Climate

Carolina Ercolani
FS Engineering

Massimo Paris
Elected Council Member, Federbeton

MODERATOR

Ida Molaro
Mediaset Journalist