The inaugural conference of the 38th edition of Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, will be held on Monday, September 27 at 11.00 a.m. in the Europauditorium in Palazzo dei Congressi in Bologna, Italy.

The opening session, “Sustainability, energy transition and international competitiveness of the Made in Italy brand," will be introduced by BolognaFiere Chairman Gianpiero Calzolari. Leaders of industry will attend, including: Minister for Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti, the President of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government Stefano Bonaccini, Unicredit Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan, and Confindustria Ceramica Chairman Giovanni Savorani. The conference will be moderated by journalist Maria Latella.  

Italian ceramic tile producers continue to focus on high levels of efficiency, technological innovation and attention to sustainability. 

“As citizens and entrepreneurs, we are strongly in favor of decarbonising human activities. The goal for everyone must be to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in order to safeguard the lives of future generations on Earth,” said Giovanni Savorani, chairman of Confindustria Ceramica. “To achieve this, we don’t need ideology but expertise and science. In our role as the ceramic tile manufacturers’ association, we have initiated a dialogue with technology suppliers and production companies, local universities, the Emilia Romagna regional government and local research bodies to plan an energy transition process that is capable of reducing CO2 emissions without sacrificing jobs and at the same time maintains a sense of balance in terms of timeframes and costs. The financial speculation that we are currently observing will do nothing to reduce CO2 emissions but will cause massive job losses in Italy and Europe as manufacturing sector employment moves to countries that do not have the slightest concern about emissions.”