An innovative, sustainable and inclusive project able to foresee the reduction and valorization of outputs for each part of the life cycle of products in order to reduce waste, exactly like Nature does, can transform everything it creates. This is the concept at the basis of Systemic Design and RETRACE project - A Systemic Approach for Regions TRAnsitioning towards a Circular Economy - developed at the Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico di Torino, coordinated by Prof. Silvia Barbero and funded by the Interreg Europe Programme.
The second RETRACE phase (2021-2022) officially started in these weeks and will connect four different Regions of European countries – Italy, Spain, France, and Romania. The project partners will aim to define specific territorial policies on Circular Economy, a process that, in the case of Italy, will involve the support of the Piedmont Region (partner of the project) that will cooperate for the implementation.
RETRACE strengthens a virtuous political-decisional understanding between Politecnico and Regione Piemonte that last year signed an agreement to promote local development through Systemic Approach and Circular Economic. The project will focus on the Covid-19 impacts on the Regional Circular Economy practices research and new best practices. The results will be showcased in 2 virtual policy exchange events where each region will share and exchange the new challenges and opportunities for the regional circular economy policy scenario after Covid-19.
“The second phase of RETRACE represents a great opportunity to support the upcoming European Recovery Plan through a Systemic Approach – explains Prof. Silvia Barbero - that has always characterized the Master Degree “Aurelio Peccei” in Systemic Design at Politecnico di Torino, and it is in line with the need expresses by European Commission to lead Europe after the COVID-19 towards policies that tends to zero waste production, an ambitious project that can, however, be realized starting from regional policies and development plan”.