“We need to take into account that the food system is a complex system, mainly due to its connection to a variety of policy fields, like [..] agriculture, environment, energy, health, education, infrastructure and so on. So this aspect implies that this type of system involves a wide range of actors, and all these actors often have conflicting interests that are not easy to mediate. This is all to say that the food system can’t be changed without a systematic approach, that would allow taking into account a plurality of interests and objectives, so food procurement can play a key role because it’s a multi-policy and multi-actor tool”.
-Matteo Gordini, Ecosistemi

Episode four of The Power of the Public Plate podcast is an engaging conversation with Sabina Nicolella, Alberta Congeduti and Matteo Gordini from Fondazione Ecosistemi. The Italian organisation working on strategies, programmes and actions for sustainable development in the country, is recognised as a national leader on Green Public Procurement practices.
Sabina Nicolella mainly works on CSR, stakeholder engagement and coordinates many European projects within Ecosistemi. She’s an expert in sustainability budgets and Italian reporting on sustainability.
Alberta Congeduti mainly works with GPP and sustainability reporting. She’s an expert in assessing environmental and economic impacts of green procurement and is currently teaching at TU Dublin and UCD, in Ireland.
Matteo Gordini is a GPP expert and works on European projects around sustainable consumption and production. He is the contact person of Procura+, the ICLEI-led European network of local and regional authorities for the promotion of innovative and sustainable procurement.

The conversation gives listeners a deeper insight into the procurement system in Italy, as well as into the support Ecosistemi provides to procurers, companies and cities in the country with a focus on food and catering. The implications that come with the procurement law are explained, as well as some practices like Life Cycle Costing, which allows for the whole procurement process to be looked at with a more integrated approach.

The Power of the Public Plate, brought to you by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and the UN One Planet Network, is a collection of interviews on how public authorities from around the world leverage procurement to positively impact the food value chain, to ultimately contribute to sustainable food systems. Each week new guests from different parts of the world join us to explore their idea of sustainable food procurement, so make sure to tune in for all the episodes!

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast and One Planet Network YouTube or ICLEI YouTube.

To find out more about us, visit our websites:
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
One Planet Network

Or connect with us on Twitter:
@ICLEI_procure
@10YFP

For any queries contact: Josefine Hintz - josefine.hintz@iclei.org