Ecomondo 2025, organized by Italian Exhibition Group, concluded at Rimini Expo Centre and reaffirmed its positioning as a hub for ecological transition in Europe and the Mediterranean. In a year marked by global volatility, the event reported a 7 percent increase in total attendance, with international visitors up 10 percent. The show hosted more than 1,700 exhibiting brands, 18 percent of them from abroad, across 166,000 square metres of exhibition space. Media interest was also significant, with over 600 accredited journalists, 15 percent from outside Italy. The minister for the environment and energy security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, underlined the event’s relevance during a tour of the exhibition halls. He stated: "We can count ourselves among the leading countries in the world in terms of recycling capacity. There is a lot of talk about rare earths and critical raw materials, but the largest deposit we have is our waste... And the ability to recycle is fully demonstrated at this show, a symbol of innovation and sustainability."
The 2025 edition emphasized international exchange among companies, researchers and professionals, supported by cooperation with the Italian Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The program and exhibition addressed the green, blue and circular economies, bringing together stakeholders focused on waste management, resource efficiency, and the industrial implementation of sustainable technologies relevant to multiple value chains, including plastics. The scale and scope of participation reflected continued investment in the circular economy and the growing role of cross-border initiatives in advancing recycling capacity, infrastructure, and policy alignment.
International reach and business matching
Ecomondo 2025 welcomed over 800 hosted buyers and international delegations from 65 countries. The most represented markets included Spain, Turkey, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. Around 90 international associations participated. According to the organizers, this network facilitated 3,800 business matches during the event, promoting cooperation and the dissemination of best practices for the ecological transition.
Program focus and sector coverage
Across four days, the show featured over 200 events, around 70 of them curated by Ecomondo’s Technical and Scientific Committee chaired by Professor Fabio Fava. The agenda covered WEEE and critical raw materials, the circular textile industry, sustainable finance for the green transition, water management and the blue economy, bioenergy, the circular economy, AI applied to resource enhancement and data monitoring, Earth observation, and the role of communication in addressing misconceptions around ecological transition. International cooperation and the Mediterranean region were in focus, together with access to clean and sustainable energy in Africa within the Mattei Plan and the “Mission 300” programme, highlighted by the fifth Africa Green Growth Forum. The 14th States General of the Green Economy opened the event with the Report on the State of the Green Economy 2025. The second day’s plenary session was held entirely in English for the first time, broadening international participation.
The biennial Sal.Ve exhibition of ecological vehicles, organized in partnership with ANFIA, returned to present equipment for industrial and special vehicles used in collecting solid and liquid waste, street sweeping and sewage disposal, providing a comprehensive overview of municipal and industrial service fleets.
Innovation district and awards
The Innovation District connected research with market-ready solutions, hosting 40 Italian and international high-tech start-ups. Among them were 20 start-ups from Morocco and Tunisia selected under the “Luca Attanasio” Lab Innovates for Africa project, promoted by the Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Ecomondo also presented the “Lorenzo Cagnoni” Award for Green Innovation to seven exhibiting companies, one from each event sector, recognizing advanced and promising technologies.
Next edition
Ecomondo will return to Italian Exhibition Group’s Rimini Expo Centre from 3 to 6 November 2026.
