ECOMONDO 2026 the global stage for the circular economy

The 29th edition of Italian Exhibition Group’s event, taking place from 3 to 6 November at Rimini Expo Centre, strengthens its international profile, showcasing technologies, value chains and new models to accelerate the green transition

Ecomondo is preparing to return to Rimini Expo Centre from 3 to 6 November, with an edition that further broadens its reach. Italian Exhibition Group’s (IEG) event dedicated to the green, blue and circular economy brings together industry, institutions, research and public decision-makers around the transformations reshaping production processes, markets and environmental policies worldwide.

The event connects the needs of businesses with regulatory developments and the expertise developed by the scientific community. It provides a space for creating new business relationships and collaborations, as well as a gateway to the market for start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs in the circular economy, giving them the opportunity to engage with investors, companies and industrial partners.

A GROWING INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM

Strengthening its international dimension is one of the distinguishing features of the 2026 edition. In collaboration with MAECI – the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – and ICE – the Agency for the Promotion Abroad and Internationalisation of Italian Companies, Ecomondo is working to increase the presence in Rimini of buyers, delegations and associations from different continents.

This process has also been supported by a multi-stop roadshow across Spain, Morocco, Germany, Hungary and Canada, through which the event has presented itself internationally with the aim of strengthening relationships with institutions and companies in the host countries. This represents a further step in expanding an already strong global network that includes Ecomondo Mexico, a reference point for the Latin American market and for promoting Made in Italy environmental technologies, Ecomondo China, which became a Forum in Shanghai in 2026, and the Green Med Expo & Symposium in Naples.

THE KEY THEMES OF EUROPE’S GREEN TRANSITION

The international scope of the exhibition offer will also be reflected in the content presented at Rimini Expo Centre. The conference programme, curated by the event’s international Technical Scientific Committee, has involved the European Commission, agencies, institutional partners and international organisations such as the OECD and FAO, with an increasing number of summits, conferences and meetings held in English.

At the centre of the debate will be the dossiers shaping European industrial and environmental policy, from the Circular Economy Act to the Bioeconomy Strategy, alongside the Biotech Act II, Pact for the Mediterranean, RESourceEU Action Plan and Critical Raw Materials Act. These will be accompanied by discussion of the new provisions on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which are set to have an increasingly direct impact on production value chains.

The programme will also broaden its focus to healthy and circular cities, the use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in the green transition, as well as the bioeconomy and bioenergy. All these topics are part of Ecomondo’s longstanding focus on international cooperation, with particular attention to the Mediterranean and Africa, bringing together industrial innovation, territorial development and low-emission, highly circular production systems.

The first two days of the event will also see the return of the States General of the Green Economy, organised by the Sustainable Development Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and promoted by the National Council of the Green Economy. A second plenary session, held entirely in English, will further strengthen Ecomondo’s international profile.

A NEW LAYOUT FOCUSED ON CIRCULARITY

Among the new features of the 2026 layout is the new Textile sector, hosted in an entire pavilion and conceived as an international hub for a value chain undergoing profound changes linked to the implementation of new European sustainability regulations. The spaces dedicated to Waste as Resource are also expanding, while Water Cycle & Blue Economy has been reconfigured in the eastern wing of the exhibition centre, together with the Blue Economy District and the Trenchless District, organised in collaboration with the Italian Association for Trenchless Technologies (IATT). The area will focus on the recovery and reuse of wastewater, No-Dig technologies and systems for the intelligent monitoring of networks and the sustainable management of water resources.

The exhibition is completed by Sites & Soil Restoration, Earth Observation and Environmental Monitoring, Bio-energy & Agriculture and Circular & Regenerative Bio-Economy, together with the Circular&Healthy City District, the Innovation District and a dedicated focus on the life cycle of paper.

With its increasingly cross-cutting vision and the involvement of a growing number of specialist communities in the green transition, Ecomondo 2026 explores a transformation that cuts across different value chains, territories and areas of expertise. At Rimini, discussions will combine strategies with concrete applications, bringing together regulations, technologies and new industrial models. It is this ability to combine vision with practical outcomes that confirms the event’s role as an international reference ecosystem on the path towards a more circular economy.

Fill out the form and get a free 2-day ticket: https://cloud.ecomondo.com/visit-2026?utm_source=article&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Ekapija

Italian Exhibition Group

Ecomondo

Italian Exhibition Group

IEG

Rimini Expo Centre

MAECI

ICE

MASE

IATT