Porto Lab Academy 2019

Porto Lab Academy 2019 Contship gathered colleagues and partners involved in the Porto Lab project, together with our special guests, for the 2019 Porto Lab Academy on November 21 and 22.   The Academy has become a fixed feature and integral part of the project in recent times. The format features an educational workshop and an institutional session, dedicated to sharing projects and ideas related to Porto Lab and the partner companies’ commitment towards Corporate Social Responsibility issues. The 2019 workshop was organized in the Roby & Manu (Emanuele Breveglieri and Roberta Barzaghi) lab. Emanuele and Roberta are long-time Porto Lab partners, who recently opened their workshop for a “Smonting” session. “Smonting” is a highly educational activity, conducted by disassembling old mechanical and electrical appliances and recycling their components. Part hacking, part game, part Zen practice, smonting allows participants to explore, understand and appreciate the complexity of objects and the technologies they integrate, as well as the value of the “urban mine” which surrounds us and can be used to extract plastic, iron, aluminum, gold and much more.         Roby & Manu’s smonting is a group activity, which requires a calm and focused mind, strength and gentleness. Smonting is exciting and educational and… a lot of fun! For a few hours, tutors and partners of the Porto Lab project put aside their smartphones and laptops, donned gloves and picked up screwdrivers, pliers and hammers and literally tore apart old phones, VHS, computers and domestic appliances. The result: half a dozen of big bins, each full of plastic, iron, aluminum, copper, screws and integrated circuits, as well as the joy of all the “smonters”, satisfied and enthusiastic about this unusual experience, a true example of circular economy.         The second day of the 2019 Academy involved a larger group, including many partners of the project: Kuenz (with Gianni Dubini), SKF (Silvio Gallione and Sergio Tàrtara), Gruppo Grendi (Costanza Musso), INAIL (Silvia Zanchetti and Fabio Pietrobono), and the Port Sistem Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea (Emanuele Rubino). Guest partners answered the call to showcase their own companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility projects, with a special focus on sustainability. The session was introduced by a remarkable keynote address from Prof. Luca Vecchio (Università Bicocca) who presented research on  customers’ perception of sustainability issues, and Mr. Alessandro Botti (Ambiente Mare Italia) who presented AMI’s commitment to the defense of the maritime environment and for the reduction of plastic pollution (http://www.liberamidallaplastica.it).   Grendi, SKF and Kuenz, then presented their own projects:   Costanza Musso – Removal of disposable plastics and reduction of the consumption of resources within Grendi’s core business operations. Silvio Gallione and Sergio Tàrtara – SKF sustainable logistics optimization projects and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Gianni Dubini –Kuenz commitment for the development of even more efficient and eco-friendly new-generation cranes.         Following the partners’ keynotes, Mr. Alfredo Scalisi, La Spezia Container Terminal General Manager, underlined the value of the Porto Lab initiative, from the point of view of LSCT. LSCT operates with passion and responsibility, constantly looking for a balance between synergies and contrasts, defending the fundamental role of the port within the local economy, and mitigating the impact of terminal operations on the local community as much as possible. The 2019 Porto Lab Academy ended with an open debate about the future of the project, between the desire to keep alive the values behind the 13 years-old initiative, and the need to face the evolution of the language and the changes in the expectations and desires of Porto Lab audience: kids, children of today who will become the men and women of tomorrow.         You can visit Porto Lab website to discover more about the project: