UN - SDG Goals

After the 2.1% drop observed in the previous two-year period 2021-2022, in 2023 the overall production of Waste from Economic Activities generated by the national production system (industrial, commercial, artisanal, services, but also of waste treatment and environmental remediation) returns to increase attesting to almost 164.5 million tons (+1.9% compared to 2022, corresponding to more than 3 million tons).

Non -hazardous waste, which represent 93.8%of the total waste produced, have an increase of 2.8 million tons (+1.9%), the dangerous ones of 193 thousand tons (+1.9%).

With regard to the construction sector, the incentives arranged by the government for the renovation of the properties aimed at the energy redevelopment of buildings have continued. These construction/renovation works together with the activities of construction sites intended for the construction of infrastructure and public works and housing and commercial construction have generated more quantities of building and demolition waste.

The indicator measures the total quantity of Waste from Economic Activities started for the recovery operations (R1-R12) referred to in Annex C of Legislative Decree 152/2006. In 2023 the quantities of recovered special waste are consistent, equal to 74.1% of the total managed (178.9 million tons) and the trend is constantly growing (+1.8% in the last three years). The total amount of special waste recovered amounts to 132.6 million tons, of which 4.1 million tons are dangerous. The region with the greater quantity of Waste from Economic Activities recovered is Lombardy (27.7%of the recovered total), followed by Veneto (10.8%) and Emilia-Romagna (8.5%).

The circular material use rate measures the share of material resources reused by an economy. In the period 2004–2023, Italy's circular material use rate increased from 5.8% to 20.8%.

The collected data provide an overview of the training offer on specialised environmental topics provided by the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA), composed of the Regional and Provincial Environmental Agencies (ARPA/APPA) and ISPRA. This offer includes both training courses and work-study pathways (curricular and extra-curricular internships, and the Paths for Transversal Skills and Orientation – PCTO). In 2024, compared to the previous year, there was a significant increase in the number of environmental training courses activated within the SNPA (304). Regarding training methodologies, the trend observed in previous years towards offering residential training courses continued, likely due to the normalisation of the post-COVID-19 health situation. The internships (both curricular and extra-curricular) activated during 2024 totalled 348 (of which only 9 were extra-curricular), while the number of PCTO students reached 2,796. Compared to 2023, there was a significant increase in training delivered through internships (+22.1%) as well as through PCTO (+38.6%).

The indicator quantifies the pressure of tourism on the urban waste management system in Italy. It currently represents a recognized proxy for the monitoring of Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda (SDG 12.b.1). Since 2023, the methodology has been enriched by including not only the official overnight stays in accommodation establishments, but also stays in non-commercial lodgings (second homes, homes of friends or relatives) and same-day visits without overnight stay. The inclusion of these components allows for a more realistic and complete estimate of the equivalent tourist population and, therefore, of the amount of waste generated per equivalent inhabitant.

In 2023, the indicator reached 15.7 kg per equivalent inhabitant according to the new methodology, marking an increase of 53% compared to the value estimated with the traditional method (10.1 kg per equivalent inhabitant).

In 2024, Domestic Material Consumption in Italy stood at 486 million tonnes (-0.7% compared to 2023), while Resource Productivity grew to 3.76 euro/kg (+1.4%), confirming an improvement in the efficiency of the use of natural resources.

Italy has structurally reduced its material footprint, going from 17.9 to 10.3 tonnes per capita between 2008 and 2024, reaching values lower than the EU average. This result reflects significant progress in terms of efficiency and circularity, but it requires consolidating the decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption in order to make the competitive advantage durable.

National municipal waste (MW) generation in 2023 amounts to approximately 29.3 million tonnes, marking a 0.7% increase (approximately +218,000 tonnes) compared to 2022.

As of 31 December 2024, the number of organisations listed in the EMAS register, net of cancellations and suspensions, totals 1,185. This figure confirms a recovery compared to 2018, showing an increase of 22.8%. The total number of new EMAS certificates issued to organisations/businesses is 2,357. The productive sectors with the highest participation are: Waste and Material Recovery, Energy, Building and Landscape Services, Specialised Construction Works, Public Administration, and Wholesale Trade. The leadership of the Central-Northern regions is reflected in regional measures supporting EMAS. The most active regions are Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio. Regarding EMAS registrations by organisation type, recent years show a generally stable situation with a balanced distribution among small, medium, and large enterprises.

In 2023, the preparation for re-use and recycling rate—calculated using Methodology 4 and excluding construction and demolition (C&D) waste from household sources—stood at 50.8%, thus exceeding the 50% target set for 2020.

Nel 2023, la percentuale di raccolta differenziata è pari al 66,6% della produzione nazionale (29,3 milioni di tonnellate) (+1,4 punti percentuali rispetto al 2022), mantenendosi al di sopra dell’obiettivo fissato dalla normativa per il 2012 (65%).

Tourism continues to be strategic for the Italian economy, yet its attractiveness depends on a healthy environment. The indicator quantifies the atmospheric emissions generated by road-based tourist travel in Italy. In 2023 the automobile remains the main source of every pollutant considered: 93.7 % of CO, 96.1 % of VOCs, 90.2 % of NOx, 86.2 % of PM₂.₅ and 93.4 % of CO₂. “Recreational” vehicles—motorhomes, caravans and vans—have their greatest impact on PM₂.₅ (11.9 %) and NOx (8.1 %). After the post-pandemic peak of 2022, total emissions fell in 2023 by roughly 11–18 % (depending on the pollutant) and remain below the pre-pandemic 2019 levels; however, this comparison may have been influenced by a methodological improvement.

In 2023, tourist flows at the borders continue to grow, with a total of 85.7 million foreign visitors, marking an increase of 14.7% compared to 2022. Transit across road borders is confirmed as the most used mode (49.4%), followed by airport transit (47.0%). Italians continue to prefer the car as the main means of transport for their journeys (69.5%), with a slight decrease compared to the previous year. However, train use remains marginal (11.2%), indicating a limited transition to more sustainable means of transport.

Systemic food wastage in the Italian food system amounts to 66% of the total food energy produced. There has been a 17% increase in food wastage compared to 2015, measured in kilocalories per person per day. This situation remains far from institutional targets of halving or significantly reducing food wastage by 2030.

The indicator monitors the impact of tourism on the territory in terms of both volume (arrivals) and the burden placed on the area (overnight stays). It highlights how some regions and autonomous provinces experience high "arrivals per inhabitant" and "overnight stays per inhabitant" ratios, such as Valle d'Aosta (10.9 and 30.0) and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (15.7 and 67.2), compared to the national average of 2.3 and 7.6, respectively. In 2023, all values increased and surpassed those recorded in 2019.

The indicator aims to provide a quantitative estimate of the contribution of tourists to daily potable water consumption.

In 2022, at the national level, the recorded tourist movement consumed 4 liters of potable water per capita equivalent per day.

Between 2015 and 2018-2020, a growth in consumption was recorded, increasing from 3.7 to 4 liters per capita equivalent, followed by a sharp drop in 2020, an anomaly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted global travel.