14-10-2025
Invited and supported by the Portuguese Plastics Industry Association (APIP), through Nuno Aguiar, APIP Technical Director and NOVA FCT alumnus, first-year students of the Master’s in Environmental Engineering at NOVA FCT took part in the Plastics Summit – Global Event (PSGE). The event took place at the Lisbon International Fair (FIL) on 6 October 2025, under the theme “Towards a New Era of Responsible and Holistic Sustainability.”
Recognised as the largest international gathering dedicated to sustainability and the circular economy in the plastics sector, the summit brought together 36 speakers and over 1,000 participants, including business leaders, researchers, policymakers, and representatives from civil society.
The participation of NOVA FCT students in this initiative reinforces the School’s commitment to training engineers equipped to meet the challenges of the sustainable transition, promoting active learning and direct engagement with the stakeholders shaping the future of the industry.
The PSGE programme featured four main panels — Resilient Industry and Integrated Management, Transition and Consumption Patterns, Improving Circularity, and Regenerative Ecosystem Architecture — fostering multisectoral debate and the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge.
Throughout the summit, the results of the 14 action areas of the Mobilising Agenda for Sustainable Plastics — an APIP initiative led by the Logoplaste Innovation Lab — were presented. The project aims to bring together companies, academic institutions, and citizens around the principles of the European Circular Economy. Among its goals are the launch of 21 innovative products, 36 scientific publications and new patents, and a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with plastics production.
As part of the event, an Expert Committee was also established, featuring Paula Sobral, Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and researcher at MARE, NOVA FCT. This group of specialists will draft a new Position Statement with recommendations for public policies at local, national, and international levels, to be presented at COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in November 2025 in Brazil.
