ICSWM 2013 - The Second International Conference on Solid Waste Management

Second International Conference on Solid Waste Management
May 16th - 17th 2013
Organized by Sant´Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
Welcome to ICSWM 2013, a Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and Geofor event..
The Institute of Management of Sant'Anna School of advanced Studies and Geofor S.p.A. are proud to announce the Second International Conference on Solid Waste Management (ICSWM), to be held on 16th and 17 th of May 2013, at Sant'Anna School of Pisa, in Pisa, Italy.
CONFERENCE THEME: "Public Private Partnership (PPP): comparing models and experiences in integrated solid waste management".
The application of Public - Private Partnership (PPP) principles, as typology of cooperation between public authorities and the private sector, has grown steadily over recent years as the advantages of blending private sector resources and skills with the public ones has become evident. Nowadays, PPPs have become accepted as an effective implementation tool. It is recognized that PPP can also boost Europe's innovation capacity and drive the competitiveness of European industry in sectors with significant growth and employment potential.
It has also become clear the PPP architectures are complex and such projects require a detailed understanding of their design and implementation features. Indeed the European Commission has undertaken many efforts to assist in the definition of PPP and to guide their application in the respect of the provisions of the EU Treaties(1).
For instance, the European Commission Green paper on public-private partnerships and community law on public contracts and concessions(2) and the Commission Interpretative Communication on the application of Community law on Public Procurement and Concessions to Institutionalised Public-Private Partnerships (IPPP)(3).
In recent years, PPPs have developed from their traditional base in the transport sector to the areas of public buildings and equipment (schools, hospitals, prisons) and the environment (water/waste treatment, waste management). Also across countries, experience with PPPs has become more diversified. Beyond the UK, some countries have developed and diversified their PPP markets (France, Germany, Spain); others have shown interest and started to develop PPP programmes. Still, many EU Member States only have limited experience with PPPs or none at all(4).
PPPs are forms of cooperation between public authorities and the private sector that aim to modernise the delivery of infrastructure and strategic public services. In some cases, PPPs involve the financing, design, construction, renovation, management or maintenance of an infrastructure asset; in others, they incorporate the provision of a service traditionally delivered by public institutions. Whilst the principal focus of PPPs should be on promoting efficiency in public services through risk sharing and harnessing private sector expertise, they can also relieve the immediate pressure on public finances by providing an additional source of capital. In turn, public sector participation in a project may offer important safeguards for private investors, in particular the stability of long term cash-flows from public finances, and can incorporate important social or environmental benefits into a project(5).
At EU level, PPPs can offer extra leverage to key projects to deliver shared policy objectives such as combating climate change; promoting alternative energy sources as well as energy and resource efficiency; supporting sustainable transport; ensuring high level, affordable health care; and delivering major research projects such as the Joint Technology Initiatives, which are designed to establish European leadership in strategic technologies.
For these reasons the second International Conference on integrated solid waste management aims to analyze PPP in the filed of waste management, focusing on:
Regulatory and economic issues;
Participation and consensus building in PPP process;
Financial sustainability of PPP process.
ICSWM 2013 will address these various dimensions of PPP in solid waste management as we invite scholars from around the world to address questions and search encouraging serious and thoughtful exchange between academics, members of the global business community, practitioners in the fields of waste management and public administrations.
The conference will be divided in two sections.
More in detail, on May 16, institutional and academic speakers, invited by the ICSWM conference board, will analyse and discuss the best available practices in PPP and the environment (in particular waste treatment and waste management) at international level. On May 17, all the accepted papers, deriving from the call for papers procedure, will be presented and discussed.