*Agreement signing also marked Global Recycling Day 2019 in Doha

The Italian embassy in Doha has joined the ‘green’ network of (Italian) embassies and consulates around the world after forging a partnership with Qatari company Elite Paper Recycling (EPR) on Monday to promote environmental sustainability.
Italian ambassador Pasquale Salzano and EPR chairman Abdalla al-Suwaidi led the agreement signing at the embassy, which also marked the 2019 Global Recycling Day in Doha.
“Italy and Qatar share the principles of preserving the environment and natural resources, and are engaged in integrating them in their policies as core values within environmentally responsible practices,” Salzano said.
He noted that such initiative forms part of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to help preserve Mother Nature such as material recycling, waste sorting, and a rational use of water and energy.
As part of this co-operation, the embassy will regularly recycle wastepaper to enhance responsible behaviour in the workplace and implement environment-friendly procedures in daily activities, the envoy added.
The embassy also plans to organise activities, media campaigns and educational programmes aimed at raising public awareness on the importance of recycling.
“We want to demonstrate that recycling is not an obstacle to an efficient management of workflow. In fact the adoption and implementation of high sustainability standards make the workplace well-functioning and productive,” Salzano said. “The attention to these aspects represents an added value in terms of employees’ well-being and positively impacts on social developments”.
He noted that the embassy’s cultural programme underlines the principle of environmental sustainability by organising “The Shapes of Water (related to the different uses of water)” exhibition in October 2018, in line with the Qatar Sustainability Week. 
On March 20, the embassy will also hold a panel discussion in the fields of sustainable design, innovative technologies and “smart cities” to encourage the debate on ensuring a proper quality life for next generations to mark the ‘Italian Design Day in the World.’
The agreement, al-Suwaidi stressed, will also ensure waste papers containing confidential information to be disposed and recycled properly.
Al-Suwaidi echoed Salzano’s statement saying that their partnership will also help educate the young generation on recycling and helping to protect the environment.
He noted that EPR, which can recycle 3,000 tonnes of paper monthly, partnered with more than 250 schools, as well as major supermarkets and hypermarkets, ministries, embassies, and other establishments across Qatar.
“We are exporting 80% of our products to many countries, mainly Asia, Oman, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even to China. There are also plans to export it to Italy,” al-Suwaidi said.
The company uses state-of-the-art technology, which adhere to strict environmental regulations and international standards, in manufacturing its products.
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