Concerning the second "R" - reduce, the stakeholders can be considered as everyone. All consumers and producers can be part of the positive trend which aims to reach a more sustainable market. Consumers need to become aware that many things that they buy immediately become waste: packaging, empty boxes, etc. On the other hand, producers must improve their products by reducing the use of raw materials and by improving packaging and production mechanisms.

These are some ideas on what everyone can do to reduce waste and, as a main consequence, their ecological footprint. As a matter of fact, waste is just a part of the ecological footprint, which involves other sectors such as energy, transport and many other practices.

Several interesting suggestions on how to concretely reduce our footprint have been collected in the guide "I reduce", which aims to suggest useful and simple ideas both for consumers and producers to improve their choices, products and, as a consequence, their behavior. The guide is a practical tool and is part of a bigger project named "I reduce", sponsored by Cesena Municipality (Italy). The project, developed with the collaboration of Punto 3, aims to promote good practices that help reduce the consumption of natural resources and those trade activities which also work at reducing their environmental impact. Shops and activities joining the project and meeting the required standards can also utilize the "I reduce" project label showing their commitment to consumers.

For further information, please click here (only in Italian).