The presentation took place during the Conference organised by APICCAPS and dedicated to the theme: Sustainability: challenges and opportunities.

Inês dos Santos Costa, Secretary of State for the Environment, and João Torres, State Secretary for Trade, Services and Consumer Protection were present at the occasion.

According to Luís Onofre, APICCAPS’ President: “this is a unique document for the Portuguese economy that aims to create a structured sectorial mindset, to fulfil the several domains of sustainability in an integrated manner”. Under the coordination of both APICCAPS and CTCP (Footwear Technology Centre of Portugal), “this document will be a key tool for the strategic repositioning of the sector within the international competitive scenario”, concluded Mr Onofre.

The Action Plan is divided in three fundamental pillars: Planet, People and Companies and presents 12 measures, distributed by over 50 actions and the goal is clear when aiming for: "the Portuguese footwear industry to be a leader in the development of sustainable solutions”. The development of new materials, tracking raw materials, products’ information, products’ environmental footprint or energetic efficiency are some of the actions.

This outcome was only possible due to a successful combination between entrepreneurial dynamism and public policies that, together, act upon the three main factors for the competitiveness maintenance and reinforcement: commercial promotion and marketing; human resources qualification; and innovation. In the latter, Portugal has become the main user of innovative technologies within the footwear industry.