In addition to the information activities, AECIS also intends to flank a training programme aimed at catering operators and the general public, with targeted appointments that aim to lead participants to discover the main standards and therefore the requirements that producers must comply with in order to obtain an additional third-party certification (in addition to the PDO), visible to the consumer thanks to the affixing of a mark on products placed on the market as a guarantee of the sustainability objectives achieved. The training action aims, among other things, to stimulate greater consumption or use of Geographical Indication products in recipes, “healthy carriers” of sustainability principles and practices.

In this regard, AECIS has, among other things, devised a audiovisual training project aimed at developing participants' knowledge on sustainability and valorisation of dairy Geographical Indications. The project envisages the realisation of training video lessons (distributed through the certified Cisco Webex e-learning platform), under the direction of experts of proven and recognised competence and with the presence of representatives of the Consortia adhering to AECIS, each divided into two distinct and complementary moments a theoretical in-depth study, through the presentation of contents, by means of slides, illustrating the key concepts on which the project itself is based (in particular the link between GI and sustainability); a practical gastronomic application, with the participation of a chef engaged in creating recipes using the cheeses linked to the Consortia promoting AECIS, with the aim of enhancing the PDO products in their culinary versatility, communicating the link between certified quality and sustainability, and strengthening the positioning of the same products with operators and consumers. The video lectures will start with the presentation of the objectives and contents of the training project, and with the transfer to the learners, first of all, the fundamental concepts developed during the various appointments (sustainability, certification, competitiveness and territorial valorisation), also framing the role of the PDO dairy supply chains in the European agro-food context. In a second “step”, the policies and strategies elaborated by the European Union to favour the green transition (Green Deal, Farm to Fork, Biodiversity 2030) will be explored in depth, constituting the framework of a European agro-food sustainability framework, also analysing the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) and their translation into the business management dynamics of certified quality operators. This informative approach will lead participants to understand the contribution that GI productions make to territorial protection, biodiversity, social cohesion and economic competitiveness. Sustainability, however, cannot remain relegated to the mere enunciation of philosophical or abstract concepts, as it needs to be dropped into a reality made up of practices in the field, indices, objectives and measurable results. In this regard, the video lessons will provide learners with an overview and comparative analysis of the main existing certification schemes (or in any case adaptable to the GI sector), with a focus on indicators that can be measured and verified by third-party bodies, which require the integration of sustainability management systems into company dynamics. One lecture, in particular, will be dedicated to animal welfare in livestock farming systems, an issue under increasing observation by stakeholders, institutions and citizen-consumers, but also an opportunity for the livestock and agro-food sector with Geographical Indications to strengthen the reputation of their production, thanks to the widespread implementation of sustainability standards in this area. In the last part, the training programme will focus on consumer communication and the valorisation of collective brands, analysing aspects that have to do with information transparency, market positioning and the prevention of greenwashing. The final comparison between farms and producers, aimed at exchanging best practices, defining common objectives and planning an integrated sustainable strategy, with a view to building a shared supply chain pathway, will also be fundamental. This comparison will be interwoven with the summing up of the entire training course, carried out by briefly reviewing the contents addressed and animating a reflection on the operational tools that have emerged and the future prospects for the sustainability of PDO production. In this final phase of the training project, AECIS therefore intends to encourage the sharing of the main good practices and indications for the development of common strategies between Consortia, companies and the territory.

In order to better assess the current level of knowledge of GIs, the claim of sustainability and its representative elements on product packaging, the Association finally intends to carry out, a targeted quantitative study, through a survey consumer conduct. Starting from a base of families who are purchasers of GI products and sensitive to the above-mentioned claims, a short questionnaire will then be administered to a representative number of people through interviews. The results will be processed in a report and will serve as a basis for understanding which lines to strengthen in the institutional communication of AECIS. The same results will be the starting point for a subsequent in-depth study aimed at providing a support tool for companies producing Geographical Indication products. This second part of the study will attempt to construct projections, on the basis of the desiderata of consumers, to demonstrate how the integration of sustainability policies in certified and continually evolving systems - in this case the GI supply chains - can bring long-term economic benefits to the primary and processing companies, to the surrounding context, with a view to the development of a new sustainable economy, without weakening, indeed reinforcing, the cardinal principles of the European quality regimes.

With the project actions described above, AECIS believes that it is taking on board the inputs deriving from the UN 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal with the Farm to Fork strategy, also interpreting in the best possible way the central role that the new European regulation on Geographical Indications (2024/1143) has assigned to the Protection Consortia, strengthening their prerogatives in the field of sustainability.