CONFIDA has promoted, together with COREPLA (National Consortium for the Collection and Recovery of Plastic Packaging) and UNIONPLAST (National Union of Plastic Transformers Industries - Plastic Rubber Federation), the RiVending project, a "closed cycle" for the recovery and recycling of plastic cups and stirrers for vending machines in compliance with the European Union requirements with a view to an efficient circular economy.

CONFIDA promotes the "Vending Sostenibile" award as part of the "Cresco Award - Sustainable Cities" organized by the Sodalitas Foundation and ANCI National Association of Italian Municipalities: an award to the Italian Municipality that has conceived and implemented the best sustainable development project applied to the world of vending machines.

The “Vending Sostenibile” project was created by CONFIDA in 2014 and is carried out by a specific Commitee, made up of companies in the sector, that works to deepen the issues of sustainability in vending.
The best practices in the sector are published in a dedicated section of the association's website (https://www.confida.com/vending-sostenibile/).

The top quality standard TQS-Vending certification has been designed specifically for the Vending sector, to enable public bodies, private enterprises and most of all, consumers to evaluate the quality of the services delivered through the vending machines.

Coffee is undoubtedly one of the Italian excellences and it is also a top driver in the Vending sector; therefore, it is important to guarantee the quality of the coffee distributed through vending machines. With this purpose CONFIDA, in collaboration with CSQA Certificazioni (Italian certification and inspection company) has developed the certification DTP-114 for grain-coffee blends.

Over the last years, the Vending Machine sector has been expanding both in terms of business activity – offering a wider selection of products, not just food – and in terms of alternative distribution channel, complementary to conventional stores, thus providing several benefits. CONFIDA, in collaboration with Confcommercio, has published “La Distribuzione Automatica” as part of the series “Le Bussole” by Confcommercio – Imprese per l’Italia (Italian confederation of enterprises), thus providing a useful guide through the change the sector is experiencing.

CONFIDA has started to collaborate with the consumers' association ADICONSUM, to provide exhaustive information on the Vending sector and its regulations and most of all, to increase the awareness among consumers and allow them to benefit from the services offered, also in terms of products quality and selection. The initiative promoted by CONFIDA and ADICONSUM has brought to the publishing of «Conosci il vending: la distribuzione automatica, regole e diritti dei consumatori» (Learning about Vending: vending machines, regulations and consumers' rights).

Venditalia is the benchmark trade fair for international Vending both in terms of square meters occupied and number of visitors. The biennial exhibition takes place in Milan Fieramilanocity; the latest edition was attended by 270 exhibitors (+20% compared to the previous edition) and 22 thousand visitors (+10% compared to 2014), of which 26% from 101 different countries. The next edition is scheduled 6th to 9th June 2018.

In compliance with the guidelines set with the interministerial Program “Guadagnare Salute - Rendere più facili le scelte salutari”, CONFIDA has developed and launched the project SANI e inFORMA (2009-2010) to promote the importance of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle among youngsters.