From VenicePost Monitor | University of Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler and Fondazione Mach are the vertices of a triangle around which numerous other entities in the green economy operate. A true “sustainability district,” thanks to the collaboration between companies and research institutions
One of the areas of Italy that can be an example of a “green economy district” is in Trentino Alto Adige. Here numerous institutions and companies active on this front are concentrated within a few square kilometers, interacting with each other facilitated by physical proximity. The Rector of the University of Trento, Paolo Collini, identifies a true “green triangle” of which the first vertex is the university itself. “We move along two lines,” Collini specifies, “the first is ‘what do we do,’ since a reality of 20,000 people has its environmental impact anyway. There is a delegate of the rector to this issue, who is developing a plan in particular on energy and waste management. The second is that of research, especially in the field of sustainable construction and the design of urban systems with reduced environmental impact: research that involves the faculties of architecture, engineering, and the whole field of information technology on the topic of smart cities.” It is precisely the university that is promoting, in partnership with the city, the Smart Cities project: in fact, the city was selected by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) as part of a global initiative with the aim of identifying 10 cities as models of excellence in urban design aimed at “smart” management of energy, land, services and resources in the broadest sense. And this is where the other “vertices of the triangle” fit in. One of these is the Bruno Kessler Foundation, and in particular its research center on materials and microsystems for the entire ICT area, which is a point of reference as far as sensor technology applied to these sectors is concerned; but also for numerous other projects at the European level, such as the EDEN project aimed at obtaining clean energy from hydrogen. The third pinnacle is the Mach Foundation, with a focus on the world of agriculture, but with extensive expertise on environmental issues more broadly and a human capital of more than 400 researchers: its environment program, by way of example, coordinates the activities conducted by the research and innovation center and the technology transfer center to provide services on the ground in this area-from waste management, to fertilizer management in agriculture, to forestry. If this is the “basic triangle,” around it revolve – and I will be forgiven for the excess of geometry – numerous other realities. First and foremost is Habitec, the Trentino Technological District for Energy and the Environment, a consortium company made up of about 300 companies, research bodies and public agencies – with a total of 8,000 employees and a generated turnover of about 1.5 billion euros – that stands as a national hub for sustainable construction, energy and mobility and green business development. Among the many initiatives and services promoted, the Green Building Council Italia (GBC), a voluntary building certification program that originated in the United States and is now applied in 40 countries, stands out for its relevance, aimed at assessing the overall environmental impact of a building-from consumption, to the materials used, to the choice of site.
The certifications range from “basic” (the lowest) to “platinum” (the highest): and one of the proofs of the territory’s sensitivity on this front is that to boast platinum certification is the Muse, the Trento Science Museum, which in addition to setting a good example from an architectural point of view directs much of its research activity and collaboration with companies precisely on the themes of environmental sustainability and innovation aimed at guaranteeing it. Rovereto is also home to Progetto Manifattura: a sort of “green economy business incubator” created at the instigation of Trentino Sviluppo in the spaces of the former Manifattura Tabacchi. To date, about forty companies have settled there, from those that take advantage of the “full” incubator service to those that rely on it only for the use of some spaces or specific services; and added value is then the community among those involved in the project and the partnerships and collaborations with other realities. But why exactly is Trentino manifesting this particular vibrancy? “It is a mountainous territory with a strong anthropic concentration in the valleys, which has a very strong tourist vocation,” Collini explains; “and this is one of the main reasons for the impulse to preserve the environment in all human activities, so much so that the university itself has activated a degree course in tourism and environment management. Certainly the dimension of sustainability has costs for businesses, even after the reduction of resource consumption; but the optimization of the use of the environment and the economic activities related to it are giving rise to economic activities that generate value in a way that is now evident.”