Project Profiles - Italy

Morbegno 2020, a strategic sustainable community project in the Italian Alps, has been awarded the Sodalitas Social Award (website is in Italian) for 2008-2009 in the category “Special Prize for Public Sector Initiatives”. The prize, in its seventh edition, is one of the most important awards in Italy in the fields of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility.  In an official ceremony on May 28th, 2009, the systemic approach of the 2020 project was recognized as winner among 240 projects for its innovation, effectiveness and widespread involvement of a diverse set of stakeholders. Morbegno 2020 has been indicated as a national benchmark and role model for broader national diffusion.

The "2020" association has emerged from the project, co-founded by The Natural Step with multiple local stakeholders. It has now joined the local Business Development Agency and the Cariplo Foundation to mobilise the entire alpine region of Valtellina towards a national innovation laboratory for sustainability.  

The business world is rapidly learning how crucial a strategic approach to sustainability is, and the Morbegno 2020 project has been rewarded for its focus on creating innovative economic models.  The project had previously been awarded the “Five Stars Municipality” prize by the “Association of Innovative Municipalities” in 2008 and was selected as a national pilot by the Italian National Association of Municipalities. 

For more about our work in Italy, visit www.thenaturalstep.org/italy or contact Eric Ezechieli.
 

La collaborazione di Aquafil con The Natural Step nasce dalla volontà di Interface, leader mondiale nella produzione di moquette, di condividere con i propri partner una solida strategia di innovazione. A seguito del percorso realizzato, il top management di Aquafil ha sviluppato competenze strategiche ed ha riconosciuto  nella sostenibilità un fattore chiave di innovazione, arrivando a ridefinire una nuova visione: diventare il leader nel mercato delle fibre di poliammide e polimeri con totale impegno per la sostenibilità, la rigenerazione dell’ambiente e delle persone.

Aquafil ha definito obiettivi concreti e misurabili: una riduzione del 50% dei gas a effetto serra (CO2) entro il 2020, un traguardo notevole per una società con processi di produzione ad alta intensità energetica. Gli obiettivi sono stati declinati da subito in azioni concrete: è stato già progettato e costruito in Slovenia un rivoluzionario impianto per la produzione di nylon a ciclo chiuso (depolimerizzazione e ripolimerizzazione di post-consumer waste) che consente un radicale risparmio di risorse naturali, energia, materie prime, riduzione drastica delle emissioni inquinanti, oltre a dare un vantaggio economico e competitivo.

Valtellina, one of the most important tourist destinations in Northern Italy, is home to about 175,000 people in a valley of the Italian Alps near the Swiss border.  After one and a half years of intensive capacity building, Valtellina is moving towards sustainability using The Natural Step Framework as a compass.
 
Work began in 2007 with leaders in the small town of Morbegno. So far, thousands of people, including schoolteachers, community leaders, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and municipality officers, have been involved in intensive learning programs on sustainability.
 
Building on this experience, a new independent non-profit organisation, simply called “2020” was founded this February with the goal of making Valtellina a “Learning Valley towards Sustainability” helping the community build on its diversified economic texture, which includes light industry, agriculture, hospitality, financial and other services.  This new project will be led by TNS Italy and "2020", working in a close partnership, with the support of the CARIPLO foundation and the local Economic Development Agency.
 
Ken Melamed, mayor of Whistler, BC, Canada, is currently visiting the region, sharing his learning and insight with local leaders and citizens about the opportunities and challenges of pursuing sustainability.  He is helping to spread the Valtellina experience across Italy through presentations and initial engagements in Milan, the host city of the EXPO 2015, and Bari in Southern Italy, one of the 10 largest Italian cities.