Chinese pedestrian crossings turn green

by Sofia Lorenzini

Chinese cars market is still the biggest in the world, with more than 500 million cars that congestion streets e make air unbreathable, with consequences on environment, given that 40% of carbon dioxide comes from cars.

China Environmental Protection Foundation decided to create the campaign “Green Pedestrian Crossing - More Walking, Less Driving”, to make Chinese citizens aware on environmental issues connected to car traffic, inviting them to do something, in their own way, walking more and driving less.

Jody Xiong, creative director of design agency DDB Group China, created some installations made of giant canvases, 12.6 meters long by 7 meters wide, laid across the pedestrian crossing of 132 streets in 15 cities, in the middle of busy crossroads, places where pedestrians and cars meet. On the canvases Xiong drew big trees without leaves, and on every corner of the pedestrian crossing he placed sponge cushions soaked in green environmentally friendly washable and quick dry paint.

Xiong explained: "As pedestrians walked towards the crossing, they would step onto the green sponge and as they walked, the soles of their feet would make foot imprints onto the tree on the ground. Each green footprint added to the canvas like leaves growing on a bare tree, which made people feel that by walking they could create a greener environment."

Also Deputy Mayor of Shanghai participated to the campaign, which caused a lot of curiosity between the pedestrians, who went on the crossing just to walk on the artwork, and the campaign got the media attention, that brought out the news. By the end of the campaign, 3,920,000 people had contributed to the paintings.

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REVET Tuscany and TetraPak put the heart in recycling!

by Emanuele Biestro






It happened to everybody to ask themselves: “Where do I throw the milk box? And the orange juice one? You must be kidding saying it is recyclable?!”. In Tuscany Revet, a company involved in the collection, selection and treatment of wastes to recycle, and TetraPak launched an information campaign in order to raise awareness among the citizens of the districts of Siena, Arezzo and Grosseto headlining “Throw TetraPak boxes into the separate waste collection: this is going to improve and the recycling is guaranteed”. The poject, under the patronage of Tuscany Administration, aims at improving the collection of this kind of material, still at low rate over the Tuscan territory.

Diego Barsotti, chief at the press office at Revet Tuscany explains that “there are two main issues that we would like to stress in this campaign: the first one is that throwing TetraPak boxes into the separate waste collection we can achieve the 100% percentage of recycling, because after the selection operated by Revet and the transfer to the paper mill it is possible to reclaim the paper that is the main component but also the polyethylene and the aluminium, presents in smaller percentages. The second element comes from the previous one: the TetraPak boxes thrown into the separate waste collection come back in the "Ri-prodotti" (Re-product) chain in Tuscany, so the citizens could buy goods that proceed from the separate waste collection of their own wastes!”.

To better understand how relevant is to throw TetraPak boxes into the separate waste collection, maybe it could be better getting a little bit technical: "Once collected, TetraPak boxes are separated from the other wastes. Then they are transferred to the paper mill where they are shred into a pulp, that after is filtered and drawn: the best quality cellulose paste is recycled in other plants, while the remaining material (about 25%) is directly recycled and transformed into "ecoallene", with which it is possible to create other things, such as gadgets or household items" says Diego Barsotti.

Focusing on the communication side of the campaign, the activities were addressed to different targets: "Workshops and meetings have been opened to the firms communication chiefs and to the local journalists. The local administrators have been informed by personal targeted email. As ads, we used tools that make the campaign reachable by a wide public, such as ads on the local newspapers and on line, radio ads and the delegates of the two firms have been hosted in programmes on TV" continues Diego Barsotti.

In the image chosen for the campaign the Revet logo is on the chest of the two characters, a boy and a girl: the most catties would not think about a placement by chance, but, after all and in any case, recycling is in the heart of all of us.

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Involving "humankind" to save commons

by Silvia Musso

When the State fails to protect environmental and cultural commons, active citizenship intervenes with bottom up projects. There are more and more examples of this kind and among these "PaestUmanità. Buy to preserve" comes out. A project sponsored by the National Legambiente, Legambiente Campania and Paestum Freewheeling association, and addressed to all mankind to protect and enhance an UNESCO site.

Paestumanità is a popular shareholding operation aimed at buying the land included within the walls of the Achaean city of Paestum, human geritage, but for more than 80 percent privately owned and subject to agricultural use, as well as to a heavy human impact.

As explained by the project's proponents, if the State is unable to acquire ownership of all archaeological area inside the walls for lack of funds and is not able to protect it because it does not intervene towards the activities performed by the individual on its surface, citizens are asked, with no geographical boundaries, to collect the necessary funds to buy private land and promote their protection.

The participation to the project consists in the purchase of a “Good Action”, which costs 50 euros. The spread of share ownership will be divided among those who wish to contribute to the gradual purchase of Heritage site, by its nature, subject to sharing. The goal is to buy a common good and put it back to community's hands, encouraging scientific investigations in the field, the realization of projects that improve the knowledge and the enjoyment of a historical and archaeological heritage and the development of self-control forms of the State of conservationof our cultural heritage.

The project was officially launched on Monday 26 March 2012 at agriturismo Porta Sirena, in the town of Capaccio-Paestum.

The press conference was the first stage of the project's promotion and communication plan whose outcome will be the "establishment of a management company of the patrimony whose shareholders are the not official investors".

The fundamental point – says Valentina Del Pizzo, coordinator of the project - is to increase the purchase of the so-called "Good Actions". This will allow us to overcome the current phase of the launch of the initiative, internal organization and initial financial investment, in order then to proceed with the identification of the first batch and therefore the transaction. At that point we would have also clear what kind of society, even if we are orientated towards the formula of a Temporary Association or a Foundation. What matters, however, is the direct participation of members called 'non-institutional', to all holders of our "Good Actions" in all phases of the project to guarantee forms of self-control from the bottom of the wealth management, and of the archaeological site of Poseidon/Paestum».

«The strength of this project, in my opinion – Del Pizzo adds - is the popular application of the shareholder for the first time linked to the commons: the first marked by the wide participation, the second by their nature sharing and absolutely not divisible, together constitute the perfect combination for the best social forces. Paestumanità finally is an opportunity for all, young people, organizations, associations, citizens of the world, and of Paestum. In this sense crowfunding is an act of responsibility.The State belongs to active citizens, whether such actions are the future of projects addressed to community and sponsored by the same, then it means that there is still hope».

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They are black, black pissed off, like coal

by Annalisa Tancredi

With boldness and an audacious word pun, Fermiamo il Carbone (Let’s stop coal) coalition launched a new spontaneous mobilization campaign against the most hated fossil fuel by ecologist.

The 38 promoter associations declared on national media they are rather furious about italian government energy policy and, without mincing words, they launched the manifest “We’re black-pissed off. Black like coal”, a slogan clear and illustrative of sentiments leading the protest against the “oldest and dirtiest energy source”.
Largely used like fossil fuel in electrical power stations, coal is the most polluting fossil energy source and, because of the elevate carbonic composition, it’s the main cause of Co2 emissions, climate change and acid rain. Until today, in Italy there are 13 coal-fired power and one of those – in Brindisi - is among the 20 most polluting coal-fired power stations in Europe. Furthermore, it is in progress the conversion of Porto Tolle from oil-fired to coal-fired and another station is under construction in Saline Joniche.

"This decision is against every policy about carbon dioxide emissions reducing – say the coalition in press release – it’s against health, agriculture, tourism, fisheries and occupation development".
"Coal is deadly to humans, environment and dangerous to climate. After the slap on the nuclear (with the referendum wins NO coalition, ndr), energy lobby has decided to invest in coal. They say it’s good. But for who? – is written on the official page of "pissed off" – They do not tell that coal is the main cause of climate change. They don’t consider fatalities in Monterosso and Genova, the flood damage and the fines for unconformity on reducing emissions commitments".

Joining and participating to the campaign is free for everyone and during the first action launched on Carnival, a large number of people step foot in main italian places with black faces dirty of coal. Moreover connecting on official website www.incazzatineri.it it is possible to “flash your pissed off” and create a custom image and, if that's not enough to appease your anger, you can download “pissed kit” containing a selection of stickers, flyer, T-shirt, banner or poster in pdf format.

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Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle: Bring the bag!

by Marzia Fialdini

To save the world we can begin with small things, small gestures: the campaign Porta la Sporta (Bring the bag) is the only reality that since March 2009 has worked at national level to prepare public opinion to ban the use of plastic bags, and has tried to raise a greater environmental awareness in Italy.

For a more sustainable consumption from 14th to 22nd April 2012 comes back the National Week Porta la Sporta, now in its third edition. The initiative - sponsored by the Association of Virtuous Municipalities, by WWF, Italia Nostra, the Italian Touring Club and Adiconsum, under the patronage of the Ministry of the Environment - invites people to make efficient use of resources by replacing the throwaway with alternatives suitable for reuse. At the same time it seeks to raise awareness on the companies world and organized distribution about producing and distributing products and solutions that enable people to consume low-impact. It is a useful week to rethink lifestyles and more sustainable consumption ways and to adopt the alternative proposals that Porta la Sporta conveys through its initiatives.

With this edition the event and the campaign get to the heart of those further actions that are necessary to prevent and reduce other waste such as containers, packaging and disposable items.

The invitation is open to any type of business, to the retail sector (food and otherwise), to associations and no profit organizations, to schools of all levels, national and local organizations and institutions, and – last but not the least – to citizens. Useful tips to attend the meeting can be found on site of Porta la Sporta, within other initiatives promoted by campaigns for schools and shops as Meno plastica per tutti, Mettila in rete and Sfida all'ultima sporta.

We asked Silvia Ricci, promoter of the campaign, if in addition to those already involved, there are others who would like to participate: "Yes I would like also fairs to be involved. They are places of passage that attract many visitors who come to browse and receive motivations and suggestions, and are therefore well prepared to receive communications. Above all visitors are inundated with gadgets, leaflets, bags and packages: why not take the opportunity to raise awareness with a “sporta” (bag) delivered at the beginning in which they can put all purchases or free sample, thus excluding the proliferation of unnecessary packaging? There is a trade show in particular that by its nature and the city that hosts it would suitable to launch this environmental message: the Book Fair in Turin, but unfortunately for the moment no one has done anything, and it is a shame."

Porta la Sporta opened a dialogue with some of the most important mass retailers in Italy involved with their outlets in the event of April for the third time now. In order to widen the front of corporate stakeholders, the campaign has gladly accepted the offer of a collaboration with the editors of GDOWEEK, a magazine dedicated to the Group's retail Sole 24 ORE. This is a small book available on the numbers of the 2012 GDO Week M@il that Porta la Sporta will use to comment current events that have relevance to the topics addressed by the campaign and have as characters manufacturing and the retail firms.

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Varese is not Salerno: racist campaign or smart advertisment?

by Silvia Musso

Do you remember one year ago - it was February 2011 – the bad act of the municipality of Spresiano (North-East Italy) that on the flyer of a public meeting about waste recycling had inserted an image in which a person threw into a bin a Calabria shaped waste? At that time we had wondered if it was an act of "Padan" racism or a simple gaffe or even a fake. Well, these same questions have accompanied the beginning of a recent awareness campaign on recycling sponsored by the city of Varese (North Italy).Some weeks ago, in fact, on the city's streets posters have appeared, bearing only the claim: "Varese, is not Salerno" (Salerno is a South Italy city)

The appearance of the posters immediately provoked an echo of voices, criticism and accusations as evidenced in the pages of the local newspaper Varesenews: «"Varese is not Salerno" and it is a storm. The poster around the city has not gone unnoticed. On our Facebook pages are getting hundreds of comments. The cliam is read in many different ways. And the news arrived also in Salerno. Do not miss Salerno's citizens who write on Varesenews».

The initial storm was calmed down, however, by the explanations of the administration. This was a teaser action – there were actually two kind of poster "Varese is not Salerno" and "Varese is not Pordenone" -before the proper campaign commissioned by the Mayor whose goal is the public awareness on the benefits of sorting waste.

On January 19th, in fact, the Mayor Attilio Fontana contacted his colleagues of Salerno and Pordenone with a letter in which he explained that the municipality of Varese intended to carry out a publicity campaign to sensitize the citizens to separate waste by referring into the posters to the two cities, virtuous examples for separate collection. Pordenone with 78.1% is the most virtuous city of the North in terms of recycling, while Salerno with 70.3%, has the best performance in the South. Varese, with 48.9% have already a good result, but municipal administration wants to improve these.

The administration's idea was certainly intriguing, looking at the amount of reactions triggered mainly on social networks. To evaluate the success, however, we must wait for the next phases of the communication campaign and above all ensure that the first interest of the citizens will turn into a real change in their habits in order to achieve the goal: to arrive by the end of 2012 to 65% of separate waste collection.

We'll see.

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Velò – Dico: explain how you advertise, and I’ll tell you who you really are

by Irene Gozellino

We all know how to distinguish a sustainable product from one that it is not, however,we hardly know how to distinguish a sustainable advertisement from one that is not. That aside, what is a sustainable advertising? Perhaps a non-invasive one? Yes, but above all, an advertisement that, in addition to promoting products “good” for the environment, does it in an equally “good” way.
Velò – Dico turns the most sustainable transport, the bicycle ("Velò" in French, hence the pun) in to the most sustainable advertisement.
Veiò - Dico is an advertising service on two wheels, quiet, unobtrusive, environmentally friendly and efficient, which affects lately on the streets of Turin.

Michele Noce, president of the center of aggregation Cecchi Point, has kindly answered our questions.

How was the idea of Velò – Dico born?
«The idea was born inside the young team of the Association Muovi Equilibri with the intention of combining a way of communication and promotion of initiatives and activities to the same criteria of sustainable mobility.Indeed the service also aims to publicize and promote a wider dissemination and use of alternative zero impact transport instead of motor vehicles. In addition, it is not underestimate the importance of direct contact with people that this communication approach tends to establish and enhance; the direct contact with people is in line with our understanding of public space and of a city on a human scale.
Environmental, economic and social sustainability then. Based on these considerations, the service has seen the light together with other services, such as cycle deliveries and training activities such as courses of cyclomechanics and the popular cyclogarage. All these ideas have been collected under the name Cicloffice and actually initiated in the context of intercultural center of aggregation Cecchi Point where the association has found a new home».

What makes the difference between your communication strategy and the traditional advertisements?
«This type of communication strategy has the advantage of arriving in the most direct way to people by concentrating at the same time a double message: a different approach to advertising and 'use of alternative vehicles to carry out any activities of every day life, such as business or pleasure. Moreover, the membership and craftmade dimension supports the offer of services customer designed, meeting customer's specific needs and ideas, a way to approach very useful and stimulating to improve and develop an innovative service like ours. Our communication is then clearly perceived by the public as "sustainable" because, as a rule, the sustainable is what is advertised and promoted».

Envi.info considers this initiative sustainable and highly innovative. We are so happy that Turin will be informed on the street, at once, with news arriving on two wheels.

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Sustainable energy plays rock

by Annalisa Tancredi

United Nation declared 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, to promote global access to energy services among poor countries in an eco-friendly way.
"Sustainable energy" is energy the produced and used in ways that will support long-term human development in all its social, economic and environmental aspects, while "energy universal access" is the physical availability of modern energy services, to meet basic human needs at affordable prices.

Today more than 1.4 billion people in the world lack access to electricity and almost half of the world's population rely on traditional biomass for cooking. For many countries no energy services means no eating, no studying, no hospitals and no economic development. At the same time, if global energy needs growth will not be combined well properly with renewable energy policy, it will be serious consequences on environment.

"Sustainable Energy for All" is an initiative promoted by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN-Energy Agency and United Nations Foundation, and intends to involve government and civil society of the world. The goal is to meet three targets by 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

In order to achieve these targets UNF launched the Energy Access Practitioner Network, a group of practitioners from the private sector and civil society working on the delivery supply of energy services and solutions related to electrification. The Network will focus on both household and community level electrification for health, agriculture, education and small business.

About communication, the UNF launched a multimedia campaign to raise awareness on a global scale and increase the visibility of the initiative, thanks also to "Goodwill Ambassador" tribute. The first contribution comes from a famous American rock band, Linkin Park, who took part in the initiative with its popular communication channels. Every day the rock band shares information and contents about the initiative with more than 37 million of followers only on Facebook fanpage and every time users access on its official website, an intro invites them to support “Power the world” campaign donating a solar lightbulb to a family in Haiti.

For more information click the initiative official website www.sustainableenergyforall.org; for Linkin Park click here www.linkinpark.com

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Graffiti Grannys: knitting-sized cities

by Annalisa Tancredi

New forms of urban guerrilla are literally knitting balls of thread in the United Kingdom. In Cornwall there is a new spontaneous movement of "guerilla knitting", which aims at beautify urban spaces and color gray squares and public monuments with original knitted works. Authors of these crochets are Graffiti Grannys, a group of eight women between 45 and 65 years who during the night, in anonymity, adorns benches, lampposts and fences with objects made from wool and yarn. And so in the morning the citizens are surrounded by an explosion of bright colors and funny shapes that is a touch of exceptional urban creativity making daily routine more pleasant and harmonious.

A particular re-appropriation of urban space through the artistic expression of "yarnbombing", a street art midway between the graffiti and guerrilla gardening which shares the aim to re-enhancement urban environment. Its origins can be traced back to the name of texan Magda Sayeg, who in 2005 started to decorate at first door handles of her shop with knitted and then, on commission, city-bus in Mexico City and the Smart fortwo. Graffiti Grannys, however, are reinterpreting urban environment in the UK and, despite their commitments to knit around the world, have found a moment to answer our questions.

Who are Graffiti Grannys?
«We are a group of 8 aged between 45 and 65, we also have a lady who knit for us who’s 97!»

About your history: when is your movement born?
«We started yarnbombing on 1st April 2010 where we left 68 mice on the harbour wall in Marazion, Cornwall (UK). Ever since then we try to yarnbomb once a month!»

What are your values and ideologies?
«We love to make people happy and smile when they see our work! We go out very late or very early so we are not seen, as no-one knows who we are. All our work then vanishes as people collect them! We have just got back from New York as we were invited to exhibit in an exhibition held by Vogue Knitting Live. We have had work go all over the world, people find them and then take them back to where they live abroad. We now have lots of followers on Facebook and Twitter!»

If you were in Italy, where would you like to realize a guerrilla knitting?
«If we were to yarnbomb Italy, it would be nice to make somewhere that did not look so good, into somewhere very pretty to make the people smile as they go about there work!»

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'O Sole mio

by Emanuele Biestro

How the sunbeams become energy? What is the difference between the thermic solar energy and the photovoltaic one? Do the solar panels work even if it rains? the promoters of the European Solar Days, the most important information campaign europeanwide dedicated to the promotion of the use of solar energy as heat and electricity, will answer to all of these and many more questions. The campaign is co-funded by the European Commission within the programme "Intelligent Energy Europe", aiming at living a future energetically sustainable.

The campaign will be held from the 1st to the 13th of May in Italy and in other 16 European countries. In 2012 it will be the 5th edition: the figures of the past 4 ones show that there have been organized almost one thousand events with over 300.000 participants only in Italy. All the events on local, national or European scale dealing with solar energy will be part of the European Solar Days: the past ones were mainly fairs, products displays, workshops for children and students, guided tours to solar installations, training courses, information points, all of them with one aim: free the energy of the sun!

"For this year we expect a wide attendance. It is passed almost a month after the opening of the enrolments and we recorded already 16 events and other contacts for upcoming ones. We are trying to take advantage of the social networks, advertising the campaign on Facebook with a page dedicated to the event" say Concetta Laudicina and Riccardo Battisti, members of the National Secretary of the European Solar Days in Italy.

Actually, the strength of this campaign lives in the difference of the proponents of the events and as a consequence of the ways to communicate: the initiatives will be set by firms, NGOs, local authorities, schools or private citizens and they will be recorded on a list available at www.eusd.it, where through an interactive map we can see all the events programmed all over the Europe, promoted by local and national media.

The event will be organized in association with Ambiente Italia and Legambiente, and the support of Assolterm, Coordinamento Agende 21 Locali Italiane, Gifi, Kyoto Club, Qualenergia and Solarexpo.

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I click "I like" and save a forest

by Silvia Musso

Thousands of peopl use social networks every day, so what better tool to give your messages the widest echo possible? From this simple but true observation the campaign "One like One forest" by Lifegate, launched on December 14th, has derived. For each Facebook user who clicks on "I Like", a square meter of forest in Argentina, is saved helping to preserve an area rich in biodiversity. Today there are nearly 19,000 users who have clicked "I like", number that is equivalent to as many square meters of saveguarded forest.

«With this initiative we want to share the idea that doing something concrete for the environment is simple and requires no great sacrifice or effort - says Enea Roveda, Marketing Director of LifeGate - in this case, to contribute to the protection of a forest a click is enough».

While the campaign is having a great success, it is also true that Facbook users spend several hours a day to post messages, make comments, report links and chat, and "I Like" "I do not like" is the fastest, but sadly superficial way, to share your opinion: it is not the best way to create environmental awareness about an issue. Often, those who click on the thumb icon do not take an active part in discussions and shy express their opinion without exposing themselves.

But perhaps the goal justifies the means, considering the thousands of collected "I like", that are as many square meters of forest saved, but the work of communication to create a common and widespread awareness to save the forests can not be reduced to this.

Lifegate is surely aware of this, as shown by its many initiatives. LifeGate is in fact the first network for sustainable development that througout different communication channels – magazine, radio, web – promotes a new way of life and an economic model "People, Planet and Profit" where people, planet and profit live in harmony.

Among the many initiatives, we stress "Zero Impact", the first Italian project that since 2002 realized the intent of Kyoto Protocol alongside people and companies on a path of reducing and offsetting their CO2 emissions by contributing to the creation and protection of forests in Italy and worldwide, and the recent "Zero Impact Web" that will reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of the Internet.

Original is, finally, the "Second day of sustainable beauty". Monday, February 13th hairdressing salons and wellness centers offer some bueaty services. The contribution is free and will go to forest conservation projects in Italy and Madagascar.

"One like one forest"is part of the Lifegate's largest communication project and aims to remember that every little gesture, in everyday life, counts and is useful for the planet's salvation as to turn off the water while soaping under the shower, turn off the monitors' LEDs, turn down the temperature by one degree.

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New urban scenes ... of garbage

by Eleonora Anello

How have the streets of our city to the door to door collection of waste? Often this areas do not look so nice. In the worst cases, they tend to resemble small unauthorized landfills. Meanwhile, however, it is a price to pay to get a better quality of recycling. In Auckland, New Zealand, instead, they have found a creative and glamour way for collecting the garbage, thanks to the campaign "Beautify Your City”.

The design project took shape in the distribution of special garbage bags depicting green hedges or colored pansies, instead of traditional bags for collection. The unsightly red envelopes have been banned during the blitz called "Trash Day" and replaced with green ones offered by the citizens and businesses of downtown. The streets of the city were thus converted into neat and unexpected green spaces where even the garbage is not able to alter the urban decor.

This phase of the campaign, which started in November 2011, aimed to combat fly-tipping of waste, especially that of oils and educate traders to take out the trash at the right time, to avoid small temporary landfills in the city. The inititive was carried out by the association of downtown merchants Heart of the City along with the municipal administration in view of the Rugby World Cup.

«The flower beds will help to beautify the problem areas of the city and and remind businesses and residents of the need to do their bit to keep the city clean», said Jane Stewart, Project Manager , Heart of the City. At the launch of the campaign, she added: «The CBD is the heart of Auckland city and the state of our streets leaves a lasting impression on visitors. This is an important time to win the hearts and minds of tourists as well as improve the environment for residents and workers».

"Beautify Your City" has created an atmosphere so evocative that has been immortalized by several images that have flooded the Web in a short time and that have been around the world, reaching an unexpectedly target. To show that aesthetics can not be underestimated, we are pleased to present this best practice, so that other communicators and other administrators make more livable and more beautiful their cities. And who knows whether a glamorous and fun bag will be able to make more enjoyable and profitable the challenging task of waste collection and separation, inescapable duty of every citizen.

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The water become a slogan!

by Silvia Faletto

With the nearing of the Congress RIO +20, who will verify the achievement of the sustainability Objectives posed by the Rio de Janeiro’s ONU conference twenty years later, and the official Recognition of the human Right to the water and hygienic services from the general Assembly of U.N. (occurred the 28th July 2010), also Europe has to take action in this camp.

For that reason, the E.U. will complete and publish into next months a thematically project that will take term in 2050, and the advertising Competition “The Future who we want” is a first Initiative turned to all the citizens. The competition has been opened the 10th December 2011, and it has been developed thanks to the collaboration of three important UN organism: UNRIC (United Nations Regional Information Centre), UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme), and the UN Information Centres.

The participants are called into create a advertisement that can be an inspiration to the quotidian and future water’ safety, across the presentation of a maximum of five images with relative slogan.

The realizations has to hold the symbol of the advertising campaign “The Future who we want: Drop by Drop”, and they can be sent through the website www.dropbydrop.eu till 29th February 2012.

The winner will be elected, apart from the vote of a international jury composed by important exponents and experts from the involved sectors, also from the public preferences: in facts, from 1st to the 21 March, all citizens can participate to the public vote, and they will so contribute to the final choice.

At the end of the vote, apart from the first prize, a compensation of 5000 euro, the jury will award also the Youth Prize, who’s reserved to participants with age lower or equal to 25 Years old, and the Public Prize, who’s assigned to the one that with his work has received more votes.

Do you are not applicant advertisers, or simply haven’t you any graphic abilities?

Don’t worry! Apart to vote the favourite slogan, the campaign “Drop by Drop” offer to everyone the possibility to sign cares and Initiative carried out into the normal quotidian Life.

All these voices will activate a global debate, a chain reaction on the web, and this will point out how it’s possible to do something, here and now, to manage, to safe and to guarantee the right to the fundamental and prime need to the life: the water.

To receive more Information go to the website www.dropbydrop.eu.

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Dear Santa, this year we want sustainable mobility...

by Eleonora Anello

Hiring Santa for one’s communication campaign is something great. Compared to other celebrities, he’s cheaper and much more persuasive. These things should have been thought in Cesena where, this year, spreading sustainable mobility is up to Santa Claus himself!

The Borello primary school will organize, in collaboration with the neighborhood and the Sustainable Mobility Department of the Municipality of Cesena, a Christmas party on December 23 dedicated to the environment.At 8 o’clock, at the starting point of the three lines of the Pedibus, Santa Claus in the flesh will deliver some gifts to the children!

The Vicenza Province, Confcommercio, Ferrovie and Tramvie Vicentine thought instead to the families tied up with Christmas shopping. With the initiative “Catch the bus with Santa”, citizens can use public transportation across the whole province for free, avoiding parking problems and without hurting the environment. Furthermore, all those who will convert to sustainable mobility will enjoy purchase discounts. The appointment is on the Christmas weekends and on the Christmas eve.

«The initiative “Santa’s bus” aims to favor local public transportation use and represent a saving for Vicenza’s families – said Attilio Schneck, president of the Vicenza Province – At the same time it eases the reaching of cities’ centers which are often congested by traffic during holidays».

The idea of linking sustainable mobility to shopping reconciles everyone: «Both retailers and tourism operators like “Santa’s bus” – says Andrea Gallo, president of the Vicenza retailers’ association – I think it’s a good idea to link public transportation to retailing chain, because even on this side we shape the future of our cities’ centers».

Cristiano Sandonà, province alderman for transportation says: «We want that many people could try the efficiency and the value of public transportation, which are much better than the over-used cars. This will enable people to enjoy Christmas atmosphere, appreciating public transportation’s comfort».

The web is more desecrating. On the internet you can find even two Santa Claus. A traditional one and a weird one. One is green and the other red. We are talking about the movie made for the Cagliari 1x100 campaign for a sustainable holiday mobility. In the funny video two Santas compete for presenting Christmas gifts... One of them uses a car, the other one moves sustainably. «The campaign – told us Pamoja, the organizer association – aims at raising citizens’ awareness and at promoting voluntary abstention from using car on Sundays. This year Christmas is just on Sunday!».

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In Berlin the garbage makes fun

by Irene Gozzelino

She writes on her own website that she´s feeling especially persuasive. She is ironic about the daily life of the citizens, made of walks with dogs, cigarette´s butts and garbage. She´s funny and she dresses only orange.
We´re presenting you the garbage disposal services of Berlin, managed by the biggest firm in Europe in this sector.

The firm is called BSR, an acronym that means “Berliner Stadtreinigung”, simply “cleaning of the city of Berlin”, and it was founded in 1951. Apart from an efficiency guarantee from 6000 employees and from 2000 vehicles for the waste collection, the BSR is remarkable for her communication capacity.

Every year the streets of the German´s capital are invaded of a new and funny advertising campaign about waste collection, street cleaning and garbage collection, that changes with the season. The cold colors of ice and snow mark the winter, more warm colors recall the summer´s sun.

The colors are changing but not the objective: to change our own bad cultural and emotional background about garbage and who collects it.

As you can see in our Facebook gallery, the garbage collector is represented like a familiar person: he takes care of the city (the home of all) taking away the garbage exactly like we do at home (the slogan is: “like at home...only more”).

In another image we´re seeing The Big Kathrine, an enormous child, that is dominating the city like a giant: she´s so big ´cause all the children, learning from an early age, can give a big contribution to clean the city, now and in the future.

Then the advertising images are genial that invite to throw away the organic rest in the appropriate baskets: most famous classical paintings are deprive of fruits and vegetables ´cause “old vegetables belong to the compost´s basket”.

Finally, we need to mention the trashcans on the street; they have an intelligent structure with an hole only for cigarettes, and are always provided with funny slogans like “CO2´s collector” or “WOW WOW it´so amazing how you have collected the defections of your dog the right way!".

Thanks to this this strong advertising campaign, the just diligent citizens are made aware of the recycling collection. One result is, that every year 6000 tons of organic waste are produced and transformed into bio gas that is used by the vehicles of the street cleaning and garbage collection.

The color of the BSR is a harsh orange, and we must state, that in this case, orange has never been so green.

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Sometimes they come back: if plastic bags arise against those who dispersed them into the environment?

by Francesca Morra

Imagine if the container of your plastic grocery bags started walking across the home, or if the door of the pantry where you hid the nearly 300 bags the average person uses per year, opened up and begin to go out scaring guests during Christmas holidays. Imagine if, slowly, all plastic bags gathered to create a humanoid form 3-storeys high and began to move around the city and schools. Imagine how you would react...

This is what actually happened in Shanghai: the association Roots &Shoots, together with the agency Bates141, a network dedicated to communications and marketing, created an interesting and very effective advertising campaign about pollutant effects of plastic bags spread in the environment. They built an inflatable monster made ​​of plastic bags donated by the schools’ students, which circulated across streets and schools striking spectators.

The claim that accompanies the monster is "Waste plastic bags and they'll come back to haunt you" which, associated with the menacing image of the monster, stirred the heart of many students who witnessed the "birth" of this creature.

The supporting foundation is Roots and Shoots, which aims at educating new generations to environmental respect. The association's mission is precisely to raise awareness among young students because, as stated by Tori Zwisler, coordinator of environmental education projects «When you're doing environmental education you are educating not only children but also adults. If a kid saves energy also his parents will begin to do it, and then the neighbors and their families and so on ...».

Considering that plastic shopping bags are a waste most people do not realize to produce, we believe the visual impact of all these bags coming to life served the purpose of creating doubt in people who saw that.

Start thinking these 3 kilograms of plastic waste per year are easily avoidable becomes simpler and immediate if a monster of that magnitude is above us!

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Spazio Etico presents his project: Voce del verbo “RI-CELLULARE”

by Valeria Rocca

Have you ever heard about the “Witness of the snail”? The Austrian thinker Ivan Illich said «The snail teaches us the way to think of a happy and friendly “de-growth society”. Building the delicate architecture of its shell with larger and larger coils, the snail has to stop and begin to create diminishing convolutions to avoid that a too large one, rather than contributing to its wellbeing, become a serious overweight». The metaphor is easy to understand: the man must pursue his welfare making choices in respect of the environment and the world, exactly like the snail, without excessing.

Spazio Etico, an association working in many different fields in Lazio, supports this philosophy. According to Spazio Etico, if our everyday decisions can positively affect the world around us, why not to commit ourselves to avoid waste? Among their many activities, the project “Voce del verbo Ri-Cellulare” deserves special attention.

Recent studies say the cell is the most popular gadget in the world and the most frequently replaced. Do the people recycle their old mobile phones? Only the 3% of the word population. Recycling mobile phones is instead very important because it enables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from landfill disposal of mobile phones and their batteries, to correctly dispose toxic materials contained in the cellphones (lead, cadmium, lithium), to prevent health problems, and to recover valuable metals. For more information we asked Mauro Speranza (project manager) some questions.

When was the idea of the project “Ri-cellulare” born and what are the main reasons that prompted you to promote it?
«The project "Voce del verbo Ri-cellulare”, was ideated in late 2009 as part of SPAZIO ETICO. On one hand we had the willingness to do something for helping the world we live in while on the other hand we realized that the increasing quantity of mobile phones does not correspond to an easy disposal system. In fact, very few people go to depots to dispose phones. So? Highly polluting items crowd the landfills or, at best, lie in drawers full of unused equipment».

Through which means was the project promoted?
«We planned a specific communication campaign using different channels, both classic and modern. First, we use the internet: the association’s website hosts a dedicated section and in the same time we use social networks. Furthermore, we don’t forget traditional channels such as social and cultural events. Information meetings and workshops were carried out in order to spread the activities and raise public awareness about the environmental impact of mobile phones, especially if they are not disposed by law. Collaborating with other associations which share the same values is very important for spreading knowledge of our activities. In addition to the associations, we are trying to involve the public bodies of the Lazio Region and of the Province of Rome (which sponsored the project) and the Municipality of Rome. An information campaign is also about to start in many schools».

Which objectives do you want to achieve with this project?
«We want to collect a growing number of used mobile phones in order to spread an environment-friendly culture, intended as a set of daily activities anyone can achieve in his daily routine. Furthermore, the association is trying to spread the culture of the “de-growth” and of the waste fighting, and this project pursues this aim».

Are you currently satisfied of the achieved results?
«The satisfaction is twofold: on one hand first results are encouraging in terms of number of collected phones (more than 2000), but above all we are realizing how much people can do if properly informed about the consequences of their actions».

Are you planning to export your project to other Italian regions?
«Exporting the project closely follows the interest it’s having across Italy. It's common to be contacted by other associations and partnerships are starting with some realities, especially in the Calabria region. Indeed, we are willing to support anyone who proves helpful in this regard».

We accept and spread with pleasure the invitation of Spazio Etico. All necessary information are available on the website.

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Only one flyer for everyone!

by Eleonora Anello

An exemplary leaflet campaign made ​​up with only one paper using the motto "One for all". It’s not a fake, but a fun campaign of WWF Hungary. Two pandas changed an environmentally heavy communication campaign into an effective and sustainable one. If we then take into account the consistency between the communicator and the topics, then you can say that, with no doubt, the campaign was perfect. Actually, large quantities of paper don’t befit to those who have environmental intent or at least look like that.

But let's get the facts. As you can see from the hilarious movie posted on the internet, the two volunteers clumsily disguised as pandas chose a large shopping center to spread their message. The two environment-friends animals invited citizens to donate 1% of the tax to the environmentalist association, as provided by law. One of them was placed at the bottom of a crowded escalator, the other on the top. Going upstairs, the receiver had the time for understanding the message. After the communication had been read, the piece of paper which had ceased its primary function, was taken back by the other panda who redistributed the leaflet preventing its abandonment.

No need to say that the video of the initiative was a viral success on the web, with an original idea which aroused curiosity and amusement among the people, with low economic and environmental costs, avoiding unnecessary waste and spreading a clear message in an incisively way.

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To save energy has never been as easy as now: bet you

by Marzia Fialdini

Energy is valuable and we have to safeguard it. Within the domestic life, in everyday routine, we can reduce energy wastage through simple tricks, achieving consumption cut. On these bases, in 2009 was created Energy Neighbourhoods, a European initiative which put in competition hundreds of families in Ireland, England, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany and Belgium. They had to prove they were able to reduce energy consumption without investments or comfort loss.It’s the third edition of the initiative in France and several families living in Alpine regions have experienced an energetic consumption reduction by 8%: for example, switching off electronic devices or heating houses at no more than 19 degrees. During the six-months contest, participants received suitable technical support achieving an energy consumption reduction by 17% on average, saving 270 euros per family.

In Italy the initiative has been renamed Famiglie SalvaEnergia, and it’s spreading across several cities, in particular in the Genoa Province, in which it involves the municipalities of Lavagna, Serra Riccò and Arenzano in an energetic bet with their citizens. Groups of families engaged in reducing as much energy consumption as possible, in terms of electric and thermic consumption, just changing their habits and correcting their behaviors. From February to April, 2011, the Provincial Government committed itself to survey the event, and families achieved to reduce their consumption by 7%. FamiglieSalvaEnergia is one of the first standard actions promoted by the Province to its municipalities and has been included in every SEAP (Action Plan for Sustainable Energy) approved up to now. On December 1, the second edition of the initiative will start. The goal is saving by 9% of electricity bills, and has to be carried out between December 2011 and March 2012: the most virtuous families will be publicly awarded in May 2012.

The Genoa Province promoted the initiative after receiving a report on CO2 emissions on its territory: 45% of the emissions is due to buildings, and 60% of it comes from houses. Actually it’s possible to dramatically cut off CO2 emissions just changing our routine habits. Lowering by one degree the heating temperature or switching off stand-by pcs or televisions can enable to save energy, money and polluting emissions.

The three municipalities involved in the Famiglie SalvaEnergia program signed the “Patto dei Sindaci (Mayor’s Agreement)”, an EU’s initiative the accession to which is spontaneous. Signatories bind themselves to reduce by 20% by 2020 the CO2 emissions on their territories (main cause of the climate change), according to the EU policy.

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The European Week for Waste Reduction doubles!

by Eleonora Anello

Finally here. After a long wait, the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) will run for the third time between 19 and 27 November 2011, with the aim of informing large numbers of European citizens about the simple actions that they can take in everyday life to help contribute to waste reduction efforts. According to the last count, 7035 EWWR actions are being implemented in 2011. Once again, the previous year’s record has been broken! (4346 actions in 2010).In order to coordinate and promote the 2011 Week, 34 Organisers across 20 countries are mobilising stakeholders and validating their actions.

Under the coordination of the 34 organisers and with the support of the European Secretariat of the Week, a variety of project developers, including administrations, associations and NGOs, businesses and industry, educational establishments, etc. are getting involved in the EWWR by carrying out awareness-raising actions about waste reduction, with various target audiences (citizens, employees, pupils, etc.).

These actions will focus on the various stages of the product cycle, ranging from production and consumption to reuse. They will be focused on one or several of the 5 following themes: Too much waste – Better production – Better consumption – A longer life for products – Less waste thrown away.

The European character of the EWWR will be reinforced by introducing common actions across Europe in 2011. These common actions will take place during the Week in different locations in Europe using the same methods, sharing the common objective of highlighting their real impact on waste reduction. There are five categories of common actions, focussing on various symbolic issues: Paper waste reduction; Food waste reduction; Repair & reuse; Excessive packaging waste reduction; Clean-up days. The idea is to measure the waste avoided during the actions themselves and to communicate this information.

The most outstanding European Week for Waste Reduction actions will be rewarded at the European Waste Reduction Awards Ceremony in June 2012 in Paris.

We want to conclude by using the words of the President of AICA, Roberto Cavallo, who spent all these years for the success of the EWWR in Italy: «Prevention comes before all! The nature, even dramatically, tells us this. The doctors tell us this. The laws tell us this. An extraordinary lay prophet like Calvin tells us this. Let's try together with the EWWR».

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