Green&Blue Festival. History of a sustainable event

A few years ago, while attending startup incubators and makers’ fablabs, one day I came across one of the many unknown phenomena that innovate every day in this country. His name is Francesco Piero Paolicelli but everyone knows him as “Piersoft” because he is a software wizard: in short, he is a hacker who helps the public administration to function better. Nothing sexy, nothing that will get you headlines or help you land a TV appearance. But innovators are like this: they are content to make things better. In short, one day Piersoft told me: “Between saying and doing there is only doing”. In short, there’s no sea involved, as we’ve always been told, no, the only option is to do the things you say you want to do. Many years ago this concept was expressed more poetically by Gandhi when he said: “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

This premise to tell you that planning this second edition of the Green&Blue Festival we set ourselves the problem of not only offering a place to talk about sustainability, but also an opportunity to practice it. Make a truly sustainable festival. It must be said that last year’s event had also won the award for best event of the year for sustainability, a sign that we had done something good. But that wasn’t enough.

On climate change, it is time for radical choices, and therefore it is time for radical choices also on how events are made. Is it possible to organize a large “zero impact” festival? Sure, buying carbon credits, replanting trees, but that wasn’t the idea. The idea was to design an event with as little impact as possible. We got to work with the “Plan B” team and it turned out that yes, it can be done: the stage furnishings are made from recycled materials, the glasses in the bar are infinitely recyclable and reusable, food surpluses will recovered from an association for those in need; the food itself will be managed by an association linked to a great chef who trains hotel school students and all the proceeds will go to a foundation that helps children with serious neurological disabilities.

In addition to the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, where the June 5 event takes place, we will support some of the projects of the so-called “green Colosseum”, including the planting of an anti-smog hedge barrier, 150 shrubs that will be used to monitor the impact of traffic on the artistic heritage. That’s all? No, the emissions for travel of guests, especially international ones, remained to be compensated. They have been counted and with the help of CCC we will participate in a reforestation project in Brazil and one in Indonesia. We don’t tell you these things to tell us that we did well: we tell it to tell everyone that it can be done. Another world is possible, and it starts with each of us.

How do you participate? Enough click to register and participate at the meeting with the mayors in CapitolJune 5 in Rome and three days in the IBM Studios Milanwhere the main conference and some Italian Tech Academy and Talent Garden masterclasses. On the evening of 7 and 8 June, then, music will be the protagonist at BAM Tree Library Milanwhere during the day the experienceworkshops for all ages with experts, associations, startups and companies.