A climate-friendly Festival of economics

Safeguarding and respecting our ecosystem means not only adopting sustainable practices, but increasingly economic ones too. In fact, sustainability makes economic sense! Saving on energy, for example, means saving not only natural but also economic resources.
This is why this year’s Festival has once again heeded the appeal for environmental sustainability, by becoming ‘climate friendly’. 
Analysis of the previous editions has highlighted the main sources of CO2 emissions. Based on these findings a number of good practices have been identified, allowing the 2012 Economics Festival and its participants to consider themselves in every respect friends of the climate:
The energy consumed for the Economics Festival, supplied by Trenta Spa (Gruppo Dolomiti Energia), is produced from renewable sources and certified 100% clean energy.

This programme and the website www.festivaleconomia.it provide all the necessary information on getting about using public transport, on foot or by bicycle. Car Sharing Trentino offers visitors who arrive using public transport the chance to use one of the available cars (see the section ‘In and Around Trento’).
At the Bicigrill in Piazza Fiera bicycles are available free of charge to the Festival guests.

All paper-based material has been cut back as much as possible, encouraging the use of USB flash drives and online materials.
All printed material is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This guarantees that all paper used contains wood from forests managed correctly and responsibly according to strict environmental, social and economic standards.
The Festival gadgets are produced using fair trade criteria, designed to combat exploitation and poverty. 
The map at the end of this programme shows all the drinking fountains in Trento: the city’s water is fresh and of excellent quality.
The Festival administration uses only glass tableware and wholesome local products, cancelling the need for or reducing goods transport to a minimum.
A differentiated waste collection service has been organized in the squares used for the Festival of Economics.