What is Green Culture and why we joined
- Formazione (maggio–giugno 2024): lezioni frontali, casi studio e momenti di confronto online per acquisire competenze aggiornate su sostenibilità e cultura.
- Monitoraggio (luglio–dicembre 2024): raccolta dati, applicazione di strumenti, analisi delle pratiche interne per misurare gli impatti e i gap di sostenibilità.
- Co-progettazione (marzo 2025): sopralluoghi e workshop in presenza a Torino per tradurre le conoscenze in roadmap operative, insieme a tutor multidisciplinari e al/la Green Coordinator dell’ente
How can cultural organizations contribute in a tangible way to the ecological transition? This is the question at the core of Green Culture, a training and mentoring program promoted by Legambiente, Circolo del Design, and Fondazione Fitzcarraldo. The initiative is designed to equip cultural institutions with tools, methodologies, and a concrete roadmap towards sustainability. Over 70 Italian cultural organizations took part in the program: foundations, theatres, third-sector entities, performing arts associations, cultural planning agencies. As Sineglossa, we decided to join, convinced that sustainability is not only about environmental practices, but also about fostering an ethical and responsible vision of technology and culture.
The program was structured in three phases:
- Training (May–June 2024): lectures, case studies, and online discussions to gain updated skills on sustainability and culture.
- Monitoring (July–December 2024): data collection, use of assessment tools, and analysis of internal practices to measure impacts and sustainability gaps.
- Co-design (March 2025): site visits and in-person workshops in Turin to turn knowledge into operational roadmaps, working alongside multidisciplinary tutors and the Green Coordinator of the organisation.
Online training
During the training phase, Sineglossa took part in over 25 hours of lectures and workshops, tackling the ecological transition from different perspectives: scientific, organizational, design-related, and communicative.
- Climate crisis and adaptation (Andrea Minutolo, Legambiente): this module outlined the new parameters of environmental sustainability, distinguishing between scientific data and misinformation. Particular attention was given to the analysis of extreme events, human impact, and the role of cultural organizations in mitigating the climate crisis.
- Risks and responsibilities of the cultural sector (Rubina Pinto, Legambiente): the session focused on the vulnerability of tangible and intangible cultural heritage to the effects of climate change and degradation phenomena (landslides, floods, pollution). Since cultural productions inevitably have an impact, assessment tools such as LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), carbon and ecological footprint, ISO 14064, and GRI standards are crucial to measure and mitigate impacts throughout the full life cycle of events and projects.
- Sustainable cultural productions: this module examined the regulatory framework around GPP (Green Public Procurement) and CAM (Criteri Ambientali Minimi – Minimum Environmental Criteria), which have required events and festivals to comply with sustainability standards since 2022. Concrete best practices were discussed in areas such as mobility, food & beverage, waste management, communication, and social responsibility, up to the ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management.
- Decarbonization roadmap: participants learned how to map internal macro-processes (planning, programming, commercial management), identify gaps, and set long-term strategies. The decarbonization roadmap was introduced as a dynamic, adaptive document – aligned with each organization’s strategic plan – capable of guiding goals, actions, and timelines.
- Design for transition (Rossana Bazzano, Circolo del Design): this session presented the shift from a human-centered to a planet-centered design approach, using tools derived from design thinking and service design. Case studies were showcased to demonstrate how design can drive innovative strategies, reshape processes, and enhance user experience through an ecological lens.
- Data storytelling and environmental communication (Alice Corona, Sheldon Studio; Marco Capelli): two modules explored the role of data and communication. On one hand, the challenge of translating climate data into accessible and emotionally engaging narratives (reader-centered data storytelling) to make climate emergency understandable. On the other, the principles of environmental communication: credibility, consistency between messages and practices, transparency, prevention of greenwashing risk, and mindful use of different media channels.
- The Green Deal and culture (Paola Borrione, Fondazione Santagata): this session deepened the connection between European policies and the cultural sector: Horizon Europe, LIFE, Creative Europe, New European Bauhaus, and their respective funding clusters for innovative projects at the intersection of culture and sustainability. National calls and bank foundations’ programs were also examined, with the aim of guiding cultural organizations towards competitive participation.
Co-design in Turin
The final phase took place in Turin (March 11–14, 2025). Here, following the double diamond model (divergence → convergence), we worked with Green Coordinator Cristina Carlini and tutors from Legambiente, Circolo del Design, and Fondazione Fitzcarraldo to elaborate an Operational Plan for the ecological transition to be implemented within our organization. The days included:
- Collective ideation: selection of the most relevant opportunities that emerged from research.
- Formalization: analysis and prioritization of ideas through dedicated matrices.
- Roadmap: definition of implementation timelines and final reflections.
The program fostered strong inter-organization networking, allowing Sineglossa to activate meaningful dialogues on issues such as internal empowerment, KPI-based monitoring, and synergies between ethics, technology, and sustainability.
Results and perspective
To participate in Green Culture gave us the chance to map Sineglossa’s level of “ecological maturity”: 61.7% on the 4C assessment model. We identified important margins for growth in systematizing and measuring impact. Thanks to the program, we became more aware of some key challenges:
- Skills and resources: ongoing training is needed to make sustainable practices more intentional, structured, and widespread within the team.
- Greenwashing vs. storytelling: sustainability has always been part of the organization’s DNA, but it is rarely communicated, out of fear of inconsistencies. Instead, it needs to be narrated in a transparent and responsible way.
- Distributed operational context: since Sineglossa mostly works in external spaces and with many different partners, its control over energy, logistics, and setups is limited. The challenge is to develop flexible guidelines that can still make an impact in contexts not fully managed by us.
- Digital and AI: the environmental impact of technologies is still underexplored, yet it is a crucial issue for an organization working at the crossroads of culture and innovation.
The triennal roadmap
The co-design process in Turin also resulted in a three-year roadmap that, through five strategic steps – from drafting internal regulations to systematize already shared sustainable practices, to creating a handbook with operational toolkits and ecological criteria for cultural planning – will help us make the organization more ecologically sustainable. This process is not starting from scratch: sustainability is already part of Sineglossa’s DNA, as a cross-cutting theme running through most projects, from urban regeneration to peer-to-peer education.
In this context, it also arised the need to adopt tools capable of measuring and making visible the green impacts that Sineglossa has been working on for years, using clear indicators integrated into the social balance. This is not only a technical issue, but also a cultural shift – turning implicit values into practices that can be observed and shared.
At the same time, we recognized the opportunity for Sineglossa to play a role of cultural leadership in sustainability, especially at the intersection of art, technology, and artificial intelligence. Working on the AI & Green nexus allows us to contribute to shaping new standards for the cultural sector, sparking critical reflections on the impacts, responsibilities, and transformative potential of artistic and technological practices.
This vision has been nourished throughout the program also by exploring and debating key resources and studies, such as:
- Sustain: The Sustainability Issue – a collection of articles and analyses on the relationship between sustainability and digital technologies
- Sustainability in the Digital Age – an in-depth report on how the cultural sector can tackle the climate crisis through digital tools.
So, more than a to-do list, the roadmap acts as a flexible strategic framework to guide the organization’s decisions in the coming years (2025–2028), making sustainability not only a value, but a concrete, dynamic, and shared practice.
- Green Empowerment (Sustainable Office): internal regulations and shared practices for a low-impact working environment.
- Production guidelines: a handbook with operational toolkits and ecological criteria for cultural planning.
- Data Monitoring: systems for collecting and using environmental and social data, with clear indicators integrated into the social balance.
- Ethical Tech: internal training and research on the intersection between AI and sustainability.
- Sharing Best Practice: external dissemination of AI & Green practices through toolkits, courses, and public storytelling.
Useful resources
- Glossary of the Ecological Transition, developed within the Green Culture project so to give a common language to cultural organisation
- La spinta gentile – Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
- Design, When Everybody Designs – Ezio Manzini
- Waste Reduction Model – EPA
- Statistics on cultural consumption – Eurostat
- Final conference Green Culture (Turin, March 2025) 🎥 Watch the full video on Youtube
- Culture for Climate Scotland (ex Creative Carbon Scotland) sustainability policy
