The three-day (Sept. 3-5) 33rd Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland, has concluded. The event, organized by Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies, saw the active participation of Venice Sustainability Foundation (VSF), which intervened as a strategic partner.
VSF’s participation in the 33rd Economic Forum in Karpacz not only confirmed Venice as an innovation laboratory for addressing global sustainability challenges, but also provided an opportunity to broaden and strengthen its international network. Thanks to the many meetings and discussions during the event, the Foundation consolidated its relationship with the Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies. This strengthening of relations will help develop new collaborations and joint initiatives, further expanding the impact of VSF’s activities globally and promoting the adoption of sustainable practices inspired by the Venetian model in other international contexts.
Director Alessandro Costa and the three project managers Anna D’Este (Energy transition and environment), Damiano De Marchi (Target Scenario and Sustainable Tourism) and Francesca Ingrosso (Sustainable Finance) spoke, addressing topics related to sustainability, sustainable tourism, exemplary cases in green procurement, sustainable finance protocols and involvement of local communities in energy transition processes.
Costa represented the Foundation’s activities in the session “CSR – Powering the Ways to Confront Climate Change – How To Reach Everyone Equitably?”. With his speech, titled “Engaging local communities in the energy transition – a tale of success,” the director highlighted how a just transition to a decarbonized energy system must be based on a community framework that can enhance the peculiarities, technologies and expertise of each member state.
Costa’s testimony enriched the discussion on climate challenges, which was attended by Bartlomiej Orzel (analyst at the Academy of Polish Careers), Jaroslaw Kwasek (member of the Management Board of the Lublin Voivodeship Lubelskie Region’s Marshal Office), Ireneusz Zyska (Deputy Sejm), Igor Petryk (Market Development Director Wartsila Energy), and Adam Kisiel (professor at Warsaw University of Technology).
Anna D’Este took part in the session “Green Me! How to Take Care of the Environment and Protect Nature in the Modern World,” dedicating her talk, titled ‘Green Public Procurement – the Veneto region experience’, to the topic of Green Public Procurement and the Region’s experience in this area. Afterwards, he also offered testimony on VSF’s activities and the importance of Mose as a tool for “managing” natural phenomena to safeguard Venice and its territorial system.
Damiano De Marchi spoke with a specific focus on the management of mass tourism in urban cultural sites. His talk “Lessons from Venice,” part of the session “UNESCO World Heritage – How to Preserve the Unique Character of Places?” demonstrated the variety of topics and lines of research developed by VSF. In particular, the focus was substantiated in countering the effects of mass tourism, highlighting the importance of having people as a starting point.
Through the ‘Sustainability Observatory’ we can understand the behaviors of the people who visit and experience Venice. Essential knowledge for sustainable strategies and protect the balance between the human dimension (civitas) and the physical dimension of the city (urbs) in its relationship with the lagoon.
Francesca Ingrosso presented a talk focused on promoting sustainable investments in the Venice metropolitan area, in line with its mission. After a brief reference to the EU Action Plan, the European Taxonomy and the Green Asset Ratio, the focus shifted to the Sustainable Finance Operational Protocol, developed in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University and Knowshape. The protocol aims to align projects with the Taxonomy, providing investors with the information they need to make financing more attractive. In return, developers agree to set additional goals, not required by regulation, to achieve specific ESG sustainability targets for Venice and maximize the project’s impact on the local area.
