Adaptation and resilience

The analysis and planning of the territory and natural resources and, in particular, the resilience and adaptation strategies based on the use of interventions that use or reproduce natural processes, commonly identified as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Urban Systems of Sustainable Drainage (SUDS), constitute a well-structured field of Ambiente Italia activities. The services offered are aimed at supporting local authorities in drawing up plans for adapting to climate change, feasibility studies, experimenting with measures useful for making cities and the territory less vulnerable, improving their ability to cope with floods, droughts and other consequences of climate change.

Ambiente Italia has consolidated its expertise also thanks to its participation in important projects of European importance, developed to promote awareness of Nature-Based Solutions and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems: BLUEAP (Adaptation Plan of the Municipality of Bologna) METRO ADAPT (Strategies and adaptation actions in the Metropolitan City of Milan), MASTER ADAPT (Mainstreaming of adaptation measures at local and regional level) and CLEVER CITIES (Co-design of NBS for urban regeneration).

Since November 2015, the European initiative of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy has also evolved, integrating the strategies and measures to reduce CO emissions₂ with those of adaptation to climate change. Ambiente Italia has followed this new course right from the start, supporting the municipal administrations in drafting the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate (SEAP).

A tourist development of the territory attentive to the protection and enhancement of the historical and naturalistic heritage of our country is the cornerstone of the Green Economy and of any sustainable growth strategy. Ambiente Italia has gained significant experience in the field of Sustainable Tourism, helping to define, design and facilitate paths functional to the integration and coexistence of the objectives of tourist enhancement and protection of natural areas, promoting environmental quality brands linked to tourist products and activities and developing indicator systems capable of assessing pressures and responses from territories, including the ETIS system (European Tourism Indicator System). In the projects and services provided to public clients, Ambiente Italia was able to exploit its many years of recognized experience in the implementation of governance processes, in environmental management, analysis and reporting systems and in the management of participatory processes.

Ambiente Italia was among the first realities to produce Reports on the state of the environment for provinces, regions and local administrations in Italy, becoming a model on a national scale. From 2006 to 2016 he edited the national report Ambiente Italia, published by Edizioni Ambiente and has been participating for more than twenty years in the creation of the Urban Ecosystem Report in collaboration with Legambiente and Il Sole 24Ore.

The document is today the national point of reference for photographing the state of the environment in Italian cities and demonstrates Ambiente Italia's ability to combine technical skills and dissemination and communication activities on sustainability issues. Since 2017, Ambiente Italia has been collaborating with Confindustria ANCMA for the preparation of the annual report "Focus 2 Ruote" on sustainable two-wheeled mobility in the city. Thanks to the experience of its seniors, Ambiente Italia has collaborated in important initiatives and working groups at European level such as the Green Capital Award (DG Ambiente), the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (DG Regio), the Integrated Urban Monitoring Europe working group (European Environment Agency).

A long experience in the field of local sustainability and participatory planning makes Ambiente Italia an ideal partner in the implementation of territorial development plans and strategies, consistent with the sustainable development objectives identified by the United Nations 2030 Agenda. We offer consultancy to adapt these objectives to the specific context and to develop targeted strategies in sector plans, think of the opportunity for integration in urban and territorial plans. Using high-level multidisciplinary skills, we follow an integrated approach capable of making the most of the proposed solutions, in particular with regard to:

• urban sustainability strategies that follow approaches developed both in European projects (INFORMED CITIES – Making research work for local sustainability), and in the implementation of Agenda 21 at the local level (Parma White Paper 2020);

• integrated management of water and natural resources and enhancement of ecosystem services capable of providing multi-purpose solutions (WATACLIC – Water against climate change, CH2OICE – Certification for HydrO: Improving Clean Energy).

The involvement of citizens and stakeholders in planning and design processes and the preparation of communication tools (technical and otherwise) aimed at increasing awareness of environmental and sustainability issues are two aspects that have always distinguished Ambiente Italia's approach in identification and development of urban and territorial sustainability strategies and measures. Thanks to the experience gained in supporting the Agenda 21 processes of dozens of local administrations and the capitalization of innovative governance, stakeholder management and communication methodologies developed within European projects, Ambiente Italia can boast solid experience in co -planning, with a specific focus on NBS (CLEVER Cities project), in the preparation of training tools for local management and governance (CHAMP-Climate Change Response through Managing Urban Europe-27 Platform) and in the co-planning and implementation of campaigns of communication on the theme of waste prevention (WASTELESS in Chianti, NO WASTE), water saving (WATACLIC), sustainable tourism (CONSUME-LESS).