The 4C research project, promoted by Fondazione Santagata with the support of Banca d’Italia and Fondazione CRT, represents the first systemic national study aimed at mapping the environmental impacts of the cultural and creative industries in Italy and defining concrete measures to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
CONTEXT
Italy’s cultural and creative sector has a significant impact both economically and symbolically: it represents 5.6% of national added value, employs around 1.55 million people (6% of the workforce), and helps shape collective imagination and behaviour (Symbola, 2023).
However, in the face of the global climate crisis, transforming this sector through a sustainability-focused lens has become essential. The European Union has set the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, and achieving it requires action across all sectors — including culture — which, although not traditionally considered “energy-intensive,” generate substantial and often overlooked environmental impacts.
Inspired by established international initiatives (Julie’s Bicycle – UK, Décarbonons la Culture – France), 4C aims to serve as the Italian model for measuring and reducing the ecological footprint of the cultural sector.
OBJECTIVES
The research has five main objectives:
- Map the current state of emissions across different cultural domains in Italy;
- Identify the main sources of environmental impact and priority areas for intervention;
- Analyse critical issues and needs related to governance, organisation, training, and cross-sector collaboration;
- Compare the Italian context with international models and best practices;
- Define concrete, scalable, and realistic strategies and measures to reduce emissions, aligned with the specific features of the Italian cultural system.
WORK PHASES
The methodology is structured into seven operational phases, supported by a scientific and participatory approach:
- Analysis of scientific literature and regulatory frameworks on ecological transition and culture, at both national and international levels.
- Development of an environmental assessment framework for cultural organizations through a dedicated questionnaire, covering energy consumption, direct and indirect emissions, water use, mobility, and waste management.
- Impact-area analysis by activity/sector type to identify the most critical domains.
- Comparative analysis of best practices and systemic challenges, considering regulatory constraints, organisational capacity, and resources.
- Stakeholder engagement through qualitative interviews involving cultural organizations, local authorities, the private sector, and civil society.
- Identification of adaptable good practices, selected based on territorial and operational factors.
- Proposal of guidelines and policies at national and local levels, supported by monitoring and evaluation tools.
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