Our Green Manifesto
The Pordenone Docs Fest and Cinemazero have been continuously adopting actions aimed at environmental and social sustainability for years.
During 2022, AFIC (the Italian Film Festival Association) developed the Green Festival Guidelines, which take inspiration from and include some of these good practices, boosting our festival to improve and further expand them.
The AFIC Guidelines, in synergy with the indications that Europa Cinemas is developing at the EU level, provide the opportunity to gather and enhance all these actions in a single document, opening the festival to a broad comparison with other cultural realities operating in Italy and internationally.
In order to define and implement future effective and concrete actions in the field of sustainability, the festival is committed to measuring its CO2eq emissions for some of the thematic areas identified by the Guidelines. These actions, together with those related to environmental education, are being implemented thanks to the technical support of ARPA FVG.
The following are the thematic areas identified by the Guidelines to make film festivals more ecological. You will find the actions we have been carrying out for some time or intend to carry out.
- SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
We raise awareness among our staff, guests and the public about sustainable mobility.
Pordenone is an excellent example of a “15-minute city”. The staff, the guests and the audience can mostly cover distances on foot or by bicycle. By the Cinemazero building, bike racks are available.
To encourage spectators to arrive in Pordenone by public transportation, then move around the city on foot or by bicycle, those arriving by train or bus will be eligible for a reduction on their festival pass (a “green pass” option will be activated).
To encourage the arrival in Pordenone by public transport, then moving around the city on foot or by bicycle, those travelling by train or bus will be entitled to a reduction on the festival subscription (a “green subscription” option is active).
To facilitate sustainable travel, especially for those unfamiliar with the city, we prepared a citymap indicating the venues of the festival, the bike sharing points (checking the costs and the possibility of offering discounts for use) and the columns for recharging electric vehicles. The train and bus timetables to reach Pordenone will also be communicated. For those who don’t live very far away and could return during the day, we propose to stay one night in the city, also with the aim of promoting the territory (see point 9).
Pordenone inhabitants are invited to reach the festival venues in a sustainable way. In general, Cinemazero will implement some actions during 2023 to encourage people not to use the car to go to the cinema
2. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION
AFIC generally asks to use electricity produced from renewable sources and reduce energy consumption.
Cinemazero is equipping itself with photovoltaic panels.
The staff and the employees of Cinemazero throughout the year are invited to adopt behaviors aimed at maximum energy savings, such as:
– turn off and disconnect all electrical and electronic equipment during hours of inactivity;
– suspend the use of networks, connections and telephones when not strictly necessary;
– reduce the artificial lighting and switch off of the lights when not necessary;
– set the air conditioning system to temperatures suitable for the season: in winter do not exceed 20°C, always remembering to turn off the heating or the air conditioner when the premises are empty.
We avoid the use of external radiators and heaters in outdoor spaces.
We are replacing traditional lighting with the latest generation of low-consumption LED fixtures.
For 2023 Cinemazero will carry out interventions for energy efficiency of the structure, financed thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with the aim of making the cinema building even more modern and sustainable, both from an environmental and economic point of view. The current thermal plants will be replaced with a new plant equipped with heat exchangers capable of recovering energy and reducing consumption and a new AHU, also equipped with a heat recovery unit and modern sensors to ensure air quality. Furthermore, a photovoltaic system capable of producing 21,617.6 kWh per year will be installed on the roof of the building.
The festival is committed to measuring its greenhouse gas emissions with the scientific support of Arpa FVG (Envinvironmental public agency of Friuli Venezia Giulia). We will then implement concrete actions for the reduction and compensation of the festival emissions
The festival has started a collaboration with the Giant Tree Foundation and, for each guest of the 2021 and 2022 editions, 3 Euros have been paid, with the aim of planting trees.
- PRINTING OF MATERIALS
We use pure cellulose natural paper ECF – FSC from recycled fibres for promotional print materials.
Employees and staff are invited to reduce the printing of materials, favoring the electronic format.
All materials are printed front and back.
We distribute printed material only in strategic places and in a targeted way.
Some materials are not printed when it is not deemed necessary.
The public is invited all year round to prefer buying tickets online.
- DECORATIONS
We use renewable, recycled and recyclable materials, without reference to the edition number, in order to be able to reuse them in the future.
To decorate the rooms we only use potted plants.
A summary of the manifesto, with practical indications and suggestions for guests, in the form of a short decalogue, is part of the festival’s communication materials.
- WASTE MANAGEMENT
All year round, Cinemazero manages waste following the separate collection system. During the festival, the operation requires greater commitment: we will work in order to reduce waste production as much as possible. The materials that we will use for aperitifs in the space of greater socialization in front of the cinema will all be compostable. Ashtrays will be made available in order to prevent cigarettes from being thrown on the ground or mixed with organic waste.
In general, the year-round commitment is reducing the production of waste as much as possible, especially plastic waste, also by encouraging the use of water bottles.
6. GADGETS
The prizes are made of wood.
The bags and the badge lanyards do not longer carry the number of the specific edition, so that they can be reused.
This year the bags will no longer carry the number of the specific edition.
We will not use plastic for our gadgets.
- GUESTS
We encourage our guests to travel by train or bus, generally suggesting the greenest travel option. We do not assume that flying is the guest’s preferred way to travel.
For guests’ travel to and from the airport, the festival will use low-emission, hybrid or electric cars, as well as favoring shared transport.
Accommodation facilities that demonstrate attention to sustainability are privileged.
A copy of our Green Manifesto will be sent to the partner structures. Guests will find a welcome letter providing information on mobility in the city (see point 1).
- FOOD SUSTAINABILITY
An important and often underestimated chapter concerns the environmental impact of the food and drink we consume.
The use of tap water is recommended, from staff to guests. Plastic bottles are not used during meetings and debates, preferring jugs of water, not only during the festival but also in general during Cinemazero activities.
Venues affiliated with the festival are invited to:
– do not give bottled water, preferring micro-filtered draft water;
– propose local wines and foods, organic if possible;
– always propose a vegetarian and vegan alternative;
Drinks and food are served using biodegradable and compostable crockery.
We will avoid food waste and mainly use vegan or vegetarian, seasonal and low environmental impact products for the buffet we offer.
9. ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURE AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Many of the films presented at the festival help to raise awareness about environmental and social issues, demonstrating that the environmental dimension goes hand in hand with the social one.
Cinemazero buildings are barrier-free and accessible to people with disabilities and specific needs.
In addition, they are equipped with a workplace safety and worker health management system.
All the initiatives promoted by Cinemazero are inclusive, they promote gender equality and democratic participation.
The festival is developing guidelines for inclusive communication, aimed at using a language that is as inclusive as possible and intends to involve the main cultural realities of Friuli Venezia Giulia in this process.
The festival (and Cinemazero for all the other initiatives) enhances young talents and involves a trans-generational staff in the organization. The festival manifesto image is by Mattia Balsamini, a young and internationally established photographer from Pordenone.
We are committed to promoting the territory. Guests will be provided with information on the peculiarities of the area and, at the time of reception, the staff will be available to recommend specific destinations to visit according to interest (we can suggest the visit of Casarsa and the Pasolini Study Center or the visit at Palù di Livenza, a Unesco heritage site). All of this contributes to making the visitor’s experience unique, combining care for the people and attention to the environment.
- TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION
The festival manifesto itself (image by Mattia Balsamini) conveys an ecological message: that of reducing light pollution and protecting darkness, a well-known but not very present theme in public debate. The strength of the Pordenone Docs Fest lies precisely in the ability to research niche products and bring them to the general public.
As far as the sustainability of the event is concerned, it is important to clearly communicate the commitment, strategies and results we want to attain, before, during and after the event.
Before, during and after the festival, we will ensure that everything stated here is implemented.
The screenings dedicated to schools will, among other things, have environmental education as their goal. This is an aspect that Cinemazero has been working on for years, particularly in collaboration with ARPA FVG’s Regional Environmental Education Laboratory and associations such as Legambiente, to raise public awareness not only through environmental-themed screenings but also through concrete actions.