Zero Waste Blue is a web interactive platform which calculates the sustainability of an event from an environmental, social and economic point of view, recommending the best solutions and already tested best practices in order to improve it. 

It is accessible to all event organisers, free of charge and available in several languages (English, Italian, Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian).

It has been created by the partners of the Zero Waste Blue project, a capitalization of the IPA Adriatic Zero Waste project, implemented in 2018/2019 and funded under the Interreg Italy-Croatia Program. 

Click HERE to access the Zero Waste Blue Platform. 

How does it work? 

The first time you access, you should make sure to follow these steps: 

• Create your own profile by registering on the platform
• Enter the requested data about the organiser and the event:
  • Number of participants 
  • Indoor or outdoor event
  • Use of external suppliers or self-management 

For later editions the platform will charge the data already entered, offering the possibility to confirm or modify them. Taking into account several criteria, the platform calculates in real time the level of social, environmental, and economic sustainability of the event.

If the level of sustainability exceeds 40 points, the event is awarded the Zero Waste Event logo, which may be used for the event's promotion and communication. An additional logo is awarded to sporting events becoming part of the Zero Waste Blue circuit of the project partners.
 

The Zero Waste Blue project has the following objectives:

• To organise events that contribute to sustainable social, environmental and economic development of the local communities that host them, enhancing the positive effects and reducing the negative ones;
• To experiment and use technological tools able to facilitate the achievement of this goal;
• To create a network of sustainable events and promote the exchange of good practices;
• To attract the interest of event organisers and participants regarding the adoption of a behaviour that is respectful of the host communities and the environment;
• To create a network of sustainable sporting events. 

What has Emilia-Romagna Region been able to develop thanks to this project? 

• Agreements with Institutions and Subsidiary Companies on reward criteria;
• Agreement with Hera Spa (a company providing energy, water and environmental services) to enhance waste sorting and water supply during the events;
• Creation of purchasing groups (so as to reduce costs) of event organisers for the supply of crockery e biodegradable materials;
• Experimentation of innovative solutions to achieve high levels of waste collection and sorting (Run Tune Up reached the 96% in 2015);
• Involvement of testimonials to promote the actions taken, raise awareness on the issue and invite the participants to adopt responsible behaviours;
• Involvement of social cooperatives to provide sustainable mobility services in the historic center;
• Translation into sign language within the most crowded public events;
• Distribution of gadgets made by social cooperatives so as to raise awareness about sustainable behaviours and biodiversity; 
• Involvement of the organisers of the following events: 
  • Run Tune Up - the Bologna half marathon (3600 participating athletes) - Video about the event Run Tune UP
  • The International Salt Eco-Marathon 2019 of Cervia (2.000 registered participants and the involvement of more than 4.000 people) 
  • Scienza in Piazza - event for the promotion of Science in the historic center of Bologna (about 10 thousand participants)
  • Internazionale di Ferrara – annual event of the weekly magazine Internazionale (71 thousand participants)
  • Bagnacavallo cycle tourism event (2000 participating cyclists)
• Test sustainable solutions within the organisation of these events; 
• Use of the Zero Waste Blue platform to calculate ex-ante and ex-post event sustainability; 
• Communication campaigns to promote the sustainable actions adopted and to display how much CO2 had been saved.