Local Agenda 21 in territorial planning in energy and
waste management
The Agenda21 in Province of Turin:
from the Strategic Plan to Local
Action Plans
Torino, internship activities 29th January 2013
Outline
• The start up phase;
• The establishment of the Forum;
• The process: involvement of local actors,
methods and resources;
• The renewal of the process;
• The Network of Local Agenda21;
• The provincial strategic plan for sustainability;
• The table of Agenda21 on sustainable mobility,
an example of agreement among different
“levels”.
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The start up phase
• The Province of Turin has been promoting for several
years policies for greater environmental sustainability:
• In 1995, endorsed the policy document: “The
sustainable development of a European Province”
• In 1996 started the recognition of the State of the
Environment.
• In 1998 joined the Aalborg Charter.
• In 1999 helped the foundation of the National
Coordination of Local Italian Agende21 and presented
the first draft Action Plan for environmental
sustainability: analysis of environmental components,
pressure factors, possible strategies.
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The start up phase
In 1999, the Coordination identifies among its objectives ratified in the
Charter of Ferrara:
 the promotion of Local Agenda 21 processes in Italy;
 the monitoring, dissemination and exploitation of positive
experiences in progress;
 the exchange of information on topics related to Agenda 21;
 the activation of opportunities for training in the institutions;
 the development of partnership projects;
 the involvement of local authorities within the European and
international networks;
 the collection and dissemination of information about studies and
ongoing activities.
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The establishment of the Forum
• In 2000, the Province launched a broad public
consultation, with economic, social and political actors,
having relevance on the territory and established the
Forum Agenda 21 for training and updating of the
Action Plan. The Forum is the instrument through which
policies of local development and the following actions
are validated. Start Event: June 5, 2000 (GMA).
• The role of the Province of Turin in the Forum is to
sustain and support the project activities of the Forum for
the local development, in accordance with the principle
of sustainability.
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The establishment of the Forum
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The Province takes as criteria/goal of the entire process:
Open discussion on the environmental vision;
Reflection on development models;
Integration in the European context;
Integrated Planning;
Spreading of A21 in several local contexts;
Increasing of the population (policy makers, business people,
families) ability to evaluate their own actions from the perspective of
sustainability;
 More creative in finding solutions to environmental problems;
 Exploitation of human resources, such as non-profit and youth;
 Turn the “best practice” in common “good habits”.
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Investigation of the “issues”of the process
• Start up of the Agenda 21’ training process
and involvement of public administrators and
local actors;
• Use of the appropriate tools and techniques
to facilitate the participation of local actors;
• Identification of financial resources necessary
for the realization of the Agenda21’ training
process.
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The process: the partecipants
• The Forum has to be configured as an “open” network , which
involve, through contacts - preferably direct - different subjects. Step
by step 700 different organizations joined it, constituting the
“network Buoneinpratica”
 42% local entities
 17% private companies and citizens
 15% professional associations
 14% consortia and public service agencies
 9% research bodies and training institutions
 3% cooperative
• 1 December 2000 II Forum Plenary: collection of the strategic
indications and scientific seminar on indicators.
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The process and the methods
• Calculation of the ecological footprint of the province;
• Identification of a system of indicators for the provincial
Agenda 21;
• Drawing up of the “Interim Report” and presentation of
it in the 3rd Forum Plenary III;
• Meetings for the economic, social and institutional
categories;
• Meeting for specific themes;
• Meetings of the “territorial pacts” that endorse the
“Protocols of sustainability”;
• Workshop with application of the method EASW.
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The adoption of the Action Plan
• IV Forum and adoption of the Action Plan for
Sustainability (2002), organized according to 4
strategic areas:
• Working, producing, consuming: the sustainability of the
processes of production and consumption;
• Population, natural resources and agriculture:
sustainability of settlement patterns and land use;
• Moving: the sustainability of the transport system;
• Social cohesion: a basic element of a sustainability
process.
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The “permanent” process and the resources
• Introduction of the “permanent Agenda21”
• Monitoring: periodic report based on a set of indicators and basis of
the choices made by the Forecasting and Planning Report;
• Assessment: the Forum through sessions organized by areas
and/or themes and then through plenary session, introduces new
plan objectives and lines of action, identifying sources of funding;
• Planning and realization: identification of new groups of planning
at local level;
• Exchange, sharing and dissemination of the experiences on the
web: communication campaigns, reward systems (calls,
competitions for ideas, activation of resources through the Structural
Funds, the Regional Programme of Environmental Interventions and
the Provincial Strategic Project Agenda 21), presentation of the best
experiences.
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The “permanent” process
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V Forum (2002): Agenda 21 and the Structural Funds; monitoring of the Action Plan;
Biennial eco-efficiency: signing of the Voluntary Agreement for the promotion of
“Environmental management systems” among the Province of Turin, professional
organizations of enterprises and artisans, the University and the Polytechnic of Turin;
activation of various projects in two years;
VI Forum (2003): state of progress, Report on the State of Sustainability, thematic
meetings on green building, Local Agenda 21, recycling, EMAS certification;
VII Forum (2004): Application of the method “Open Space Technology”, state of the
implementation of the Provincial Programme of Environmental Interventions;
Following thematic meetings on: GPP, waste in school canteens, energy
consumption of school buildings, green building, mobility, sustainable consumption,
environmental education.
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The “permanent”process
• Results until 2004:
 1173 participants, 45 projects, 81 good practices spread throughout
the area;
 Integration of the environmental and social component in the polices
set up by the Authority
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Experience shows that the process is effective if:
enhances the administrative organization;
exceeds the sectoral visions;
involves various programs;
is equipped with effective monitoring systems;
provides tools to support policy-making and technical decisions.
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The renewal of the process (from 2005 to the current
date)
• From the analysis of the Environmental Report - Statement of
2004, the Province started a process of re-identification of priority
environmental policies and actions, the VIII Forum in 2005 identifies
4 themes to work on:
 Air quality (Mobility and Energy);
 Waste and sustainable consumption;
 Land Conservation in peri-urban areas;
 Activities and production plants.
• It works on two fronts:
 Internal to the Entity, with the new draft of the Strategic Plan;
 With the Network of Local Agenda21 (established in 2004), to which
the Province allocates specific funding.
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The network of Local Agenda21
• During the process of provincial Agenda 21, other
entities of the province have made the decision to start
their own Agenda 21 process. The province initially
supported the exchange of experiences and then built a
form of permanent connection (Protocol of
Understanding- protocollo d’intesa). The participants to
the Network are:
• 20 Municipalities (plus Sangone Pact);
• 5 Mountain Communities (recently merged);
• 5 Park Authorities;
• 1 District of the City of Turin (X).
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The network of Local Agenda21
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The Province provides financial support for the projects of the Network with
the aim of:
Activate the process at the local level;
Making a local diagnostic picture (Report on the State of the
Environment);
Establish the Local Forum;
Drawing up the Action Plan;
Implement the strategies identified;
Update the Report.
The province “technically” support them, providing eg. an application for
the preparation of the Report.
On a total of 19 projects, more than 75% have been successfully
completed, 25% has not been completed/started.
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The network of Local Agenda21
• The process of Agenda21 works at a local level if:
 It is managed by the collegiality of the Council members and the
Mayor and not entrusted to the responsibility of a single political
reference;
 It is defined a subject of reference (general manager, city
manager) that involves all offices for the technical-administrative
level;
 It is translated in the programming tools of the Authority (Executive
Plan Management, Forecasting and Planning Report ...) specifying
human resources, equipments and funds;
 The Action Plan is integrated in the plans and programs made up
by the Authority (Master Plan, the Urban Traffic Plan, Municipal
Budget ...) and encourages the development of other voluntary
planning and managing tools as environmental certification and
the social budget.
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The new Provincial Strategic Plan
for Sustainability
• The Province involves more than 30 services in the
areas of Relations and Communications, Heritage and
internal services, Construction, Viability, Land, Transport
and civil protection, Sustainable development and
environmental planning, Water resources and air quality,
Productive assets, Labour and Social Solidarity and
establishes 5 intersectoral tables to analyze the
themes raised during the VIII Forum (distinguishing
Mobility from Energy).
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The new Provincial Strategic Plan
for Sustainability- The process
• Reconnaissance phase: analysis of legislation, plans,
programs and projects in force;
• Reference scenario for each theme: key issues and
opportunities;
• Early proposals for priority actions;
• Sharing with management and council members;
• Sharing with the territory: IX Forum (2007);
• Collection of additions and proposals from the territory;
• Drawing up of the plan and its approval by the City
Council (2008);
• Inclusion of objectives in the PEG and the RPP.
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The new Provincial Strategic Plan
for Sustainability
• The Plan has 43 actions (+7 sub-actions) distinguished in:
 Actions to support the territory : to local authorities, to economic and
social subjects; improvement of the quality of life; training and information;
 Internal Action internal planning and programming, with particular impact
on the VAS and the Provincial Territorial Coordination Plan;
 Shares in consultation with other parties.
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The Plan implements several tools:
Protocol of Understanding, Program Agreements ...
Negotiating tables;
Invitations to tender;
Guidelines ...
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The new Provincial Strategic Plan
for Sustainability
• Each action features: objectives, implementation
modalities, the promoter, other actors involved, target,
location, analysis of the economic and administrative
feasibility, timing, indicators of effectiveness.
• There have been approved only actions: agreed and
shared, cross actions, with clear objectives,
achievable time-definite and effective.
• The monitoring of the Plan (2011) in fact shows that
only 2% of the actions has not been started and that only
12% had encountered some difficulties.
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From the Strategic Plan to the table of Agenda 21 on
sustainable mobility
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Action 16 “Sustainable mobility from the school buildings” is an
example of a table of Agenda21 involving different “levels”: Province,
municipalities, educational institutions and citizens.
Objectives: to facilitate access for weak users – starting from children - and
the adoption of more environmentally friendly modes of travel.
The Province of Turin:
coordinates municipalities and schools participating in the project;
finance educational paths for students and adults;
provides technical support;
organizes seminars and study visits on sustainable mobility;
promotes a competition for promoting travels home-to-school on foot and by
bicycle.
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The table of Agenda 21
on sustainable mobility
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Municipalities (administrators, technicians and Municipal Police):
identify the school buildings with mobility problems in the neighborhood;
participate in training courses;
draw up Plan of Sustainable Mobility for Schools with the local working group;
carry out adjustments in security, in collaboration with schools.
• Schools (headmasters, teachers, parents, students):
 participate in educational opportunities and competition notices;
 submit to the City Council the safety issues identified by children and adults,
participating in the drafting of the Plan.
• The local associations (citizens), others (ASL ...)
 participate in the local working group bringing their contribution to the drafting of the
Plan.
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The table of Agenda 21
on sustainable mobility
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The path for each school year :
 identifying by each municipality one or more school buildings (or selfnomination) with problems of mobility in the neighborhood;
 performance of educational pathways (Safe Streets to go to school) in
schools with preparation of project proposals by children and young people;
 performance of training processes and co-designing with adults up to the
drafting of the Plan MOSSO;
 adoption of the Plan by the City Council;
 realization of the project of securing the areas around schools and afferent
pathways;
 seminars, study visits;
 Technical monitoring and of the travel to and from school;
 evaluation of the path (the Monitoring Committee of the table) and
rescheduling of activities.
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