Match for Expo. Photo credit: Zanetti & Friends / TVN Media Group

The day before the festival, Connect4Climate organized a live web discussion on waste management issues on The Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network. The two-hour Q&A session featured a panel of 10 experts, including John Morton, Senior Urban Environment Specialist at the World Bank, and Delphine Arri, Environment Specialist at the International Finance Corporation.

The online discussion drew a significant audience, with members posting 178 comments on a variety of solutions to waste. John Morton recognized the importance of monetary incentives to motivate people to improve recycling. David Jones from the Plastic Oceans Foundation added two great examples:

“In Dahab in the Sinai, no tin is on the ground because the locals understand their value and recycle them… In Germany, every PET bottle is worth 40 cents for recycling.”

David Jones also raised the point that plastic production accounts for 88% of the world’s oil reserves, and about 150 million tonnes of plastic waste is thrown away annually after just one use. In his opinion, to tackle waste effectively our throwaway lifestyle would have to change. John Morton highlighted effective examples for reducing consumption, including a plastic bag ban in Latin America, or the Styrofoam ban in the U.S.

Highlights from the online discussion were used to fuel panel discussions at Cittadinanza in Festa. The festival’s core theme, knocking out waste, was used as a thread to explore a variety of sustainability challenges.

A panel discussion on May 2nd, highlighted that the average Italian throws away 76 kg of edible food each year, 42% of it at home. At the same time, food production is being constrained by rapid urbanization: over the past 3 years 720 km² of Italian land has been paved over, equivalent to the surface area of Milan, Bologna, Florence, Naples and Palermo combined. The social cost of the carbon dioxide emissions generated by this construction has been estimated at 130 million Euros, and it was estimated to have cost the Italian economy 90 million Euros in imported food that could no longer be grown locally.

Riccardo Valentini opens the panel discussion on knocking out food waste. 

On the food waste panel Michele Bruni of Enterprise Projects Ventures, stressed the need for technology to overcome shrinking agricultural land. Beatrice Costa of Action Aid Italia highlighted the results achieved through pilot programs in schools, which teach youth to not to waste food. The Italian Minister of Health, Beatrice Lorenzin, emphasized the need to find uses for food that is still healthy but no longer meets retail standards.

Riccardo Valentini, a board member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, highlighted the challenge of feeding 7 billion people, the current global population. He advocated including consumers in creating sustainable solutions.

A May 3rd panel discussion focused on Environmental Waste. Marco Frey, President of Cittandinzattiva opened the panel and emphasized the need for citizens to own the waste challenge, as businesses are responding to changing consumer demands.

Every day, the world’s population generates enough waste to fill over fourteen large soccer stadiums from top to bottom, more than 3.5 million tonnes. Walid Norris from Connect4Climate highlighted that if waste management trends continue, landfilled food waste is predicted to increase world methane emissions from 31 million to 43 million tonnes, a significant jump for the potent greenhouse gas.

Specific solutions discussed included innovation in consumer products, citing companies like Fater achieving zero waste in their production process and designing fully recyclable products. Similarly Giorgio Arienti highlighted that citizens can now take simple steps to recycle almost every electronic product they buy.

At the event Rokia Traoré, recognized as one of Africa’s most innovative singers and songwriters, was formally recognized as a new Connect4Climate Global Leader for her commitment and dedication to supporting climate change action around the world. She performed selections from her newest album, “Beautiful Africa.”

Antonio Guadioso, Walid Norris, Rokia Traoré, and Alessandro Cusso on stage as Rokia receives the Global Leader award. Photo: Luca Liccione / Cittadinanzattiva

Other events at the festival included book presentations, an electric bicycle tour, theatrical performances and music concerts. As part of Cittadinanzattiva’s campaign SpreK.O, or Knocking out Waste, there were also workshops and labs aimed at teaching citizens, especially youth and children, about how to reduce food waste, solid waste and waste in the healthcare system.

SpreK.O. - Cittadinanza in Festa 2014 is an encouraging example of citizens coming together to take ownership of the climate challenge and address it with creative solutions.

 "What's More Precious?" by Nadia Asfour, Selina Chaouki, and Elias El Hage, Lebanese American University

A young woman comes home to her boyfriend and finds that he is saving water...with a twist.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hg4T4hdt0E]

 "Simple things you can do to help the Earth" by Mathilde Sahlen and Ulrikke Nordseth, Oslo National Academy of the Arts

A short animated movie about small things everyone can do to help slow down global warming. If everyone does a little we'll achieve a lot!

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hg4T4hdt0E]

 "The Tap" by Rolando Berry, The Mahindra United World College of India

We always look for the one who will get the sword out of the stone. What we never get to realize is that this is everyone's job, and can only be done together as a whole.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVP262WcK2U]

 "Climate for Change" by Connor Botkin and Marco Arena, University of East Anglia

What if we saw climate change as an opportunity to transform and improve our lifestyle? Whether it is pushing for cleaner energy or limiting practices that lead to the destruction of our precious forests, through individual action and the collective effort we can act for a healthier, more sustainable future.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNk8gxPNHi0]

 "Global Warning" by Nadia Morghen and Marco A. Piccinini, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Sede Lombardia

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7VX5HpZ45U]

The entire Connect4Climate staff is grateful to all of the teams that entered the iChange competition. We would like to thank each of you for the hard work and initiative you showed by creating moving, humorous and inspiring films to encourage climate action worldwide. Below are your video submissions in a playlist.

We also would like to extend our thanks to the iChange panel of judges. Your hard work and dedication have made the iChange competition possible. The iChange jury includes: 

 Donald Ranvaud, Producer - iChange Jury President

 Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank Group

 Don Edkins, Executive Producer, Why Poverty?

 David Forrest, Producer, Completion Bond

 Freddy Paul Grunert, CEO, Selph2 

 Sandy Lieberson, Producer, Film Studies Professor

 Hamish McAlpine, Producer & Distributor

 Peter Mettler, Film Director & Cinematographer

 Rick Rockwell, Director - Internationational Media, American University School of Communication

 Luciano Stella, Producer, Distributor

 Alberto Contri, President, Pubblicità Progresso & Lombardy Film Commission

 Gianluca Favro, Country Manager - Italy, DLB Group Worldwide

 Nicolò Bongiorno, Director & Screenwriter

 Herve de Clerck, Founder, AdForm & Dream-Leader, ACT Responsible

 Mario Zanone Poma, President, Mediocredito Italy

 Ugo Nespolo, President, National Cinema Museum of Torino

 Piero Chiambretti, Actor

 Greta Scacchi, Actress

[video:https://www.youtube.com/embed/TNk8gxPNHi0]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/embed/pyZgAUniqYk]