Art Box Portal //

Mark your calendars for the eagerly awaited opening of the 60th Biennale di Venezia on April 20th. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa around the captivating theme „Foreigners Everywhere,“ this year’s installment promises to deliver a thought-provoking exploration of the outsider concept. Fascinated by the notion of foreignness, Pedrosa elucidates, „Wherever you go, you will always encounter foreigners—they/we are everywhere. No matter where you find yourself, you are always, truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.“ It’s worth noting that La Biennale di Venezia is actively working towards the crucial goal of combating climate change by advocating for a more sustainable approach to the design, installation, and operation of all its events.

An initial result of this goal was the achievement of the first carbon-neutral certification for the 78th Venice International Film Festival in 2021, which made the Venice Film Festival the first one of this stature to obtain certification for neutralising a fundamental component of its own environmental impact.

In 2022 La Biennale obtained this certification for all its events held that year. This was made possible by carefully collecting the data on the causes of CO2 emissions generated by the events themselves, and by the adoption of consequent measures.

This commitment was also enacted in 2023, starting with the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – which was the first major Exhibition in this discipline to test in the field a tangible process for achieving carbon neutrality – while furthermore, itself reflecting upon the themes of decolonisation and decarbonisation.

The entire process for achieving carbon neutrality, conducted in compliance with the international standard PAS2060, was certified by RINA.

To achieve the goal of neutralising the carbon impact of its events, La Biennale has worked in two directions: to reduce the emissions under its own control, and to offset residual emissions by purchasing certified carbon credits generated by renewable energy projects in India and Colombia.

As far as reducing emissions is concerned, La Biennale has integrated the principles of environmental sustainability into every phase of the life cycles of its events, while at the same time raising awareness and involving the public and the suppliers of the goods and services required for the operation of its festivals. The main actions that were taken include:

• using energy from renewable sources;
• reducing the use of materials, and promoting recycling for their end-of-life;
• reusing the exhibition materials and equipment;
• increasing the number of vegetarian options for food service, with a preference for zero-kilometer food products;
• reducing the impact of logistics by optimizing travel routes. These choices produce instant results and will be reinforced in the future to consolidate their benefits in the long term. For all the events, the most important component of the overall carbon footprint involves the mobility of the participating public. In this sense, La Biennale will engage again in 2024 in a communication campaign to raise the awareness of the public.