Torino Sostenibile - Green Grenoble

Paul and I were off to Grenoble for the weekend today to visit Paul's friend Susan from college. The road to Grenoble from Turin was filled with many tunnels and even more toll gates to pay for the tunnels and other road access. I actually think that is kind of a good idea...charging for road use and such. Needless to say, the drive was beautiful. The French side of the trip was especially beautiful with many castles and sweeping vistas along the way with the Alps as a background.

Besides a lot of wonderful time with Susan's family in Voreppe, a village just outside of Grenoble that included lots of incredible food, cheeses, and coffee we did get a little sight seeing in too. The big trip was to the tram in Grenoble up to the old fort. My first green discovery was that the tram was powered with green power and the sign hanging right by 'les boulles' little cabins made sure everyone knew it. The view from atop the fort, La Bastille, was incredible and I even discovered a little mural celebrating recycling.

Later, in Grenoble, we stopped by the local Sunday market which had quite a few local and organic options. I noticed all the organics were labeled "bio" so not sure if they were organic, or even better...biodynamic. Best of all, while sipping a bit of espresso outside a street cafe, a Prius drove right up and parked in front of us. How picturesque, Non? The last evening we had dinner at Chateau de la Commanderie, a former "maladrery de la Levade” or "leper-house" of Templiers up until the 1300s. The castle of course has an amazing history that stretches back into the 1200s. Chateau de al Cammanderie is where is staged my own little mini protest, what I call my last action in France, my sustainable style stand...I refused to order any foie gras! on the grounds of it being animal cruelty, so should you. Now I grew up on a farm in Nebraska eating lots of meat (including a few chickens that I had become best friends with as they were growing) so I don't have too many issues with eating meat (must be organic, I prefer to personally know the farmer/butcher, and I always take a moment to honor the animal) but the modern day practice of stuffing food down the throats of geese and ducks is just sad all around.

On the way back home, we ran across a road sign identifying the local hydro power plant. Kind of neat that that they brought attention to it.

Torino Sostenibile - Oasi Zegna

Today my friend Paul and I set out to visit Oasi Zegna, a conservation area in the Biellese Alps established by the Italian men's clothing company Ermenegildo Zegna. I first came across Zegna while working at Nordstrom several year's back. I discovered that the company had been working on environmental, particularly conservation, efforts in Italy for over 70 years. They also sponsored the Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards in Hollywood for several years during the 1990s. I later discovered that their environmental interests were taking hold in their products as well and two years ago purchased a beautiful sportcoat made of bamboo.

So, when my friend Paul said he would be staying in Turin for a month and invited me to stay for a week, I confirmed that one of my tourist stops would be Oasi Zegna. And, as a conservation biologist and fashionisto, I must say it was well worth it.

One has to be determined to find Oasi Zegna. It is located about an hour northeast of Turin. There are a pretty good sprinkling of signs to Oasi Zegna along the way, but you certainly wouldn't find the Oasi by accident. Luckily, we had a GPS to help out on certain sections along the way. The Zegna Panoramic Road leading to the Oasi was quite beautiful, and once on the route, you're certain to find the Oasi.


Unfortunately, it was off season in Oasi Zegna, they hadn't had much snow fall over the winter so a lot of the winter sport areas and attractions were closed. It wasn't spring yet either so a lot of the spring sport areas and attractions weren't open either. Regardless, the countryside and panoramic views along the way were breathtaking. I did see a few birds and small mammals along the way as well. We drove through Bielmonte, the ski resort area, but it was closed down for the season. I was pleased to see lots of interpretive signs along the way describing the area and various conservation efforts. We had hoped to find the offices and load up on lots of brochures and such but didn't discover that we had missed it until we had made it through the whole park to the other side. The office and the Zegna factory were located in Trivero, the town from which we started our drive. We came out of Oasi Zegna into several small hillside villages and then into Bielle for lunch. I tracked down a phone number for Oasi Zegna and gave them a call. I spoke to a very enthusiastic woman named Laura who, although she wouldn't be able to meet that day, did give me information on the Oasi and where I could find tourist info on the park in Bielle. She was very pleased to hear I was a biologist and felt bad that she couldn't give me a tour since Oasi Zegna has such incredible conservation efforts underway. I told here that I would be coming back for the World Design Symposium in 2008 and so we made plans to meet up to tour the park then. She also suggested that we stop by the Zegna outlet store in Bielle and said she would arrange a discount. A Zegna outlet store! On top of that a DISCOUNT at a Zegna outlet store! Being a conservation biologist and huge Zegna fan I must admit I was in heaven. When we found the tourist office in Bielle, we gathered lots of brochures (including several copies in Italian to bring back to the hotels and friends) and had a great chat with the women in the office. They then told us that we had spoke to Laura Zegna herself. Whoa! Very cool indeed. Needless to say, we had a great time shopping at the outlet store as well. Lucky for me, the size and cut of their clothing doesn't really work for me. I did get a knit polo shirt, a Zegna Sport baseball cap and a very cool military inspired, casual sportcoat that is a hemp/cotton mix. I am really looking forward to my next trip when I can spend some quality time at Oasi Zegna learning about their efforts, meeting their staff, and touring the factory.

Torino Sostenibile - Turin Polytech

Last night Paul and I had an incredible five course meal at a nearby restaurant that offered several items from the local area. It's amazing that five courses made up of very small portions can fill you up, but it did. And did I say that the food was incredible? Just goes to show that local and fresh is the best way to go. With Italy being the home of the slow food movement, I figure I might as well make the most of it. After dinner, Paul and I spent a couple hours walking around central Turin visiting some of the sites, but more importantly trying to walk off the very filling meal. As often happens to Americans, we were blown away by the amazing architecture and bountiful history in the city. For example, we visited a small piece of the original wall protecting Turin during Roman times, dating back over 2000 years.

This morning, I had the honor of meeting Luigi (Gino) Bistagnino and Pier Paulo Peruccio in the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the Turin Polytechnical Institute. The department is located in the breathtaking Valentino Castle along the river PO in Turn. I can't even imagine trying to do work in the building, it is so beautiful. Gino and Pier Paolo are very involved with sustainable design work in Italy and internationally and are part of a systems design Masters program that focuses on sustainable systems in industrial design. After some great discussion on their efforts and state of sustainable design in Italy, Pier Paolo gave a copy of his book on design in the Piemonte area that included a sustainable design project in Korea and a copy of Gino's book "Design con un Futuro". Apparently, I just missed Janine Benyus, founder of the biomimicry movement, who had lectured the previous Sunday. Pier Paolo also pointed me to a great company based in Novara, Novamont. Novamont has been working with bioplastics since 1990.



Later, I came across a great children's museum on environmental issues, Museo A come Ambiente, and on my way back to the hotel from the days events, I picked up the latest issue of Natural Style, an Italian magazine for "the woman who has chosen a new lifestyle: that natural one".

Supper was filled with another five course meal that would have made the slow food movement folks quite proud of me. We dined (I can truly call it that) at the famous Il Cambio, a restaurant that has been serving Turin's citizens and tourists since the 1700s. As usual, I tried to keep all my selections local. Not being a food critic, I cannot put worthy words forth about how wonderful everything was. The service was even better though. And eating in a restaurant that has existed for two hundred years...priceless.

Torino Sostenibile - Slow Food Central

I'm one day in to my trip to Turin, Italy and am pretty impressed with the sustainability efforts I've run across so far. As usual, the trip starts with purchasing carbon offsets for my flight via Native Energy Next on the list is usually what magazines I find for reading on the plane that have sustainability in them. This time Fast Company, Dwell, and Outside. Interestingly, Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the cover of two of the three. Fast Company's "Fast 50" includes people and companies working to improve the planet while making money. Arnie is #1 on the list with his "Green Ultimatum" effort to promote green markets in California. Arnie is also on the cover of Outside's Green Issue. Dwell's headline is "Renovate!, Reuse!, Recycle!"



My next brush with sustainability was in the Frankfurt Airport where recycle bins could be found everywhere. They had a very cool look to them and they accepted many different materials. I was also impressed to see recycled content paper towels in the bathrooms. They were a green and probably the most effective paper towels I've ever used, including conventional.

Upon arriving in Turin, I met my friend Paul (who is working in Turin for a month) and then taxied in to the Hotel, the Golden Palace. Can't quite tell how eco the hotel is, but a few things pleased me: 1. they use cloth napkins in their restaurant and bar, 2. water, yogurt, and such come in glass containers (I'm not a fan of plastics), 3. the room has an automatic power shutoff when you leave (shows they're interested in conserving energy), and 4. their toilets have small and large flush options to conserve water.

I took a short nap and then we took off to explore Lingotto, a former Fiat factory with a rooftop test track. Several of the design components are quite impressive, including the car helical ramp leading up to the track. Next to Lingotto was a great find by my friend Paul, a huge food store called Eataly. It is an AMAZING store, a cross between Ikea and Whole Foods if you will. Paul had found a lot of bamboo plates and such and we then found some biodegradable plastic items called 'Bioplat' made by Scatolificio Del Garda (SDG). Very cool! Italy is also home of the slow food movement and you could certainly feel the spirit of the movement alive in well in Eataly. We tried to buy an issue of the Slow Food magazine but discovered they were only for display when we were checking out. Doh!