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!