Environment Park

A major part of the area of the Environment Park is assigned to offices and commercial spaces dedicated to host research centers, laboratories, universities research activities and private companies working on sustainability, environmental technologies and innovations. The occupancy rate of the buildings is 98.5% in 2023. The area surrounding the office buildings is allocated to open spaces and recreational activities, composed of vast green areas, walkable green roofs, public open spaces and a congress center to host meetings and events.

The project had a significant economic impact on the community. Considering both private companies and the center staff, the Environment Park hosts 600 employees in total, with 30 employees directly working for Environment Park S.p.A. (2022). Since 2000, Environment Park S.p.A. has administered more than 1,000 research and development contracts related to sustainability and environmental technologies. Regarding the businesses operating in the buildings, the Environment Park hosts around 70 private companies, research and university centers and laboratories, fostering collaboration, technological spillovers and knowledge transfer between the entities. The project of the Environment Park provides support to companies to develop environmental technologies and innovations, fostering and facilitating the creation of new entrepreneurial activities on sustainability and environmental fields. The company Environment Park S.p.A. also provides activities and consultancy to private companies to support them on the energy transition, decarbonization, the implementation of new technologies and the application of innovative environmental solutions. Lastly, the Environment Park S.p.A. fostered local economic development by providing welfare services for the employees working at the Environment Park covering fiscal consultancy services and social assistance. In addition, the project provides workshops, psychological support and recreational initiatives for the employees. The social and work-related welfare services involved 250 workers from both the private companies and the Environment Park employees.

As a center focused on promoting research activities related to environmental and sustainability innovations and technologies, the Environment Park aims to reach climate neutrality before 2030. Firstly, all the buildings of the Environment Park are constructed using advanced biomaterials, ensuring a low environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle. The buildings have been structured to improve the internal comfort while reducing energy consumption, mainly by targeting thermal insulation. The Environment Park also provides laboratories and demosite spaces to test environmental technologies. The spaces of the Environment Park work as a testbed for innovative environmental solutions, where companies can build and tests prototypes of new technologies such as heating and cooling systems, energy recovery and storage, new building materials and green walls. The project aims to provide open green areas for the entire neighborhood, revitalizing the former brownfield. The green areas around the buildings cover more than 10,000 sqm and are open to the public. In addition, all the buildings have been equipped with green roofs, covering an area of more than 16,000 sqm. The green roofs have been designed to be easily accessible and open to the public. In addition, the green roofs systems improve the thermal insulation of the buildings, reduce the urban noise pollution, and act as a filter for particulates. The project focuses on reducing the CO2 emissions produced by the building complex. To do so, the Environment Park reduced the energy consumption required by the buildings by 27% in the period 2019-2022 through the connection to district heating. The conversion to district heating and decreased consumption reduced CO2 emission by 57% in the same period. In addition, 25% (2022) of the total energy consumption is satisfied by the production of electricity from renewable resources within the Park. The Environment Park installed a photovoltaic totem generating 16kW and a hydroelectric power plant on the Dora Riparia River generating 183kW. Lastly, the Environment Park purchase electricity only from certified renewable sources.

The Environment Park had an important social impact on the local community and workers. The Congress Center hosted over 120 events held by public and private entities which focused on spreading knowledge about environmental concerns and promoting sustainable technologies and innovations. The Environment Park S.p.A. also provided extensive training activities and courses for students in specialized fields such as photovoltaics, insulation, and different energy-related topics. These educational initiatives have engaged more than 200 students, providing them with essential technical skills and knowledge to pursue a career in sustainability and environmental fields. In addition, Environment Park S.p.A. provides workshops, psychological support and recreational initiatives for the employees of the Park. The social and work-related welfare services involved 250 workers from both the private companies and the Environment Park employees. The project focuses on promoting sustainable mobility within the local community of workers and residents. The Environment Park provides 15 EV charging stations to support the usage of electric vehicles. To foster micro-mobility, the project also installed 23 bicycle stations and a public changing room with showers to improve bicycle usage at work. In addition, the Environment Park S.p.A. hosted several events to promote bicycle mobility, especially among the workers of the Environment Park.

The Environment Park achieved the certifications ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 for the integrated Quality and Environment system implemented.

The project has been entirely funded by the European Union which financed the Municipality of Turin to purchase the land site.

The project has been financed with direct funding provided from the European Union to the Municipality of Turin to purchase the land site. The private company Environment Park S.p.A. is financed with private and public resources brought by the shareholders. In addition, Environment Park S.p.A. finances its activities by renting out offices and spaces to universities, laboratories and research centers under a monthly or annual payment.

Image from Andrea Serra - Pession Engineering, retrieved here.