The green area was made possible thanks to the contribution of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Renovit (Snam), Prime Green Solutions (RINA Prime Value Services) and Gabetti Lab

Taranto, 22 December 2021 – Arbolia, a benefit company set up in the second half of 2020 to develop new green areas in Italy, is building a new urban forest of over 4.500 trees in the municipality of Taranto. The initiative was made possible thanks to the contribution of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Renovit (Snam), Prime Green Solutions (RINA Prime Value Services) and Gabetti Lab promoters of a major energy requalification project in the city.

A total of 4,577 plants of different tree species (holm oak, strawberry tree) and shrubs (phillyrea, rhamnus alaternus, narrow-leaved mock privet, lentisk, viburnum, dog rose) will be planted in the area identified, located in the Paolo VI district in the north of the city of Taranto. When fully operational, the new green area will absorb up to 483 tonnes of CO₂ over 20 years and up to 12,785 kg of PM₁₀ per year. The initiative also includes the maintenance of the new urban forest for the first two years. The project will immediately become an asset for the local community and it is essential that everyone takes care of it.

In the Puglia region, Arbolia has already carried out a forestation project in the Salento Botanical Garden in Lecce and is currently completing another forest in Taranto, in the Mura Magno Greche Park. The urban forest in Bari dedicated to the victims of the Covid-19 in the capital is also in the planning stage.

“Through this forestation project, – points out Marco Bianchi, Managing Director of Tep Energy Solution, a Renovit company specialising in the redevelopment of apartment blocks – we are helping to improve the quality of life and resilience of an entire neighbourhood, reducing emissions and air pollution and enhancing the green spaces available to the community. This is a perfect complement to our energy redevelopment project in the area, which involves 10 buildings and over 200 households, and fits in perfectly with our daily commitment - as energy efficiency operators - to the decarbonisation of apartment blocks, businesses, and public administrations."

“This is a really important project for the city that we are supporting thanks to Arbolia. – declares Piercarlo Rolando, managing director of RINA Prime Value Services and Prime Green Solutions – We are doing a lot of seismic and energy renovation work in Taranto and we are very proud to be able to further improve the city's urban design and the quality of its building stock. The urban forest is a real tribute to the population, who we are sure will appreciate the new green space".

"We are delighted with this intervention, because only together can we bring about real change, especially in the area of living comfort. – declares Alessandro De Biasio, Managing Director of Gabetti Lab – Today, we have saved more than 7,000 tonnes of CO₂ as a result of the targeted redevelopment work: there is still a long way to go, but only by joining forces will we succeed in improving all the different areas of daily life”.

With the Paolo VI project, Arbolia has created ten green belts in eight Italian cities. In the next few months, the benefit company will develop initiatives in a further twenty Italian municipalities from the North to the South of the country.