DumBO, the Lead Partner of the Greening the Hubs project, hosts the first Training Hotspot on reducing and reusing food and beverage waste.
The event opened with an introduction to DumBO’s Green Shift, outlining the district’s evolution toward more sustainable event management and its alignment with Bologna’s commitment to the EU Cities Mission for climate neutrality by 2030. This reference resonated strongly with the broader partnership: both Bratislava and Helsinki, home to the creative hubs involved in the project, are also part of the EU Cities Mission and share the same ambitious objective.
A curated session dedicated to local good practices followed, with three tenants associations based at DumBO that presented practical approaches to reducing and reusing food and beverage waste within their daily operations: 0 Waste illustrated how logistical optimisation and improved material flows can significantly reduce disposable packaging at events; Shape shared its sustainability strategies implemented during the ROBOT Festival, including targeted measures to minimise waste peaks and make audience behaviour more circular; BackBO highlighted the association’s systemic approach to bottom-up circularity, rooted in community engagement and the promotion of re-use, repair and material recovery within urban contexts. These examples offered concrete insights into how creative hubs can embed sustainability into everyday processes.
The first keynote was delivered by Claudia Chiozzotto from the Italian network Altroconsumo, who discussed practical strategies to promote more sustainable consumer habits, focusing specifically on the role cultural and creative hubs can play in shaping visitors’ behaviours through clear communication and well-designed incentives.
Participants then turned to policy and governance through Giulia Maselli’s presentation of the MINEV project, a European initiative aimed at reducing waste in large events. Giulia Maselli - which comes from the Research, Innovation and European Project Management Area of the Metropolitan City of Bologna - outlined how environmental checklists, targeted funding and stakeholder engagement have already influenced the Bologna Estate programme, raising sustainability requirements for event organisers.
Innovation in reusable packaging was explored through Around, with Laura Cavasin that presented their digital system for managing reusable containers across restaurants, catering services and events. Their platform combines tracking, washing logistics and user incentives to significantly reduce single-use food packaging in various contexts.
A complementary perspective came from Simone Favorito, Co-Founder & CCO of kleen hub, who joined remotely to present TAP&REUSE™, the company’s frictionless return system for reusable cups and food containers. Based on RFID technology and card-tap validation, the system removes deposits and user apps to maximise convenience and drastically cut waste across cafés, offices and large-scale venues. Favorito illustrated case studies from supermarkets, universities and arenas, demonstrating how the model can be easily integrated into high-volume environments.
Food waste reduction was further examined through Milena Bigatto’s contribution on FOOD-RULES (Shair.Tech). Presenting data from university canteens, she showed how structured measurement, communication campaigns and the BringTheFood platform help reduce waste streams, strengthen donations and support behavioural change.
The programme also included an intervention by Andrea Bolognin, from the Slow Food Youth Network, which presented the cultural and educational dimensions of food sustainability—including the World Disco Soup Day, a global initiative that transforms surplus food into a participatory community event.
Alongside the presentations, participants engaged in two hands-on workshops. The first, Design of Food Rescue Equipment, invited participants to co-design and prototype new circular solutions for events—from improved waste-sorting stations to food-rescue points—working inside DumBO’s Blocco Comune with reclaimed materials and rapid-prototyping methods. The second workshop, From Food Waste to Biomaterials, introduced attendees to the world of bio-based materials. Through practical steps, they learned how organic waste can be transformed into flexible or rigid biomaterials, opening new possibilities for creative production and sustainable design in cultural spaces.
The programme also featured a Networking Café, an informal gathering designed to facilitate open dialogue among participants and local stakeholders. Over coffee and conversation, attendees exchanged experiences, identified shared challenges and explored opportunities for collaboration, transforming the technical content of the sessions into emerging partnerships.
Across three days, the Training Hotspot successfully wove together diverse perspectives—from policy frameworks to hands-on experimentation—showing that sustainability in cultural hubs requires both structural innovation and community-driven practices. The exchange set the stage for continued collaboration within Greening the Hubs, opening new pathways toward more sustainable cultural centres across Europe.
