Biopolis – Sustainable Urban Development 2011
I work in a company which produces building materials and new systems and solutions mainly involved with the chemicals field. We belong to the Green Building Association. Today, construction materials and new systems are oriented towards respect for the environment in order to avoid pollution, both during product application as well as at the end of the life-cycle, and at the moment of recycling. Therefore, today, and surely more and more in the future, our sector is one of the most involved in worldwide environmental problems. Bio-architecture with green solutions, green systems, green materials, green technologies and green services is the basic element in creating better cities in the future and in improving living standards. My job is mainly to develop the company’s commercial relations abroad, in all the world, looking for technically prepared and organized distributors and giving them all the commercial and technical assistance needed, and I have noticed an increasing interest in bio-architecture and in the new technologies and products to be promoted and offered on the market. So this course is 100% suitable for my job. Knowing the building field and being aware of environmental problems, I can promote my solutions with greater knowledge, and I am prepared to promote bio-architecture and its importance for our planet. Giuliano Zamboni, Export Manager, INDEX SpA, Italy
As a development student studying various issues related to sustainable development, this course has helped me to understand sustainable development from a different perspective. It will help me in my work as an agent of development. I enjoyed almost all the modules, but I particularly liked urban health, accessibility and social integration. Enoch Assan Ninson, Student, University of Trento, Italy
Food, Agriculture and the Environment 2011-2013
The material is very interesting and deeply covers all the aspects, trends and consequences of the excessive use of chemicals and other problems. It does not help me particularly in my work, but, because the topics addressed are part of our life, civilization and habits, I consider it very important to be aware of the situation, and to know all the aspects of agriculture and the use of natural resources which are in equilibrium with each other and depend on the right policy, as well as on our good sense of the use of these resources, and on our responsible behaviour and actions. Guiliano Zamboni, Export Manager, Index SpA, Italy
Green Salary 2010-2011
I work in a company which produces building materials and new systems and solutions, and we are mainly involved in the chemicals field. We belong to the Green Building Association. Today, construction materials and new systems are oriented towards respect for the environment, in order to avoid pollution both in their application as well as in their end-of-life processing at the moment of their recycling, and products and solutions are more and more involved in the green building field. Therefore, today, and surely more and more in the future, our sector is one of the most involved in worldwide environmental problems. Therefore, green solutions, green systems, green materials, green technologies and green services are the basic elements to create better cities in the future. This is also well mentioned in the part of the course explaining the LEED accreditation system for improving quality of life and re-evaluating constructions, both new or restored, which are otherwise against the actual social and economic trend and, of course, environmental needs. From all these basic points it is easy to deduce that “green salaries” are already a matter of fact, and they will be more and more involved in the social point of view. My job is mainly to develop commercial relations abroad, in all the world, looking for technically prepared and organized distributors and giving them commercial and technical assistance, but, I also hold regular seminars and meetings explaining the advantages of green buildings, the LEED accreditation system, the advantages of green or brown roofs, or a roof-garden, or just a green wall, or the new technologies like the bio-line cement products for restoring historical or new buildings made only with fully natural and 100% recycled components, or promoting the new water-based materials instead of solvent based. I explain the energy saving system in waterproofing works and the economic advantages of cool reflective roofs for the final user, but also for the community due to the reduction of the “heat island” effect. In these presentations, I explain the philosophy of the company, which is very sensitive to the environment, including the purchase of raw materials within a limit range of 500 miles. This reduces pollution from the moment of purchase, as well as the recycling of exhaust products or the production of waste, and of course we use many other examples to convince promoters, architects, engineers, designers, and final users to choose environmentally friendly solutions. So this course is 100% compatible with my job, knowing the building field and all these possibilities, ideas and new solutions come out for the benefit of everybody. Giuliano Zamboni, Export Manager, Italy
Natural Resources 2010
The course on Natural Resources is complementary to the Green Salary course, in order to have complete knowledge on the natural resources of our planet and their problems, and the risk to be faced from their modification by man. Therefore, a wider panorama of the situation is clear now and it opens my mind to ways of extending a link to solve these problems, also involving the “green salary” solutions. Giuliano Zamboni, Export Manager, Italy
Sustainable Forest Protection and Management 2011-2013
As a student studying various issues related to sustainable development, this course has helped me to understand sustainable development from a different perspective. It will help me in my work as an agent of development. I enjoyed almost all the modules but I particularly liked the one on forest economics and rural development because of my background. Enoch Assan Ninson, Student, University of Trento, Italy
