Once again Enel X Global Retail - the Enel Group’s global business line operating in the field of energy supply and energy management services - is using cinema to reach out to Generation Z and talk about sustainability. For the 2ndyear in a row, Enel X participated in Verde Giffoni, the second edition of the Giffoni Innovation Hub (GIH) event that brought representatives of ‘Gen Z’ and business leaders together to talk about sustainability. During the event – held in Milano on May 5th – a short film produced by Enel X together with GIH was screened that highlights the importance of silence in contemporary urban settings. Educating for a sustainable future is one of the main aims of Verde Giffoni – something the film succeeds in doing, with subtlety. Entitled “Così Fa il Silenzio” (“That’s How Silence Does It”), it features two protagonists: the first is a young woman, who – as she moves through an urban setting and then onto an electric bus – muses at how much noise people make.
A noise that distracts us from our ability to reflect on what is important to us, on what we really want, and which channels us – zombie-like – through our daily lives and routines. It’s a noise that contrasts with the silence of the electric bus – the other protagonist of the story – whose quietness allows riders to experience and appreciate the city in a more sustainable manner. Thanks to the total lack of noise generated by the electric bus, the young woman and other passengers have the necessary peace of mind to reflect on the important things in their lives: their friends, their freedom, the people they call ‘home’. The ride becomes a journey through life, not just to a specific destination.
The short feature – directed by promising Italian talent Sami Schinaia – discreetly tosses in a few examples of how electrification can improve our daily lives: a solar-powered bus stop bench recharges mobile phones; an electric bus that cuts climate altering emissions (while providing a peaceful respite from city noises). Both these features highlight the advantages of electrification, one of the key enablers of efforts to combat climate change and promote the energy transition.
“Così Fa il Silenzio” will be aired at other festivals, also, starting with the Giffoni Film Festival in July and the Venice Film Festival in September. During each event, Enel X will hold masterclass, workshops and mentorships designed to teach Zoomers about the benefits of electrification Giffoni plans to distribute the short film in 42 countries around the world, including the USA and Spain. Starting October, the film will also be available on the WeShort streaming platform.
Gen Z: the importance of the education for sustainable development
For those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s, support for sustainability – in all its forms, environmental, economic and social – is a defining feature of their generation. This is, after all, Generation Z – the one that is most intensely living the rapid changes taking place in our cities and societies and whose members will increasingly be the driver of this change. During Verde Giffoni, sustainability issues were top of mind for all those present. Indeed, the event served as the perfect setting for an exchange of ideas between students and other engaged youth and the managers of Italian companies – including Enel X – most committed to sustainability and active in efforts to promote sustainable development. Educational efforts like those promoted by Enel X and Giffoni Innovation Hub use the most impactful and meaningful language and communication tools to reach members of Generation Z, who are among the most receptive to messages about sustainability and its importance to future generations.
Future of sustainability: cities and projects
The future of sustainability will be determined largely by what happens in the world’s cities, which are increasingly attracting residents. Today, according to recent World Bank data, some 56% of the world’s population – some 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities.
A trend which is expected to more than double by 2050, at which point some 70% of the global population will live in urban centers.
Future sustainable development of cities increasingly requires they adopt a circular economy model and move further on their energy transition journey towards full electrification.
But which are the world’s most sustainable cities and what key sustainable development characteristics do they share? According to the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, in 2022 the path to sustainable urban development was seen to be based on three pillars: the Planet Pillar, the People Pillar and the Profit Pillar.
The Planet Pillar captures environmental factors like energy usage and emissions and takes into consideration elements that affect urban quality of life like:
Air pollution
Waste management
The People Pillar concerns factors that affect personal well-being like:
Education
Health
Work-life balance
Reliability of public transport
The Profit Pillar, instead, focuses on business and economic issues:
Affordability of housing
Ease of doing business in a city
Business infrastructure (like access to reliable electricity and the internet)
As explained on Arcadis’ website, the “Sustainable Cities Index 2022 ranks 100 of the world’s cities based on 51 metrics, across 26 indicator themes, arrayed under the three pillars of sustainability: planet, people, and profit.” The rankings take in cities in 47 countries and, based on the model, the urban centers found to be most sustainable in 2022 were Oslo (1st), Stockholm (2nd), Tokyo (3rd), Copenhagen (4th) and Berlin (5th). Another three European cities (London, Paris and Amsterdam) were in the top 10, as were Seattle and San Francisco.
Enel X offers many solutions to make cities more sustainable. From smart, low energy consuming public lighting systems to electric public transport fleets and fleet management services; from smart public building solutions that reduce energy consumption to battery energy storage systems that make the public grid more resilient while helping consumers reduce their energy bills. Enel X is a true one-stop-shop for energy efficiency solutions that sustain public administrations in their sustainability efforts.
Enel X and the electrification of transportation
Urban mobility accounts for 40% of all CO₂ emissions generated by the road transport sector. Cars and buses emitting pollutants crowd our cities, making the air at times literally dangerous to breathe and the noise at times truly unbearable.
Much like the young woman protagonist of “Così Fa il Silenzio” – the short film presented by Enel X at Verde Giffoni – who complains about all the noise that people make, our cities could benefit from a serious recalibration of urban mobility models in favor of quieter, cleaner and more efficient ways to get around. And in terms of the future of sustainable transportation, Enel X is taking a leading role, thanks to our public electric transport solutions, one of our many sustainable future ideas.
We’re not talking just about electrification of buses; with our e-Bus as a service model, Enel X offers public administrations a turnkey solution for electric public mobility that’s light on public finances and the environment and heavy on convenience for users. Among other features, by choosing our offer, public administrations and public transport operators can count on a solution that is:
modular and tailor made - every project is custom developed based on the specific needs of each case;
turnkey - each electrification project is comprehensive and managed by a one-stop-shop partner;
transparent - no upfront investments are requested from the customer, only a monthly subscription fee based on kilometers driven.
Finally, the solution also includes a range of other smart mobility services, like digital ticket counters and smart bus shelters that include recharging facilities for users who need to top-up their phones. Just like the young woman who charges her phone while waiting for the electric bus in “Così Fa il Silenzio”. Generation Z solutions that benefit everyone and make for a more sustainable world.
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