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September 2025 was an exceptionally vibrant month for Greenstage in Mantua, which hosted not one but two Local Policy Hubs dedicated to sustainability in the performing arts. These events embodied Greenstage’s mission to bring together policymakers, cultural professionals, and innovators to design practical, actionable policies that can foster a greener and more resilient cultural ecosystem.

The Second Local Policy Hub: Co-designing Sustainability at Fattidicultura

On September 25, within the framework of the Fattidicultura Festival at the Sala delle Capriate, Greenstage organized its second Local Policy Hub, hosted by the City of Mantua in collaboration with 4D Teatro.

The day opened with institutional greetings and an introduction to the Greenstage project by Emanuele Salmin (City of Mantua), followed by the interactive workshop “Green Domino” led by Kati Gerola (4D Teatro), which guided participants in identifying long-term sustainable goals through collaborative design. Working in small, heterogeneous groups — composed of representatives from different theatre companies and cultural organizations — participants explored some of the most pressing sustainability issues affecting the performing arts. They discussed how to draft contracts that include sustainable clauses for guest artists, how to communicate a sustainability commitment transparently even when the process is still ongoing, how to share human resources such as a Green Manager among multiple institutions, and how to manage shared storage spaces to reduce waste without compromising artistic freedom.
The morning also featured an insightful presentation by Marta Lovato (Santarcangelo Festival), who shared the experience of “Circolare: a virtuous platform towards zero waste”, offering concrete examples of how circular practices can be implemented in the performing arts sector.

In the afternoon, participants were also introduced to several examples of the SAPA tool, discovering how it can be used to assess and reflect on the sustainability performance of their own organizations. Later, the “Green Cards” workshop invited participants to reflect on and share good sustainable practices observed in other organizations. Each person wrote down examples of inspiring initiatives on individual cards and then exchanged them in pairs, fostering mutual inspiration and peer learning. This simple yet powerful exercise encouraged participants to build a collective vision of what practical sustainability could look like across the performing arts ecosystem.

The Third Local Policy Hub: The 4D Teatro Hackathon

On September 26, the conversation evolved into action through the 4D Teatro Hackathon, which served as Greenstage’s third Local Policy Hub. The event, organized by Fondazione UniverMantova as part of a three-day university hackathon, gathered students from diverse degree programs — including Computer Engineering, Economics, and Chemistry — who worked intensively to address real-world challenges proposed by local partners.

Rete 4D Teatro was the only cultural institution invited to propose a challenge, focusing on the sustainable management of scenic and technical materials. Students had three days to develop their ideas, from concept to prototype, before presenting their final projects to a jury. Despite being the sole cultural challenge among many technological and scientific topics, the proposal received outstanding attention and engagement — demonstrating how innovation and technology can play a vital role in supporting the cultural and artistic sector.

The Hackathon format proved ideal for this Local Policy Hub’s objectives. By connecting university students, cultural professionals, and digital innovators, the event transformed theoretical sustainability goals into policy-relevant prototypes. The resulting projects ranged from AI-assisted inventory systems and NFC/QR-based logistics platforms to web applications for booking, reuse, and circular economy exchanges. Each team contributed a unique approach, showing how creativity and digital solutions can be harnessed to reduce waste, optimize resources, and make theatres more sustainable.

A Month of Green Co-creation

Together, these two events in Mantua demonstrated the power of local collaboration within a European framework. From reflective dialogue at Fattidicultura to hands-on innovation at the Hackathon, the Greenstage Local Policy Hubs exemplified how culture can lead the ecological transition — not only by inspiring change but by designing the tools and policies to make it happen.