The project “Piedmont’s Sustainable Villages: localities for a more responsible tourism” was created by the Region of Piedmont, which chose Environment Park, a scientific-technological park for the environment, as support for the development of the project and as an expert in issues related to sustainability and good energy-environmental practices. The project implemented since 2021, is part of the Region of Piedmont’s strategies to promote sustainable localities and tourist destinations, enhancing and rewarding initiatives in the field of environmental protection and responsible tourism undertaken by local municipalities. The ‘Sustainable Villages’ label is one of the tools with which the Piedmont Region intends to promote and qualify the tourist offer. Within this portal, therefore, it will be possible to find not only a wealth of information and links to tourist attractions, but also all the information on good environmental tourism practices implemented in the area. From plants producing energy from renewable sources to environmental and landscape requalification projects, from green building structures to the decalogue of the sustainable tourist. The portal is also a place where professionals in the sector and the public can meet and discuss technical and environmental issues with a view to increasing the development of sustainability. The municipalities that are currently part of the network are located throughout Piedmont. A complex of realities that presents itself to the outside world as a ‘host community’. This is a new form of welcome that envisages granting tourists or visitors a sort of ‘temporary citizenship’. A privileged channel for accessing the most intimate life of the community that entails a commitment to get to know and respect its historical and environmental identity. The aim of the project is to give visibility to places that promote sustainable tourism, to disseminate this practice, and to provide space for discussion between shopkeepers for the dissemination of good practices.
