GAIA (Green Area Inner-city Agreement to finance tree Planting) – Bologna, Italy
The GAIA mechanism uses financial compensation for the carbon footprint of businesses as the main driver for action. The financial compensation is used to purchase plants and maintain trees throughout the city. Participation of the town council and local businesses in the GAIA initiative is on a voluntary basis. Interested businesses can request an easy-to-use tool which calculates the quantity of carbon dioxide involved in their processes and services. To neutralize their carbon footprint, the number of trees required to compensate the company’s carbon footprint is calculated according to the amount of carbon dioxide which will be absorbed, and the company decides on how many trees it wishes to purchase to compensate its emissions. The city of Bologna has developed clear guidelines that detail the different steps and identifies the cost components, approves the Protocol of Agreement, takes the initiative to start the planting works and pays the tree suppliers. The city also commits to providing a monitoring report every 6 months from the start of the partnership