Ciampino's "Aldo Moro" park gets 240 trees: ADR and Lagardère Travel Retail Italia present the planting project in the name of environmental sustainability

Ciampino, 21 November 2024 - The planting project for Ciampino's "Aldo Moro" Park was presented today, which, upon the initiative of Aeroporti di Roma and Lagardère Travel Retail Italia, in collaboration with the Municipality of Ciampino and the technical support of Etifor and WOWnature, planted 240 new trees, including holm oaks, red oaks, flowering prunus, Lebanese cedar, plane tree, and cherry laurel as the first green requalification activity to benefit the local community and in full respect of the park's historical and landscape identity. The project is part of "3billion trees," a European Union initiative to plant 3 billion trees by 2030. Etifor, the project's technical partner, is the first Italian treeplanter in the project.

The opening was attended by the Mayor of Ciampino Emanuela Colella, Environment Councillor Federica Giglio, Education Councillor Roberto Mantua, Veronica Pamio, Senior Vice President for External Relations, Sustainability and Destination Management at Aeroporti di Roma, and Silvia Mazzuccato CSR, External Communication & Digital Marketing Director of Lagardère Travel Retail Italia, who illustrated how this initiative represents a clear demonstration of the commitment of the two companies, in synergy with the local government, on the front of environmental sustainability and towards the territory and its citizenship.

This is part of a broader project, launched in 2021 by Aeroporti di Roma, the management company of Fiumicino and Ciampino airports, and Lagardère Travel Retail, a leading group in the Duty Free & Fashion, Food Service & Travel Essentials sectors, in which the two companies have been committed for some time with the aim of progressively replacing plastic shopping bags, sold inside some stores managed by Lagardère Travel Retail Italia in the two Roman airports, with paper or reusable bags. In order to make an actual contribution to the enhancement of the area in which they operate, ADR and Lagardère Travel Retail Italia have in fact decided to invest in reforestation, planting and environmental requalification projects, such as the one at Fiumicino's "Tommaso Forti" Park last April, identifying, together with the municipal administrations of the two airport towns, the most suitable areas to carry out requalification and creation of spaces that can be enjoyed by citizens, while enhancing biodiversity and nature conservation.

The project's technical partner is Etifor, B Corp and spin-off of the University of Padua, which specializes in natural heritage enhancement and environmental consulting with a scientific approach that takes shape, with respect to reforestation and woodland protection initiatives, in its WOWnature program. The planting of new trees in Ciampino Park was broken down in several steps: technical design with species selection, soil preparation, planting, and maintenance to ensure the new plants take root and grow. The project aims at bringing several benefits, such as: improving the urban environment, mitigating the effects of summer overheating, and stimulating biodiversity, as well as creating new recreational spaces and pedestrian paths.

"During the Tree Festival we are going to present the new look of Aldo Moro Park, a green space that, thanks to the planting of shrubs and trees, aims at enhancing Ciampino's plant heritage - adds the Mayor Emanuela Colella. "ADR and Lagardère were instrumental in planting 240 plants in Aldo Moro Park. The ultimate goal is to make the entire community aware of the impact that every single act can have in environmental terms. With this we are going to improve the landscape quality of Ciampino and the usability of the park by all. I would like to thank Councillor Federica Giglio, city offices and all partners for the brilliant cooperation ".

"With today's initiative, which falls on "National Tree Day" and is the result of synergy between private individuals and institutions, we renew our commitment to social and environmental sustainability. The project made it possible to further enrich a green area in our territory and intended for the community. The planting of Aldo Moro Park will contribute to the enhancement of this space. Each tree planted represents a real act for the environment and the community, a step toward positive change that we want to build together", commented Veronica Pamio Senior vice president for External Relations, Sustainability and Destination Management at Aeroporti di Roma.

"This new initiative confirms our commitment to environmental sustainability, which is now an integral and fundamental part of our business strategy. Thanks to the partnership with Aeroporti di Roma, we can continue to give life to projects like this that allow us to improve the quality of life of local communities", said Silvia Mazzuccato, CSR, External Communication & Digital Marketing Director of Lagardère Travel Retail Italia.