FBK joins Earth Hour 2026: a year-round commitment

On the occasion of Earth Hour—the global initiative promoted by WWF, scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.—Fondazione Bruno Kessler will take part, underscoring a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond a symbolic hour and represents a well-established daily practice.

Since 2007, FBK has reduced its energy consumption by adopting efficiency strategies across all electrical, thermal, and hydraulic systems serving its buildings and laboratories. This achievement has been made possible through the replacement and modernization of these systems, as well as the use of heat pumps that enable cooling production with recovery of the thermal component.

As a result, consumption has decreased by about 40%, even as research activities have tripled: from 150 systems in 2007 to 460 in 2026.

In particular, the following measures have been consistently implemented:

• planned shutdown of technical systems during nighttime hours and weekends, with minimal operation maintained only for those essential to laboratories;
• use of sensors and intelligent monitoring systems to optimize real-time energy management of buildings;
• shutdown of outdoor lighting starting at 11:00 p.m., while ensuring safety through advanced technologies;
• gradual replacement of systems with clean energy solutions, such as electric heat pumps in place of gas boilers, eliminating NOx and particulate matter emissions.

These goals are also mapped in the Foundation’s first Sustainability Plan, published in 2025: a strategic document that brings together the objectives and 71 actions FBK is implementing to further integrate sustainability into its activities. “FBK embraces the principles of sustainability and reflects them along two trajectories,” commented Sara Stemberger, researcher at FBK’s Center for Sustainable Energy and member of the team that coordinated the Plan’s development. “One outward trajectory relates to the impact the Foundation generates through its research results and technological innovation; the other is an internal trajectory focused on the continuous improvement of processes and initiatives that ensure sustainability in the use of major infrastructures and in the organization of its many activities.”

Luigi Crema, Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy, stated: “At the Center for Sustainable Energy, we see every day that sustainability is not just a goal, but a way of working. Reducing consumption and emissions in our infrastructure goes hand in hand with developing new technologies for the energy transition. This dual level—operating sustainably while enabling solutions for the energy system—is what allows FBK to contribute concretely to building a more efficient, resilient, and decarbonized energy future.”

The Plan is therefore a tool that outlines a structured and dynamic path, oriented toward continuous improvement in environmental, social, and governance sustainability (the elements that make up the widely used ESG acronym).

FBK’s participation in Earth Hour is thus not an isolated action, but an opportunity to share a path that has been underway for years and to reaffirm its ongoing commitment to sustainability and responsible innovation.