Christmas markets go green! Since 2014, the Eco institute of Alto Adige has been working to make the markets ever more eco-friendly, so that the Advent period may be celebrated in an ecological, environmentally-friendly manner.
This has been done through a form of certification, known as Green Event, that is to say, the implementation of a number of environmental measures during the planning and implementation stages, to render the markets green and eco-friendly.
Green Events are planned, organized and carried out according to environmentally-friendly criteria. The main factors are the promotion of regional products, efficient use of resources, waste disposal, sustainable mobility and social responsibility.
Moreover, making responsible choices as concerns energy, transport and respect for tradition renders the original Alto Adige markets synonymous with sustainability, regionalism and authenticity; in other words, events which reflect those values for which Alto Adige has always been renowned.
Green Event Parameters
The main prerequisites for certifications such as Green Event are the use of ecological products, energy efficiency, waste management, promotion of local products and social responsibility.
A fundamental element of the markets is, without question, food. Tastings of local specialities and typical winter dishes become something more than that when they receive Green Event certification. And so, in recent times, you find not only the usual foodstuffs but also items designed to meet special requirements: products which are vegetarian, gluten-free or bio, often even labelled with their local or regional provenance.
Another feature of the Christmas markets are the lights. At Green Christmas events, great care is taken to use only energy-saving bulbs, or LED lights which, amongst other things, can be lit for extend periods, even – in contrast to the past - before 15.30.
Lastly, the Christmas trees, also as laid down in the certification, are all from the Alto Adige area which, in recent times, has considerably extended its forested land area.
The list of Green Events in Alto Adige, which continues to increase in number, still includes the five original markets: Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Brunico and Vipiteno, commonly referred to as the five stars route.
