Sommario
Milan is taking a decisive step in its climate strategy: turning planning into concrete action. At the center of this effort is the Air and Climate Plan, the framework through which the Municipality of Milan has defined objectives and timelines to improve air quality, reduce emissions, and strengthen urban resilience. This ambitious vision is driven by collaboration among institutions, companies, and citizens.
The operational backbone of this strategy is the Air and Climate Alliance, a structured collaboration involving businesses across the region. Among the organizations joining the initiative is R2M Solution, bringing expertise developed through years of work on European innovation and sustainability projects.
The first 2026 plenary: Milan strengthens the air and climate alliance
On February 13, at Palazzo Marino, the Air and Climate Alliance officially launched a new phase of its journey. The launch event and first plenary meeting of 2026 confirmed the central role of cooperation between the public administration and businesses in implementing the Air and Climate Plan.
Today, the Alliance includes 83 companies, ranging from large corporations to SMEs and micro-enterprises, highlighting the growing engagement of Milan’s economic ecosystem. This growth is particularly significant considering that only 25 organizations participated in 2025, demonstrating the rapid expansion and increasing relevance of the initiative.
The meeting opened with remarks from Elena Grandi, Milan’s Councillor for Environment and Green Areas, who emphasized the importance of shared responsibility in addressing ecological transition challenges. Giuseppina Sordi, Director of the Energy and Climate Area, then presented the evolution of the Alliance as a co-design platform between public and private stakeholders, capable of turning strategic vision into practical action.
The initiative is built on shared values — inclusiveness, responsibility, collaboration, participation, and knowledge sharing — fostering both individual and collective growth while strengthening the city’s ability to face contemporary environmental challenges.
The Air and Climate Plan: origins and objectives
The Air and Climate Plan was developed in response to the climate emergency declared by the City Council in 2019 and is structured around three main pillars: air quality, mitigation, and adaptation.
Its objectives are ambitious yet clearly defined: significantly reducing emissions by 2030, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and progressively aligning with the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines. The Plan provides a strategic framework that translates long-term vision into measurable and concrete actions.
However, no local administration can act alone. Cities account for a significant share of emissions, but many of the tools required to reduce them are distributed among different stakeholders. This awareness led to the creation of the Alliance: an operational space where public and private actors collaborate on verifiable actions with a shared 2030 horizon.
Technical coordination is managed by AMAT, while participating companies are expected to commit directly through initiatives capable of generating tangible impact.
R2M Solution’s role: innovation and expertise for the energy transition
R2M Solution’s contribution focuses on specific urban areas through an integrated approach combining analysis, simulation, and design. The goal is not to introduce entirely new methodologies, but to apply already proven tools — including digital twins, energy simulations, and Nature-Based Solutions — to assess how interventions on buildings and public spaces can concretely improve emissions performance and air quality.
A key aspect of this work is scaling from individual projects to the city level, making the effects of integrated renovation visible and measurable in real urban contexts. Through this approach, R2M Solution supports data-driven strategic decisions and promotes sustainable, replicable solutions aligned with both European objectives and Milan’s Air and Climate Plan.
From Bergamo’s Energy Desk to Milan: supporting the Re³ Building Project
R2M Solution is also contributing to the development and strengthening of the Energy Desk initiative by leveraging expertise gained at both national and European level.
The company’s involvement is part of Project 5 – Re³ Building (Refresh – Rethink – Respond), an initiative promoting collaboration between public and private stakeholders to support the energy renovation of existing buildings.
The project engages companies from the construction and financial sectors in a stakeholder engagement process aimed at developing services for the Energy OSS (One-Stop Shop), providing technical, administrative, and financial guidance.
Within this framework, R2M Solution brings experience gained through the Energy Desk of the Municipality of Bergamo, where it supported citizens and condominium associations in energy efficiency renovation processes while contributing to the development and consolidation of the service.
The main objective is to accelerate the renovation of the residential building stock, which still significantly lags behind European decarbonization targets. At the same time, R2M Solution is working on business models capable of ensuring the long-term financial sustainability and continuity of the Energy Desk service.
