Aiforia Team

Andrea has a 15-year-career, working in different organisations and companies in Italy and in Germany, and on various themes, such as occupational safety and health, quality management, environment and sustainability policy. In particular, Andrea worked for more than six years for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, where he developed, coordinated and managed world-wide projects, tools and campaigns on natural resource management, participatory governance instruments, energy efficiency and climate change.

He contributed to the development and the consolidation of the world-wide established sustainability management system, ecoBudget®. Both for ICLEI and as a free-lancer, he has advised numerous local authorities in more than 15 countries, where he conceived and implemented training and capacity-building elements, facilitated workshops and participatory processes of different sizes and consulted politicians and officers on diverse aspects of sustainability.

Fields of expertise:

• Design of environmental and social indicators as instruments for analysis, target setting and monitoring of sustainable development
• Food security and poverty alleviation in developing and emerging nations
• Intercultural communication and integration through issues of sustainability
• Hands-on methods of awareness-raising and training for sustainability (games, study tours, etc.)

Andrea speaks Italian, English, German and Spanish.

Combining expertise in urban planning and the principles of environmental and resource management, Andrea knows about the conflicts as well as the potential of sustainable urban development. She has a long track record of working for and with local authorities in various fields, ranging from land use planning, participatory target-setting, studies on urban renewal, event management, sociocultural projects and sustainable development processes.

From 2005-2009, she worked at the European Secretariat of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability in national and international projects on resource conservation, urban governance and  sustainability management. She was a mentor to city and town administrators, conceived and conducted training seminars, wrote guidelines and organised project meetings. As certified internal auditor of EMAS+, Andrea is skilled in supporting sustainability processes in public authorities as well as private entities.

Fields of expertise:   

• Sustainability in land use planning and strategies to reduce land consumption
• Conception of resilient, sustainable lifestyles against the background of climate change and peak oil
• Urban agriculture and subsistence farming in the context of global food production, cultivation of agro-fuels and public urban space management
• Participatory processes and civic action for local democracy and good governance

Andrea is fluent in German and English and has a good command of French and Italian.

Marco focused on aspects of renewable energies, computer sciences and new technologies while working in different sectors during his university years. In 2011 he was certified as “Technician for the development of energy conservation systems” after completing an ASEV (Development Agency Empolese Valdelsa) vocational training. During an assistantship at an architecture company, he focused on the Italian energy market and the procedures of photovoltaic systems development and related economic incentives.

Under the framework of the “AREE Mobili” project, funded by the European Social Fund, Marco took the opportunity for an internship at aiforia in Autumn 2011. He has continued to work for aiforia as assistant since January 2012.

Fields of expertise:

• Communication of sustainability issues through development and design of web and print media

• “Green City” - guided tours for international delegations to sustainability sights in Freiburg and the region

• Developments in the energy sector, with focus on renewable energies, and on electricity markets in Italy and Germany

• Good practice transfer on environmental, social, energy and land use issues through international cooperation projects

Marco speaks Italian, English and has a basic knowledge of German.

With an academic background covering both the natural and social science aspects of Sustainability, Sadhbh believes that an interdisciplinary approach is key to addressing the social and environmental challenges we face today. Having focused her research in Barcelona on the integration of social sciences into the environmental agenda, she moved to Freiburg in 2010 to gain expertise in the field of Environmental Governance, writing her thesis on the topic of urban sustainability. Since 2011 she is also training in Theatre and facilitation as a method for fostering dialogue on sustainability amongst citizens, academics and practitioners.

Sadhbh combined her studies with internships at the Environmental Office of Calpe (Alicante); in ICLEI-Europe (Freiburg) and Energy-Cities (Besancon), and environmental education in Barcelona. In April 2013 she began her collaboration with Aiforia to support current projects, conceive new project ideas with a particular focus on social aspects of sustainability and support Spanish-speaking visitors and partners.

Fields of expertise:

• Sustainability Science research, with focus on urban issues
• Intercultural communication and integration through issues of sustainability
• Ecology and environmental education
• Theatre performance and facilitation in the context of Environmental Governance
• Gender and sustainability

Sadhbh is a native English, Spanish and Catalan speaker, has a good command of French and basic knowledge of German.