Environmental sustainability and photography. A bond that sees the observation of many photojournalists grow from year to year climate changes and the effects on the ecosystem. Their works are an undoubted contribution to the social sensitivity and awareness of thousands of people. In the USA, thematic reviews and awards have been widespread for years, because the power of images, of documentaries, has been understood since the first climate crises. The incentives to do more and better should also come directly from governments. But only a few countries in the world stand out. Documenting the existing remains thewinning weapon to obtain transformations of all kinds. And more and more often, measuring yourself against the artistic value of photos, documentary films, retrospectives becomes healthy even for those who have to save the planet with appropriate political decisions. During the COP26 days, the power of the images, of the shots from all over the world, awakened even the most timid in the need to do something to save the planet. Photos not only of artists and documentary filmmakers, but of many ordinary people; of young artists who rise to value.
The I has existed in Italy for three yearsItalian Sustainability Photo Award (ISPA) photographic award designed to raise public awareness of the acronym “ESG” Environmental, Social and Governance. The initial idea came from the Parallelozero agency and the PIMCO company, leader in asset management. Savers who approach the Company are presented with a seductive business card in harmony with the defense of the environment. The second edition of the Award has just ended in Milan with the announcement of the winners: Matteo de Mayda, Michele Lapini, Jean Marc Caimi and Valentina Piccinni. Impact images on the melting of ice, spread of killer bacteria, resilience in the face of the tragedy of the Vaia storm that hit the North East: these are the main focuses. The jury presided over by the journalist Tiziana Ferrario was composed of Martina Bacigalupo (director of photography of the French magazine 6Mois), Renata Ferri (photo editor of iO Donna/ RCS), Lars Lindeman (cinematographer of GEO Magazin Germany) e Luke Locatelli (I photograph). Italian criticalities that project the country into a global malaise.
There were three categories awarded with economic contributions in Milan. 1500 euros for the best photo to Michele Lapini for an image taken at Presena Glacier, which every summer "is protected from melting due to high temperatures through the application of geotextile sheets capable of reflecting the sun's rays". 10 thousand euros for Matteo de Mayda with his report "There is no calm after the storm", on Vaia storm on the Dolomite landscapes. The testimony of an extreme event unknown to Italy, which in 2018 cut down millions of trees. On that disaster De Mayda has built a project that wants to document causes, responsibilities and opportunities. The 3500 euro prize for the best photographic story went instead to the duo Jean Marc Caimi and Valentina Piccinni. They worked on the "sprouts of salvation" in Puglia where some agronomists and farmers are engaged in fighting the Xylella Fastidiosa creating a super olive tree resistant to disease.
Alessandro Gandolfi, manager of PIMCO, says that "the issues of environmental, social and governance sustainability are increasingly emerging among the requests and priorities of both professional and private investors". But it would be good if the Ministry of Culture was responsible for promoting some specific projects in favor of photographers who observe environmental disasters. Unfortunately, a sick environment gives meaning to these initiatives that meet the world of business, the economy and institutions. The observational part is one stimulus to commitment involving industries, finance, political power. The message of ISPA and of the winners invites even a simple photography enthusiast to focus the lens on widespread emergencies. They become a general alarm to intervene.
