ID: 2060
Presenting Author: Anna Mazzoleni
Session: 674 - Innovation, transparency, and sustainability in Permitting 5.0 through AI
Status: pending
Lombardy tests an AI-based permitting model using agricultural Impact Credits from PANE as compensation measures in DGR 5223/21 waste treatment authorizations in Monza–Brianza and Mantua.
The Lombardy Region is pioneering an Impact Credit System within the Permitting 5.0 framework to align environmental assessment, digital transition, and sustainable finance with the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle. Under DGR 5223/21, which regulates screening procedures for waste treatment plants, the initiative introduces measurable and verifiable impact credits as compensatory instruments supporting DNSH compliance in permitting.
The Parco Agricolo Nord Est (PANE), a Local Park of Supra-Municipal Interest, plays a central role as the generator of these credits. Through its network of agricultural enterprises, PANE quantifies the regenerative value of sustainable practices—such as composting livestock effluents, reusing digestates, and improving soil fertility—producing certified credits that reflect tangible environmental benefits for soil, water, and ecosystems.
These credits are being experimentally applied by the Provinces of Monza and Brianza and Mantua within permitting processes for waste treatment facilities, testing their use as DNSH-oriented compensation measures to offset residual environmental impacts identified through AI-based assessment models.
The pilot validates a complete cycle—from rural credit generation to industrial application—creating a transparent, replicable mechanism that embeds regeneration and DNSH compliance into environmental governance.
Anna Mazzoleni, agronomist, specializes in environmental planning and project management. Since 2023 she has served as Director of Parco Agricolo Nord Est in Northern Italy.
Coauthor 1: Roberto Esposito
Coauthor 2: Fabio Fabbri
Coauthor 3: Alessandro Gatti