The city of Milan has taken an intriguing approach to telling a complex story – its new podcast looks at an innovative but complex tool for cities, told via key local voices and expert navigation in each episode. What are its hopes for taking this tricky approach to communicating their climate work? Rossana Torri, the local project manager for the Mission in Milan, gives NetZeroCities some excellent insight in this Q&A for our latest blog post.
A Climate City Contract is an innovative tool for cities aspiring to reach climate neutrality but isn’t an obvious topic for a podcast series. What inspired you to use a podcast to share your climate neutrality journey and what unique advantages does it give over other types of communication?
At first, our idea was a bit more traditional—we thought about creating a series of short video clips, where each signatory of the Climate City Contract could highlight specific projects or aspects of their work toward decarbonisation. But as we discussed it with the City of Milan’s communication team, the concept evolved into an audio-only podcast. This shift made things a bit more challenging, though, for a few reasons.
With video clips, each stakeholder could have done their own thing and created their own content. But with a podcast, we needed a clear overall direction—how to structure the episodes, who to pair together, and which themes to focus on. It had to be carefully coordinated, which was a bit tricky.
From a technical standpoint, it was a leap for the City of Milan to produce the series internally, instead of outsourcing it to a specialised agency. But in the end, the real advantage was the level of engagement. Bringing people together in the studio, getting them to share their experiences—it became a fun and interesting experiment. It created a warmth and connection that you don’t always get with other formats.
Can you tell us your favourite episode?
No way I’m picking a favourite! The other episodes would never forgive me…
What role do stakeholder voices play in the podcast, and why was it important to include them?
In the podcast, it’s actually the stakeholders themselves who share their perspectives. They talk about how Milan is evolving with a particular focus on climate neutrality. The narrative emphasises how the projects led by the signatories, along with those initiated by the Municipality, are all making real, tangible contributions to this transformation.
We really wanted listeners to visualise the future—what will today’s big construction projects look like tomorrow? How are these projects tackling climate neutrality? Whether it’s improving energy performance in new buildings, creating more green spaces, or rethinking mobility to be more sustainable.
At the same time, we aimed to make the technical aspects accessible and engaging. For example, what exactly is a renewable energy community? Or how does thermal energy recovery from groundwater actually work? We also shared stories of citizen involvement and science-driven activism because, in the end, that’s a crucial part of the transition—getting people involved and helping them feel like they’re truly part of the change.
Were there any unexpected insights or stories that emerged during the podcast production?
One of the interesting things I learned was about the district heating and cooling network running beneath Milan’s streets. It works especially well in densely populated areas. I didn’t know that it’s already being used in iconic buildings like the Fabbrica del Duomo, Palazzo Reale, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. What’s even more exciting is that this network expands by 15-20 km every year. Stories like this highlight how important it is to look closely at the city’s infrastructure. These types of systems could play a crucial role in reducing emissions across Milan.
Is there anything that might even inform future iterations of the Climate City Contract?
Some of the podcast episodes focused on ongoing urban regeneration projects in specific areas of Milan. These major initiatives have the potential to “pull along” other public and private initiatives, significantly contributing to the city’s decarbonisation efforts. These areas, or “molecules,” will form the foundation for the next iteration of the Climate City Contract. The next step will focus on creating a strategic feasibility document that includes one or more of these areas. This document will come from in-depth collaboration with key stakeholders and will help identify new opportunities for projects and investments in the future.
How does this podcast fit into the broader communication strategy for the city’s climate neutrality activity?
This podcast is part of a broader communication strategy aimed at supporting the city’s journey toward climate neutrality. It’s not just about informing people—it’s also about actively engaging them. For example, in Milan, there’s a “Permanent Citizen Assembly” that regularly meets. Experts and environmental representatives lead training sessions, participate in discussions, and gather ideas from the participants. These ideas are then used to shape and implement real projects, some of which citizens take on themselves to complete within a set timeframe.
Under the ‘Milano cambia aria’ (Milan changes the air) brand, the City of Milan brings together a range of communication tools focused on environmental issues—everything from climate change and air quality to mitigation and adaptation. The podcast fits perfectly into this strategy as an accessible way to inform and engage citizens, raise awareness, and encourage ongoing dialogue about the city’s future.
Who do you hope will be listening and what feedback have you received so far?
The first episode was published on March 17th, and for the first time, the City of Milan used Spotify as a platform to reach as many people as possible with this podcast. So far, we’ve received positive feedback, especially from colleagues who were kind enough to be our test audience. They’ve praised the podcast for being enjoyable to listen to and for the relevance of the content. I should also mention that we’ve been fortunate to have a fantastic host—Davide Franzago, an ecologist with expertise in communication and several podcasts under his belt. He’s done a great job bringing energy to the conversations, and his lively, expressive style really helps engage the guests and make the discussions dynamic.
How can listeners get involved in the city’s climate efforts after listening to the podcast?
Even if they don’t know it yet, new organisations in Milan will soon be involved in a new iteration of our Climate City Contract. If listeners have tuned into the podcast, they’ll already be a step ahead because they’ll have a clear understanding of the goals, the sense of urgency, and the commitment from the city, as well as from the public, private, and third-sector entities that contributed to the first edition. The podcast really helps set the stage for people to get involved and be ready to take action as we move forward with the next steps in the city’s climate efforts.
