Author: Idoia Pérez (UPM)
How does Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo support Turin’s climate transition across energy, mobility and urban governance?
This case study examines the contribution of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo to Turin’s pathway toward climate neutrality through two complementary initiatives: the CLICC project and the TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center. Together, these initiatives illustrate how philanthropy can operate both as a builder of systemic urban capacities and as an accelerator of sector-specific innovation. Rather than acting solely as a source of funding, the foundation plays a strategic role in strengthening governance, enabling experimentation and fostering collaboration across institutional and sectoral boundaries. Through CLICC, the foundation supports the development of analytical infrastructure that enhances the city’s capacity to design, assess and monitor climate and energy policies using data-driven tools. In parallel, the TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center focuses on the decarbonisation of public transport, translating climate ambition into operational projects and applied research.
Philanthropy refers to the use of private resources, channelled through independent organisations, to create public good and social value. In the context of cities’ pathways toward climate neutrality, philanthropy acts as a connector between vision, capacity, finance and participation — far beyond funding, helping to unlock processes, spaces and collaborations. By providing flexible and risk-tolerant support, it accelerates progress towards climate neutrality and a just transition. Foundations are increasingly supporting cities in the development and implementation of climate strategies aligned with the European Cities Mission. In Turin, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo is a signatory of the Climate City Contract and is considered a key partner due to the financial support it has provided to several flagship action plans, as well as its contribution of knowledge, expertise and long-term strategic orientation.
Profile of the Philanthropic Entity
Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo is one of Europe’s largest philanthropic foundations, with a strong territorial focus and a strategic commitment to innovation, sustainability and social cohesion. Its approach combines financial support with active engagement in policy processes and the promotion of cross-sector collaboration. The foundation operates across three interconnected dimensions: People, Culture and Planet. In addition, the foundation places particular emphasis on long-term impact and on addressing systemic challenges rather than isolated issues.
Description of the Projects
Although the CLICC project and the TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center are distinct initiatives, they are embedded in a shared strategic vision for the city of Turin and contribute coherently to the objectives set out in the Torino 2030 strategy and the Climate City Contract. They address two complementary dimensions of the climate transition: system-level knowledge and decision-making capacity on the one hand, and sector-specific implementation and innovation on the other.
CLICC functions as a transversal urban infrastructure focused on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions modelling. It provides the City of Turin with a hybrid hardware and software platform for urban “mirroring,” enabling the simulation of “what if?” scenarios to assess the impacts of climate and energy policies before their implementation. The TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center, by contrast, concentrates on transforming local public transport, a sector that plays a decisive role in achieving climate neutrality while also affecting accessibility, equity and service quality.
CLICC project
Project Objectives and Timeframe The CLICC project is conceived as a medium- to long-term investment aimed at establishing a permanent urban modelling and monitoring platform to support evidence-based policymaking in the energy and climate domains.
Actors Involved and Roles Based on a collaborative governance model in which each actor contributes complementary capabilities, moving beyond a traditional donor–beneficiary relationship.
- City of Turin: Institutional lead and main user.
- Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo: Strategic partner and enabler, providing flexible funding (€1 million), supporting risk-taking and long-term capacity building.
- Energy Center of the Polytechnic University of Turin: Scientific and technical lead.
Results and Expected Impact Concrete results achieved and expected include the development and operational use of the CLICC urban modelling platform, capable of simulating CO₂ emissions and policy impacts and distinguishing between long-term strategic “macro-actions” and short-term “micro-actions.”
TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center
Project Objectives and Timeframe The TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center, by contrast, combines short- and medium-term actions, with operational projects already underway alongside exploratory and applied research activities focused on public transport decarbonisation. Actors Involved and Roles
- Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo: Co-creator and catalyst, committing €1.2 million to support operational projects and applied research beyond conventional public funding mechanisms.
- GTT (Gruppo Torinese Trasporti): Operational partner and real-world testbed.
- LINKS Foundation: Research and innovation partner.
Results and Expected Impact In the mobility sector, results include the implementation of operational projects such as photovoltaic energy production, digital upgrades to the metro system and compliance with safety regulations, alongside collaborative research on pathways toward climate-neutral, inclusive and efficient public transport systems, including the exploration of alternative net-zero energy scenarios.
Context of Collaboration and Role of the Philanthropic Entity in the Projects Process
The collaboration takes place in a context in which Turin was redefining its urban development model in the run-up to and following the adoption of its Climate City Contract in 2023, in response to economic transformation, social challenges and ambitious climate targets.
Within this context, the CLICC project emerged from a shared recognition by the City of Turin and academic partners of the need for advanced tools to support evidence-based climate and energy policymaking. The TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center, by contrast, was launched within the Torino 2030 strategy, reflecting the recognition that mobility is a critical lever for achieving climate neutrality while also addressing accessibility, equity and service quality.
Throughout the project lifecycle, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo has acted as a co-financier, facilitator and catalyst for innovation, with a differentiated role across the two initiatives. In the CLICC project, the foundation enabled the creation of a shared analytical infrastructure by supporting the collaboration between the City of Turin and academic partners, reducing institutional risk and allowing advanced modelling tools to be developed and tested in a real policy context. Its support helped position evidence-based analysis as a component of local climate governance. Within the TPL Carbon Free Innovation Center, the foundation played a key role in enabling operational experimentation in the public transport sector, supporting both immediate implementation projects and longer-term exploratory research. By connecting GTT with research and innovation actors, the foundation fostered cross-sector collaboration and helped translate climate objectives into practical solutions.
Lessons, barriers and recommendations
- Value added of philanthropy: The collaboration demonstrates how philanthropic engagement can enable greater flexibility, faster decision-making and a longer-term perspective than is typically possible through public funding alone, supporting innovation and experimentation in complex urban transitions.
- Barriers encountered: Challenges included differences in institutional timelines, accountability frameworks and expectations regarding impact measurement, as well as the complexity of coordinating multiple actors and embedding innovative outcomes into stable administrative and regulatory structures.
- Key recommendations: Successful collaboration with philanthropic entities benefits from early alignment of strategic objectives, clear roles and responsibilities, transparent governance arrangements and a shared commitment to learning and adaptation. Initiatives with systemic relevance and strong links to urban and European strategies are particularly well suited to philanthropic engagement.
Photos extracted from the official websites, Adobe and blogs from the organizations.