Today, sustainability is a permanent presence in corporate strategies, electoral programmes and large events. But just two decades ago, awareness was at a much more embryonic stage.

The concept already existed, as of 1987 to be exact, but for a long time it was only a small niche of enthusiasts who were interested. At first glance, sustainable development seemed utopian; but time has shown that it is a necessary path to guaranteeing a future for the planet and those who inhabit it.

Precisely 22 years ago, on the 28th April 2000, LifeGate was created.
After the successful experience of Fattoria Scaldasole, the first company to bring an organic product into large-scale distribution, the Roveda family decided to bet on a new project, this time in publishing.
Since then, the goal has always been the same: to inform and reawaken people's consciences, spreading the model of sustainable development. The tools, however, have changed.

Everything began with an information network made up of the website, an FM radio station and a printed magazine, which then launched an international portal with a version published on four continents.
This story has been enriched by intense publishing activity on social networks, and now we reach a community of 5 million people.

In short, from a one-way system of communication, we have transitioned to a continuous dialogue with people, through the very channels they use every day. These channels are evolving with all the speed and dynamism of the digital world. So alongside our initial digital presence on Facebook, there is now Instagram, which is ever more versatile; the light-hearted mood and frenetic pace of TikTok, which is perfect for Generation Z; and LinkedIn, which is the territory of choice for more professional content.

The experience gained through radio has found new languages and new horizons with podcasts: in May, News from Planet Earth made its debut, a selection of three news stories to start the day.

The LifeGate story teaches us that sustainability can be discussed in many ways and using many languages. It is a balancing act between the need to simplify complex concepts so they can be understood by the broadest audience possible, and the need to remain faithful to scientific rigour, all the more necessary in a context in which fake news proliferates all too easily.

In 2000, we launched Impatto Zero, the first Italian project to implement the Kyoto Protocol through the calculation and reduction of environmental impact and offsetting of CO₂ emissions generated by products, events, organisations and people. In these two decades, the system has contributed to the requalification and reforestation of over 100 million square metres of forest.

Alongside this initiative, many others have been added, such as Bee my Future, for the protection of bees, Stand Up Forests in the Brazilian Amazon, and PlasticLess, to clean the seas of floating plastic using pioneering technology.

Many different activities that are shared every day with the community, in the spirit of positive contamination.

The same contamination that has recently led to the launch of two new initiatives: LifeGate Edu, the first e-learning platform entirely dedicated to sustainability, and LifeGate Way, the first ecosystem dedicated to supporting and connecting sustainable start-ups based on the triad People, Planet, Profit.

Because to build a green future we need skills, technologies and clear, structured strategies, seasoned by that pinch of enthusiasm that gives us the courage to change.