Projects Cooling Cities: 13th INA Green Belt Awardees Honored

Ten projects aimed at greening urban areas and creating more pleasant city environments have received recognition and funding through the 13th INA Green Belt initiative. These selected projects will be implemented across Croatia, focusing on environmental improvement and sustainability.

Initiatives range from removing significant amounts of waste from natural sites, such as the Karlovačka cave, to planting hundreds of trees around a hospital to reduce noise and enhance patient privacy. Other projects focus on creating green corridors in new neighborhoods to combat urban heat islands and improve air quality. Educational components are also integrated, with schoolyards being transformed into green learning spaces and outdoor classrooms.

Tamara Karagity, Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing at INA, highlighted the growing challenge of urban heat islands and INA's commitment to supporting innovative solutions. "We are looking for smart greening, creating shade where it is most needed, and solutions that are long-term and self-sustaining," she stated. INA considers this program an investment in sustainability, with employee volunteers adding extra value to the projects.

The INA Green Belt program has been running continuously since 2014, making it one of Croatia's longest-running corporate social responsibility initiatives focused on environmental protection and local development.

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Cities have become increasingly pronounced heat islands, and this is a challenge we can no longer ignore. That's why we decided to co-finance solutions that contribute to cooling micro-locations, with a special emphasis on innovation. We were looking for smart greening, creating shade where it is most needed, and solutions that are long-term and self-sustaining. At INA, we see this as an investment in sustainability, not just financial support. It is also important to us that INA volunteers participate in the implementation, which adds extra value to the projects.