Boeing and its partner Alenia Aeronautica, together with local institutions and Alenia Composite executives, announced the launch of "Natural..mente scuola: educazione ambientale e tecnologia" in November 2008. The program was created to bring young people closer to environmental protection issues and technological innovation.

The program involves 611 classes from 38 secondary schools in the Italian province of Taranto. Its goal is to increase children's awareness of the importance of protecting the environment, said Rinaldo Petrignani, president of Boeing Italy.

Support for the environmental education campaign has been received by the Puglia Region office of the Ministry of Education; the Regional Center for Environmental Education–the Puglia regional government ministry of the environment; the province of Taranto; and the municipalities of Grottaglie and Monteiasi.

"Boeing is committed to protecting the environment and sets stringent objectives for the reduction of its environmental impact, in terms of energy and water consumption, gas emissions and dangerous waste materials," Petrignani said. "Our approach goes along with the awareness of our responsibility to the local communities that host the plants where our airplanes are built. This is why we see cooperation with local stakeholders as a key component of our social responsibility."

The municipalities of Monteiasi and Grottaglie host the new Alenia Composite center of excellence for the development and production of fuselage sections for the 787 Dreamliner. Its lighter structure will provide airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environmental performance.

The "Natural..mente scuola" project includes several activities, including a toolkit for teachers to educate their classes about everyday behavior that can improve the environment. The program also established two teaching laboratories, which give students hands-on experience in activities directly related to sustainable technologies development. In addition, a competition was held among classrooms focusing on the students' vision of a greener world and their ideas to make it happen.