With Europe increasingly worried both by rocketing energy bills and the environmental impact of using fuel, Italian pasta brand is Barilla doing its part to help with a smart device that reduces your carbon emissions when cooking your pasta meals.

In a new campaign from Publicis Italy/Le Pub, the brand turned to a traditional Italian way of pasta preparation known as "passive" cooking. Traditionally, this would be turning off the boiling water after two minutes and leaving the pasta to cook under the lid until it's ready.

However, to add a 21st century twist for the (presumably more impatient and multitasking) modern pasta lover, it created a smart device that sits on top of the pot and tells you exactly when the pasta is ready, so you don't have to keep prodding and checking. The open source tech prototype, developed by Publicis Italy/Le Pub's tech ideation studion Le Garage, connects to a smartphone through its own app and can accurate measure the optimal cooking time, sending an alert when the pasta's ready. There's also a WhatsApp Bot with a step-by-step guide you can follow to make sure you get it right, and "share your experiences."

The idea is promoted via a playful, retro-style campaign devised by creative art collective Toiletpaper, led by artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. It's running globally across social platforms.

It's the latest campaign from Barilla to combine pasta cooking with modern day tech; the brand previously created special Spotify playlists designed to help hone your pasta cooking time, 

“Partnering with Barilla for this new campaign was an incredible opportunity to embrace a method that has been around for centuries - and is a real sign of love for the planet,” said Bruno Bertelli, global CEO of Le Pub, global chief creative officer of Publicis Worldwide and chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe Italy. “We have created an open-source tech prototype that can help everyone to reduce their environmental impact along with a WhatsApp Bot. This demonstrates how technology can be a meaningful tool that enhances everyday habits and help make a difference.”