Sustainable Development Goals and Current Sustainability …
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context in which Italian higher education institutions are gathering toward the same
sustainability objectives, mapping the SDGs and the PoliTO’s activities in the six
work areas of the Green Team (Energy and buildings, Mobility and transport, Urban
outreach, Food, water and waste, Green procurement and Communication). The last
part of this text draws the conclusions for PoliTO’s weaknesses and opportunities,
and potentially for all the other universities already en marche towards a sustainable
path.
2 SDGs and the Italian Situation
On 25 September 2015, the United Nations approved the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs in the English
acronym), articulated in 169 Targets to be reached by 2030 (United Nations, Population Division 2015). It is an historical event, because eventually a clear judgment
has been expressed regarding the unsustainability of the current development model,
not only on the environmental level, but also on the economic and social ones (Kates
et al. 2005; Kates et al. 2001). In this way, and this is the highly innovative character of the Agenda, the idea that sustainability is only an environmental issue and
an integrated view of the different dimensions of development is definitively overcome (Giovannini 2018). This primary goal of intergenerational equity extends the
reference horizon of choices and provides foresight for government action (Griggs
et al. 2013). This is realistically possible where the value, the communicative and
inspiring power of the SDGs becomes part of daily life, impacting concretely on the
behavior of individuals and organizations (Colglazier 2015). Implicit in the SDG
logic is that the goals depend on each other, even if there is still great uncertainty on
how it happens.
The challenge for complex, multi-center and multi-stakeholder organizations,
such as universities, is to seize the opportunities of the Agenda 2030 (Hajer et al. 2015;
Martin and James 2012; Sachs 2012). Operationally, they should be able to promote
new institutional governance mechanisms, coherently orienting internal decisionmaking processes, allocating resources, redesigning both the organization’s mission
and the system of incentives for teaching and research (Cortese 2003; Di Nauta et al.
2015; Waters 2013). And this is not easy.
The initial move of Italian university toward the SDG concepts was the launch
of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) was established on
February 3rd, 2016, upon the initiative of the Unipolis Foundation and the University
of Rome “Tor Vergata” (http://asvis.it/).
This is consistent with the first principle of the Agenda 2030, that requires the
universality of the commitment to change, not only in the sense that all countries
must play their part, but that all the components of a country must be involved, not
only public but also private, civil society and so on. From this comes the second
principle, that is the participation (Ferrer-Balas et al. 2009; Hopwood et al. 2005;
Sachs 2012). The aim of ASviS is indeed to raise the awareness of the Italian society,
249
context in which Italian higher education institutions are gathering toward the same
sustainability objectives, mapping the SDGs and the PoliTO’s activities in the six
work areas of the Green Team (Energy and buildings, Mobility and transport, Urban
outreach, Food, water and waste, Green procurement and Communication). The last
part of this text draws the conclusions for PoliTO’s weaknesses and opportunities,
and potentially for all the other universities already en marche towards a sustainable
path.
2 SDGs and the Italian Situation
On 25 September 2015, the United Nations approved the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs in the English
acronym), articulated in 169 Targets to be reached by 2030 (United Nations, Population Division 2015). It is an historical event, because eventually a clear judgment
has been expressed regarding the unsustainability of the current development model,
not only on the environmental level, but also on the economic and social ones (Kates
et al. 2005; Kates et al. 2001). In this way, and this is the highly innovative character of the Agenda, the idea that sustainability is only an environmental issue and
an integrated view of the different dimensions of development is definitively overcome (Giovannini 2018). This primary goal of intergenerational equity extends the
reference horizon of choices and provides foresight for government action (Griggs
et al. 2013). This is realistically possible where the value, the communicative and
inspiring power of the SDGs becomes part of daily life, impacting concretely on the
behavior of individuals and organizations (Colglazier 2015). Implicit in the SDG
logic is that the goals depend on each other, even if there is still great uncertainty on
how it happens.
The challenge for complex, multi-center and multi-stakeholder organizations,
such as universities, is to seize the opportunities of the Agenda 2030 (Hajer et al. 2015;
Martin and James 2012; Sachs 2012). Operationally, they should be able to promote
new institutional governance mechanisms, coherently orienting internal decisionmaking processes, allocating resources, redesigning both the organization’s mission
and the system of incentives for teaching and research (Cortese 2003; Di Nauta et al.
2015; Waters 2013). And this is not easy.
The initial move of Italian university toward the SDG concepts was the launch
of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) was established on
February 3rd, 2016, upon the initiative of the Unipolis Foundation and the University
of Rome “Tor Vergata” (http://asvis.it/).
This is consistent with the first principle of the Agenda 2030, that requires the
universality of the commitment to change, not only in the sense that all countries
must play their part, but that all the components of a country must be involved, not
only public but also private, civil society and so on. From this comes the second
principle, that is the participation (Ferrer-Balas et al. 2009; Hopwood et al. 2005;
Sachs 2012). The aim of ASviS is indeed to raise the awareness of the Italian society,