250
G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
economic stakeholders and institutions about the importance of the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, and to mobilize them in order to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Giovannini 2018). This alliance already brings
together over 180 of the most important civil society institutions and networks at
national level, such as: associations representing social partners (businesses, trade
unions and third sector associations); networks of civil society associations pursuing
specific goals (health, education, employment, environment quality, gender equality,
etc.); associations of local public administrations; public and private universities and
research centres; associations of stakeholders working in the fields of culture and
information; foundations and networks of foundations; Italian organizations that are
members of international networks dealing with the SDGs.
The 2030 Agenda was the result of a two-year negotiation between governments
and therefore is the result of a mediation, not all-encompassing but well structured,
that includes and shows the connections, also operational, among the different subjects. An example: the Third Sector Forum asked its associates to reclassify the
activities carried out according to the targets of the Agenda; the request that could
have been understood as a bureaucratic burden, but instead it was accepted with a
great participation, with a sense discovery, as a break with the routine and a way to
deal with one’s own historical legacy and with other subjects.
Moreover, in AsviS there are subjects that historically have had different positions
on many issues (for instance, the environmental ONGs, or the production actors such
as “Confindustria”, “Confcommercio”, with the trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL).
In these two years, the ASviS network has not been an intrusive component, but it
has represented an added value. For example, the report produced each year with the
contribution of 300 experts is sent to all associations before its publication, being a
collective product that welcomes different points of view.
Working together on the Agenda 2030 targets represented a model of integration
between very different realities that have discovered the value of working together,
inspiring also the Italian Sustainable University Network (RUS), born with the aim
of promoting the SDGs, spreading the culture and good practices of sustainability
and strengthening the value of the Italian experience at an international level. The
RUS, co-founded by Politecnico di Torino (PoliTO), in July 2015 with other Italian Universities, represents the first experience of coordination and sharing for all
higher education institution involved in the issues of environmental sustainability and
social responsibility. In this perspective, PoliTO, also partner of ASviS, adopted the
United Nations Agenda 2030 as an innovative guideline for an integrated approach to
strategic planning and social reporting, in which to give expression of the effects of
government action in terms of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The multi-year experience acquired by PoliTO through a process of
reporting that combines the economic dimension with the social and environmental,
has had as a natural outlet the questioning of the status quo regarding the university
missions of teaching, researching and outreaching, to contribute to the Agenda 2030
(Green 2013; Lauder et al. 2015; Lozano et al. 2014).
G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
economic stakeholders and institutions about the importance of the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, and to mobilize them in order to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Giovannini 2018). This alliance already brings
together over 180 of the most important civil society institutions and networks at
national level, such as: associations representing social partners (businesses, trade
unions and third sector associations); networks of civil society associations pursuing
specific goals (health, education, employment, environment quality, gender equality,
etc.); associations of local public administrations; public and private universities and
research centres; associations of stakeholders working in the fields of culture and
information; foundations and networks of foundations; Italian organizations that are
members of international networks dealing with the SDGs.
The 2030 Agenda was the result of a two-year negotiation between governments
and therefore is the result of a mediation, not all-encompassing but well structured,
that includes and shows the connections, also operational, among the different subjects. An example: the Third Sector Forum asked its associates to reclassify the
activities carried out according to the targets of the Agenda; the request that could
have been understood as a bureaucratic burden, but instead it was accepted with a
great participation, with a sense discovery, as a break with the routine and a way to
deal with one’s own historical legacy and with other subjects.
Moreover, in AsviS there are subjects that historically have had different positions
on many issues (for instance, the environmental ONGs, or the production actors such
as “Confindustria”, “Confcommercio”, with the trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL).
In these two years, the ASviS network has not been an intrusive component, but it
has represented an added value. For example, the report produced each year with the
contribution of 300 experts is sent to all associations before its publication, being a
collective product that welcomes different points of view.
Working together on the Agenda 2030 targets represented a model of integration
between very different realities that have discovered the value of working together,
inspiring also the Italian Sustainable University Network (RUS), born with the aim
of promoting the SDGs, spreading the culture and good practices of sustainability
and strengthening the value of the Italian experience at an international level. The
RUS, co-founded by Politecnico di Torino (PoliTO), in July 2015 with other Italian Universities, represents the first experience of coordination and sharing for all
higher education institution involved in the issues of environmental sustainability and
social responsibility. In this perspective, PoliTO, also partner of ASviS, adopted the
United Nations Agenda 2030 as an innovative guideline for an integrated approach to
strategic planning and social reporting, in which to give expression of the effects of
government action in terms of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The multi-year experience acquired by PoliTO through a process of
reporting that combines the economic dimension with the social and environmental,
has had as a natural outlet the questioning of the status quo regarding the university
missions of teaching, researching and outreaching, to contribute to the Agenda 2030
(Green 2013; Lauder et al. 2015; Lozano et al. 2014).