258
G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
Fig. 7 The SDGs related to
the communication
initiatives at Politecnico di
Torino
networks and surveys to understand the degree of knowledge of the team and of the
actions carried out by the different members.
All these actions can be mapped along the SDGs 4 and 17, as illustrated in Fig. 7.
10 Discussion
The SDGs mapping exercise over current and forthcoming action of the Politecnico di
Torino Green team was very helpful made visible all the strengthening and weakening
relationships among all the different fields of action. Being a technical university, the
results highlight that the expertise and the actions are of course polarized toward the
SDG 7, 9, 11 and 12. That implies that technology is being considered as the enabling
factor for the implementation of the other SDGs, and in particular on the overarching
SDG 13 on climate change mitigation and adaptation. This relation is bidirectional,
too, in the forthcoming strategy of PoliTO, meaning that the struggle against climate
change is believed to be positively driven by the deployment of sustainable energy
services, and that the integration of climate change measures into national policies
positively contributes to the deployment of renewable energies and energy efficiency
measures.
The risks embedded in this direction, not touching for instance the 1, 2, 5 or 16
SDGs (End poverty in all its forms everywhere, End hunger, Achieve food security
and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, Achieve gender equality
and empower all women and girls, Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies),
are that the message the Politecnico could be giving to the students is that it is enough
to just rely on technology to solve societal challenges.
A lacking SGD, for instance, is the 10th: “Reduce inequality within and among
countries”, which is crucial in the new UN agenda in order to ensure an equal and
just progression toward a better quality of life for everybody on this planet (Chelleri
et al. 2015; Escobedo et al. 2015; Mitlin and Satterthwaite 2012). That impedes
to “glue” all the other objectives toward a just dimension in the distribution of the
benefits out of innovation and technology investments. However, one of the reason
for this polarization can be the fact that the mapping exercise has not been extended
to the activities related to the so called Third Mission, where a number of initiatives
related to cooperation are undertaken. Nevertheless, such mapping exercise allowed
highlighting “black spots” in the current Green Team activities, both in collecting
and giving a direction to existent PoliTO initiatives.
G. Sonetti and P. Lombardi
Fig. 7 The SDGs related to
the communication
initiatives at Politecnico di
Torino
networks and surveys to understand the degree of knowledge of the team and of the
actions carried out by the different members.
All these actions can be mapped along the SDGs 4 and 17, as illustrated in Fig. 7.
10 Discussion
The SDGs mapping exercise over current and forthcoming action of the Politecnico di
Torino Green team was very helpful made visible all the strengthening and weakening
relationships among all the different fields of action. Being a technical university, the
results highlight that the expertise and the actions are of course polarized toward the
SDG 7, 9, 11 and 12. That implies that technology is being considered as the enabling
factor for the implementation of the other SDGs, and in particular on the overarching
SDG 13 on climate change mitigation and adaptation. This relation is bidirectional,
too, in the forthcoming strategy of PoliTO, meaning that the struggle against climate
change is believed to be positively driven by the deployment of sustainable energy
services, and that the integration of climate change measures into national policies
positively contributes to the deployment of renewable energies and energy efficiency
measures.
The risks embedded in this direction, not touching for instance the 1, 2, 5 or 16
SDGs (End poverty in all its forms everywhere, End hunger, Achieve food security
and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, Achieve gender equality
and empower all women and girls, Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies),
are that the message the Politecnico could be giving to the students is that it is enough
to just rely on technology to solve societal challenges.
A lacking SGD, for instance, is the 10th: “Reduce inequality within and among
countries”, which is crucial in the new UN agenda in order to ensure an equal and
just progression toward a better quality of life for everybody on this planet (Chelleri
et al. 2015; Escobedo et al. 2015; Mitlin and Satterthwaite 2012). That impedes
to “glue” all the other objectives toward a just dimension in the distribution of the
benefits out of innovation and technology investments. However, one of the reason
for this polarization can be the fact that the mapping exercise has not been extended
to the activities related to the so called Third Mission, where a number of initiatives
related to cooperation are undertaken. Nevertheless, such mapping exercise allowed
highlighting “black spots” in the current Green Team activities, both in collecting
and giving a direction to existent PoliTO initiatives.