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IJSHE
20,3 Governing the university
in the perspective of the
United Nations 2030 Agenda
500 The case of the University of Bologna
Received 23 February 2019 Angelo Paletta
Revised 3 April 2019
Accepted 3 April 2019
Department of Management, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, and
Alessandra Bonoli
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering,
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Abstract
Purpose – Starting from the experience of the University of Bologna, this paper provides an innovative
framework to analyse how universities are rethinking courses and curricula, teaching, research programmes,
campus operation and partnership to address the Agenda 2030.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes a methodological approach to represent direct
and indirect impacts produced by all universities’ activities.
Findings – The commitment to sustainability of the University of Bologna was made clear through the last
Strategic Plan approach explicitly aimed at the consideration of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Parallel to the process of integration of the SDGs in strategic planning, the University has an
additional tool for reporting on the extended performance, which was presented during the G7 Environment
held in Bologna in June 2017.
Research limitations/implications – This study focussed on the University of Bologna experience,
according with HEIs sustainability approach over the world. A bit too technical sometimes to explain each
practical point of activity related with the commitment in SDGs.
Practical implications – The multi-year experience acquired by the University of Bologna through a
process of reporting that combines the economic dimension with the social and environmental, has as a
natural outlet questioning the priorities to be pursued in teaching, research and the third mission to contribute
to the Agenda 2030.
Social implications – It is shown as Alma Mater promotes actively the principles of sustainability also in
terms of enhancement of collectivity welfare, the economic growth, the social equity and the capability of
involved people to actually work together for the common good.
Originality/value – On the basis of the experience of the University of Bologna, an innovative framework
can be provided to analyse how universities are rethinking all their activities to address the Agenda 2030.
Keywords Sustainability Indicators, Campus sustainability, SDGs, High education
Paper type Case study

Introduction
Sustainable development (SD) is a universal fundamental goal for intra and
International Journal of
Sustainability in Higher Education
intergenerational prosperity and equity that provides foresight for the governance action of
Vol. 20 No. 3, 2019
pp. 500-514
all institutions, including universities (United Nation, 1992; Leal Filho, 1999; United Nation,
© Emerald Publishing Limited 2012; UNESCO, 2014; Milutinovic and Nikolic, 2014). The idea of sustainable development
1467-6370
DOI 10.1108/IJSHE-02-2019-0083 underlying the United Nations 2030 Agenda (United Nation, 2015) represents an action plan
to transform the world, acting on behalf of “People, Peace, the Planet, Prosperity and United Nations
Partnerships.” In universities this is realistically possible the more the value, the 2030 Agenda
communicative and inspiring power of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) become
part of daily life, impacting concretely on the behaviours of teachers, administrative staff,
management and control bodies and, last but not least, of the thousands of students who
animate the life of the universities (Müller-Christ et al., 2014; Mintz and Tal, 2014; Azeiteiro
et al., 2015; Leal Filho et al., 2017). 501
Many universities around the world have embraced the values of sustainability, such as
the enhancement and preservation of the territory, the improvement of community welfare,
the economic development based on knowledge, social equity and the capacity of the
subjects involved to work together effectively for the common good. For many universities
around the world, the theme of sustainability is no longer one of the many options available
but has become a necessary and responsible development strategy. (Velazquez et al., 2006;
Stephens et al., 2008; Lozano et al., 2013; Verhulst and Lambrechts, 2014; Ramos et al., 2015;
Leal Filho et al., 2015; Clugston and Calder, 1999).
In Europe, the European Universities Association (EUA, 2018) affirmed that “Sustainable
Development Goals clearly need strong societal actors, like universities, to ensure their
success.” In particular, issues such as quality education (goal 4), industry innovation and
infrastructure (goal 9), affordable and clean energy (goal 7), gender equality and reduced
inequalities (goal 5), sustainable cities and communities (goal 11), peace, justice and strong
institutions (goal 16) and partnerships for the goals (goal 17) are assuming a wide role of the
universities in the society to join the European Commission’s Multi-Stakeholder Platform on
the SDGs (European Commission, 2018).
Within this scenario, the experience of the University of Bologna (in the following also
Alma Mater or Alma Mater Studiorum) represents a clear example of a mega university able
to renew itself in the tradition and doing sustainability a development strategy consistent
with its institutional missions.
For years, the University of Bologna has adopted innovative strategies to harmonize the
relationship between space and people. The values of sustainability find a methodological
declination in the multi-campus university model, allowing the University to promote the
dissemination of an effectively sustainable culture and thus play a decisive role in local
economic reality and in the transmission of knowledge within society.
On this basis, Alma Mater has adopted the 17 SDGs of the United Nations (UN, 2015) as a
reference framework for governance action and as a useful tool to measure progress toward
a sustainable society, operating in compliance with available resources and paying attention
to the needs of future generations, motor and at the same time “raison d'être” of a university
institution. The commitment to sustainability of the University of Bologna was made clear
through the last Strategic Plan approach explicitly aimed at the consideration of the U.N.
SDGs: “The University’s strategies can contribute to the achievement of a more sustainable
world.” Parallel to the process of integration of the SDGs in strategic planning, the
University has an additional tool for reporting on the extended performance, which was
presented during the G7 Environment held in Bologna in June 2017. The document proposes
a methodological approach to represent direct and indirect impacts produced by all
universities’ activities.
On the basis of the experience of the University of Bologna, an innovative framework can
be provided to analyse how universities are rethinking all their activities to address the
Agenda 2030. The adoption of SDGs approach in governance processes let make sustainable
management strategies of the universities.
IJSHE The paper provides a concrete contribution to overcome some limits that still prevent the
20,3 implementation of a systemic approach to the management of sustainability in universities.
There is interest among academics, policymakers and other stakeholders in taking
sustainable development practices within the university, and there is recognition of the
opportunity that the concept has for a positive impact on the whole environment, society
and economy (Leal Filho et al., 2015). However, there is a limited understanding of a
502 framework for the sustainability management of universities (Adams et al., 2017).
On this basis, the case study of the University of Bologna represents a viewpoint to
analyse challenges and opportunities to institutionalise sustainable development strategies
into a higher education institution (HEI). The methodology based on the United Nations
2030 Agenda achievement served as an innovative guideline for an approach integrated, in
which the effects of academic activities and institutional governance on the environment,
society and economy can be expressed.

Higher education for sustainable development

At the end of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO remarks that:
Higher education institutions have stepped up their efforts to support SD, have made significant
efforts to address sustainability in campus operations, have introduced new programmes and
courses related to education for SD, and are extending the value and impact of their teaching and
research to their respective communities (UNESCO, 2014).
At the same time, the UNESCO document underlines current limits and indicates the
challenges that universities face to incorporate and institutionalise SD:
 Translation of commitments into implementation requires coordinated change at
multiple levels – in governance, planning, academic programmes, facility
management and financial systems.
 Deeper innovation in staff development and across institutions is necessary to
transform curricula and pedagogy.
 Disciplinary boundaries continue to be barriers to the exploration of complex issues
and to the preparation of learners with the capacity to address complexity.

In parallel with the United Nations programme on education for SD, HEIs have been directly
mobilised to integrate the principles of sustainable development into all their institutional
devices and organisational systems (Cortese, 2003). Leaders of universities around the world
have developed and signed a series of statements, declarations and initiatives to provide
guidelines or frameworks for HEIs to demonstrate their commitment and institutionalise the
sustainability strategy (Calder and Clugston, 2003; Wright, 2004; Lozano et al., 2013).
HEIs now have the responsibility, more than ever before, to integrate sustainable
development into all their systems. However, they continue to encounter barriers to change
that prevent the assumption of transformational leadership within them and towards
society (Kapitulcinova et al., 2018; Verhulst and Lambrechts, 2014; Stephens et al., 2008;
Velazquez et al., 2006).
The literature has identified several aspects that need to be systemically integrated into
the functioning of the Sustainable University.
First of all, institutional framework for SD which includes mission, vision, strategic
planning and institutional policies, SD office, and Declaration/Charter signed by the
institution. The adoption of an institutional agenda for SD is the expression of the
commitment of the entire academic community (governance, managers, professors, staff,
students) and is essential to define the “tone at the top” of the sustainable university. This
commitment finds a declination in the mission and vision of SD, including policies in United Nations
favour of diversity, inclusion, participation, directing the university's strategy, the 2030 Agenda
definition of objectives, measurable indicators and targets that allow monitoring and
evaluation. Then, Research, as a pillar of HEIs, seeking to create multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge required to promote societal changes
(Rau et al., 2018). Lozano et al. (2015) identifying the following aspects of SD research:
research centres, research funding, holistic thinking, international recognition, SD
research used in teaching, publications, patents, new knowledge and technologies, inter-
503
university collaboration programmes. University research models the principles of
sustainable development in all 17 SDGs. Indeed, the 2030 agenda makes explicit reference
to the need for scientific research for sustainable agriculture, vaccine development,
sustainable consumption and production, the need for scientific contributions in tackling
ocean and fisheries management. University leadership is needed to improve scientific
research and enhance the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries,
particularly in developing countries, and is a lever to pursue innovation goals, greatly
increasing the number of research and development workers and public and private
research and development spending.
Teaching and learning are the other levers through which higher education institutions
have the capacity to shape the principles of sustainable development. SDG 4 of Agenda
2030, titled “inclusive and equitable quality education for all”, highlights the importance of
education and education for sustainability. Many of the same goal’s targets, directly or
indirectly, invite universities to be active in that direction (SDSN, 2017). Courses and
programme on SD help to create the knowledge and awareness necessary to drive changes
towards a sustainable future (Kishita et al., 2018; Hill and Wang, 2018). To that end,
education for sustainable development is based on practical activities, simulating the
problems of real life, on cognitive learning practices that stimulate critical thinking, building
capacity for lifelong learning (Dagiliute et al., 2018; Berchin et al., 2017).
A strategy for a Sustainable University includes outreach and collaboration activities.
The literature presents many examples of outreach activities, but the authors are not always
talking about the same things (Lozano et al., 2015; Berchin et al., 2017). Some examples
include:
 exchange programmes for students in the field of SD;
 joint degrees with other universities, joint research and SD partnerships (e.g.
enterprises, non-governmental organisations and governments); and
 SD events open to the community (e.g. conferences seminars, workshops).

Then, it has to be considered a couple of operative approaches at campus level, such as

campus operations and SD through on-campus experiences. Green campuses system
includes energy use and energy efficiency, greenhouse gases emissions evaluation, waste
and water management, food purchasing, transport and mobility, but also accessibility for
disabled people, and equality and diversity (Dagiliute et al., 2018). At the same time, on-
campus experiences are really important to involve all campuses’ stakeholders, thanks to
the implementation of SD working group, SD policies for students and staff, sustainable
practices for students. There are many examples of programmes and projects devoted to
encourage students and the community to practice sustainability principles, stimulating
them to think and act creatively in benefit of environment and society, creating experiences
and knowledge that must be applied during lifetime (Berchin et al., 2017). This type of
activity is often connected with outreach programmes, engaging students and other
IJSHE stakeholders to bring innovation to the local community, improving the quality of life and
20,3 their sustainable development.
Finally, assessment and reporting represents one of the most important engagement of
HEIs to share the results of their sustainability programmes and actions, increasing
their transparency (Adams, 2013). Accordingly, SD assessment, SD communication,
environmental reports, sustainability reports, national and international environmental or
504 sustainability HEIs rankings, are important mechanisms to increase the progress towards
sustainability (Fadeeva and Mochizuki, 2010; Lambrechts and Ceulemans, 2013).
All these aspects are important, but, to create a culture of sustainability in universities,
they need to be integrated into a unitary design that shapes the daily lives of students,
teachers, administrative staff and in particular management and government bodies of the
universities. Adams (2013) stressed that the lack of an institutional approach is evident from
the lack of a responsibility identified for sustainability at the highest level in the hierarchy of
organisation. Whilst many universities are experimenting with the odd “green” building or a
sustainability course here and there, or, focussing on a particular issue, few are taking the
whole-of-institution approach.
Therefore, there is interest among academics, policymakers and other stakeholders in
taking sustainable development practices within the University, and there is recognition of
the opportunity that the concept has for a positive impact on the whole environment, the
economy and society (Leal Filho et al., 2015). According to the recent Guide for universities,
higher education institutions, and the academic sector “Getting started with the sdgs in
universities” (SDSN, 2017) universities already make important contributions to the
achievement of the SDGs because of their robust current actions in learning and teaching,
research, organisational governance, and external leadership areas. However, there is a
limited understanding of a framework for the sustainability management of universities
(Adams et al., 2017).
On this basis, the case study of the University of Bologna represents a viewpoint to
analyse challenges and opportunities to institutionalise sustainable development strategies
into higher education Institutions. The case analyses how over time the University has tried
to develop all dimensions in a systemic approach to sustainability. The methodology
underlying the 2030 agenda of the United Nations has been an innovative guideline for an
integrated approach, in which the direct and indirect effects of academic activities on the
environment, society and the economy can be expressed.

The case of the University of Bologna: a systemic approach to sustainable

development
Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna (UNIBO), founded in 1088 and
acknowledged as the Western world oldest university, today is one of the most prominent
European institutions of higher education with more than 85,000 registered students, 2,800
academics, 3,100 administrative employees and over 3,700 young scientists. Managing more
than 1,000,000 m2 of modern and historical buildings of the university citadels (Bologna,
Ravenna, Forlì, Cesena and Rimini), both inside the Emilia Romagna Region and behind, the
University of Bologna operates in an effective way at urban, regional and national levels.
Alma Mater promotes actively the principles of sustainability such as the valorisation and
defence of the territory, the enhancement of collectivity welfare, the economic growth, the
social equity and the capability of involved people to actually work together for the common
good.
The University of Bologna, as living lab, has a planning and operative approach, aimed
at achieving objectives in terms of sustainability, and oriented toward a pragmatic
concreteness. Its declination is therefore focussed on the adoption of innovative United Nations
methodological models aimed at measuring results and controlling the various management 2030 Agenda
processes. As a result, it combine the cultural model with several specific implementing
measures, so as to encourage and develop, through awareness-raising, the incentive and
enhancement of common best practices, and the comparison of the different experiences and
dialogue between different generations.
Since 2009, Unibo has started a sustainability process, developing initiatives and
measures described in the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Plan. The plan, called
505
“Unibo Green”, establishes actions and measures both at the wide-campus level and also at
the single-campus level with three-year objectives. All these measure contributed to create
living–labs of sustainability, places where to experiment sustainability by the adoption of
appropriate technologies and best practices, particularly related with environmental issues
as energy-efficiency, water improving reuse and recycling, solid waste management and
recycling, eco-buildings, climate mitigating and adapting technology as green
infrastructures, implementation of strategies to reduce consumption, pollution and carbon
footprint.
However, University of Bologna discovered the necessity to report extensively on the
results of its activities, also by social, ethical and economics points of view. The Social
Report, since 2012, and of the Gender Report since 2015, that have been renewed in 2016,
were carried out with the decision to assume project-based procedure oriented to practical
results with an innovative approach for the measurement of the results and audit of all the
various operational processes, defined in the 2016-2021 Sustainable Multicampus Project.
The University of Bologna is also participating to the UI GreenMetric Ranking, managed
by Universitas Indonesia (UI) since 2010, that compares world universities in term of their
campus and sustainability programmes based on 56 questions, 34 indicators and six criteria
and represents a reliable tool for national and international comparison. To make better
impact to the global sustainability environment, university needs to put more efforts on six
criteria such as setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste management,
water management, transportation and education.
In 2017, the University of Bologna ranked 29th on the 617 international universities
taking part in the survey, and ranked first in the national ranking, while in the previous
edition the University was 71st in the world and second in Italy.
In the 2018 ranking, Alma Mater conquers the first position in the ranking among Italian
universities, confirming the result of 2017. But even more relevant is the global positioning.
In fact, in the general classification, Unibo has climbed 14 positions in a year, passing from
29th to 15th place, thus reaching the top 20 world of green universities.
The Green Metric survey, although still in an experimental phase, is having a significant
impact on the governance processes of the sustainability strategy of universities. The
specific ex post comparison on the data conferred in the 2017 edition, carried out by and
between the Italian Universities of Bologna, Turin and Venice Ca’ Foscari, has produced a
better positioning in the 2018 international rankings.
Participation in the green metrics ranking proved to be an important stimulus for
improvement, but its scope of activity remains restricted to the environment and green
operations. Therefore, the efforts of the Alma Mater Studiorum to report extensively on the
results of its activities have been improved by the publication of a new document describing
the University’s intensive commitment to respond to the requirements of a society that
continuously evolve, with continuously changing paradigms. According to the Strategic
Plan 2016-2018 perspective, it was carried out a new model in its institutional activities
IJSHE reporting, highlighting its exertions in education, research and social and public
20,3 engagement at the achievement of the 17 SDGs of the U.N. 2030 Agenda.

The UN reporting on sustainable development goals

With a view to completing a plan able to seize the challenges of sustainable development,
the University of Bologna has supplemented the 2016-2018 Strategic Plan with a new
506 interpretation of its teaching, research outreach objectives and campus operation based on
the 17 goals and 169 targets proposed in the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The objectives of
the strategic plan are implemented through a series of projects, actions, initiatives that take
shape with the decisions of the University’s governing bodies and day-to-day management,
providing the reference points for the subsequent reporting of the sustainability strategy.
It is on these foundations that the University has endorsed the 17 SDGs of the United
Nations as a reference framework for governance and as a tool for measuring the progress
made toward a sustainable society. At the same time, it works in accordance with the
available resources and pays attention to the needs of the future generations, the driving
force and reason for existence of a university institution.
In 2017, an ad hoc working group was set up, composed of the Rector Magnifico, some
Rector delegates and professors with experience in the field of social and gender
measurement and reporting, as well as the top management, some executives and staff
administrative technician appointed to carry out management control and research
evaluation functions. Starting from a preliminary and careful examination of the content of
the SDGs and the declarations of the 169 targets that make them explicit, in the course of
eight months of work (from October 2016 to May 2017), the working group has prepared an
innovative model for the measurement and reporting on the performance of a University in
relation to the aforementioned sustainability objectives. The model developed was the basis
for the construction of the Report on U.N. SDGs, developed in English for a wider
dissemination, which was presented as part of the events carried out by the University of
Bologna during the G7 Environment held in Bologna in June 2017.
Considering the wide coverage in terms of disciplinary areas represented in the
Departments and in the training offer of the Alma Mater, the working group considered it
important to measure the impact produced by the University's activity on all 17 SDGs. This
measurement took place mainly through the definition of numerical indicators and, where
deemed relevant, through the display of boxes dedicated to presenting initiatives
undertaken by Unibo on issues pertaining to the individual objectives. The numerical
indicators and the initiatives reported were designed as indicators of the overall
performance of the University, made explicit on four dimensions: the three institutional
missions of the universities (teaching, research, the third mission) and the impact generated
by the university as “corporate” (institutional governance and management), which
activates production-delivery processes using human, economic and natural resources, thus
producing effects on them (Matteuzzi Mazzoni, 2002; Farneti and Guthrie, 2009).
It follows that the document, after some introductory sections presenting the objectives
and reporting the key data of the University (size, operational areas, etc.), is accompanied by
a methodological note explaining the contribution provided by the Alma Mater to achieve
each of the 17 SDGs. The contribution is measured in the four relevant dimensions of
performance: teaching, research, the third mission, institutional governance and
management.
The identification of the indicators and the initiatives started with the examination of
those already present in the planning and reporting documents of the Alma Mater, which
are reclassified, where relevant to the achievement of the 17 SDGs, distinguishing them in
relation to the dimension of performance concerned. The indicators and initiatives thus United Nations
identified were subsequently integrated with additional ones, where deemed useful also in 2030 Agenda
terms of communication effectiveness, to provide full knowledge of the University's impact
on the aforementioned dimensions. To provide comparability with reported performance
and at the same time allow the University's governance to identify possible areas to invest
most in future activities, the same measurement indicators, where applicable, were
presented for each of the 17 SDGs.
Overall, as a result of a report consisting of 70 pages, 186 numerical indicators and 30 507
illustrative boxes of initiatives related to the SDGs have been reported. To provide greater
visibility, communicative effectiveness and readability of the document, numerical
indicators have been associated with icons created specifically through an infographics
software.
The sources of provenance of the quantitative shown data, are mainly represented by the
Data Warehouse of the University of Bologna, a database fed by internal management
systems and, in a residual way, by: a survey given to the Coordinators of the University
Courses, content analysis carried out on research projects and international cooperation
projects activated by the Alma Mater and searches by keywords, Boolean operators and
indices, queries made on the Scopus database.
Table I shows the numerical indicators and the boxes illustrating the initiatives
presented with respect to the four performance dimensions on all 17 SDGs.

The influence of the United Nations 2030 Agenda on the strategic

management of the University: the Sustainable Multicampus Framework
The most concrete implication of the Alma Master’s commitment to the UN Agenda 2030 is
represented by the implementation of a new management framework called “Sustainable
Multicampus”, which, starting from the themes of green campus management, has
integrated the environmental, social and economic aspects in response to the systemic
actions required by the pursuit of the SDGs.
The framework focuses on the needs and habits of the university community, on the
environment and on their mutual relationship through new management models able to
reduce the environmental impact of the University policies and practices, to contribute to
improving the well-being of the community that lives in university areas and to encourage
more active and responsible behaviour. The management framework intends to meet the
demands of safeguarding the environment and containing consumption that affect mobility
and energy at buildings and sites level, pursuing the objectives of care of the heritage built
together with the well-being of the individual.
The strategic areas on which the lines of action are developed are:
 an active community;
 live sustainable;
 moving sustainable; and
 in symbiosis with the environment.

The University of Bologna aims to consolidate the university community bringing students
and staff closer to initiatives in favour of sustainable development. This strategy foresees
the destination of some university spaces to places of information through the creation of an
integrated network of supports, both traditional and innovative, for the dissemination of the
values of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The aim is to facilitate the dissemination of
messages related to the University's commitment to sustainable development and to
IJSHE
Performance
20,3 dimension Indicators and box

Teaching Teachings delivered (number) with attention to the issue of each SDG (A.A. 2016/2017)
Students enrolled (number) for a course containing at least one course marked as
connected to an SDG (A.A. 2016/2017)
Employment rate of University graduates after one year from graduation
508 Academic collaboration agreements with other universities for teacher mobility
(number), which deal with issues related to the SDG (agreements active in 2016, shown
by continent)
Study courses and specialization specifically active on the subjects covered by each
SDG (number) and relative amount of registered students (A.A. 206/2017)
Box on initiatives activated by the University in relation to SDGs. For example, there is
the box on the quality assurance presidium established by the Alma Mater, with a table
showing the main quality parameters (SDG 4 – quality education)
Research Publications inside Scopus database (number), in which at least one author of the
University appears, who deals with issues related to SDGs (analysis on papers
published in the decade 2006/2017). The research was carried out with a method
developed by the working group, replicable and usable by other institutions, based on
the extraction of specific keywords
Citations on Scopus (number) received from the above publications in relation to SDGs
(data extracted at 4/5/2017)
Number of publications per capita of Unibo staff compared to the international
benchmark (100), in relation to SDGs
Number of publications per capita of Unibo staff compared to the national benchmark
(100), in relation to SDG
Financed projects (number) on international competitive tenders (FP7, Horizon2020) and
related amount financed at Unibo (projects active at 31/12/2016)
Research products (number) in which at least one Unibo author is present, inserted in
the IRIS database (year 2014)
Financial amount invested by Unibo for the activation of PhD courses
Research facilities in Unibo: departments; interdepartmental research centres for
industrial research – indicating for these last performance data in terms of numbers
activated contracts, net revenues, number of agreements signed with institutions and
number of European projects in which they participate
Third mission Cooperation and social engagement projects (number) (active at 31/12/2016, data shown
by continent)
Students enrolled for continuing education courses (number) and number of professors
participating in permanent training for teachers (A.A. 2016/2017).
Data on orientation activities (in itinere and out) carried out by University structures. In
particular, number of: curricular internships and training courses, career days
participants, recruiting days and job days, “job placement” website visitors, participants
in company presentations organised by the job placement service
Download (number) of the gender balance and of the social report of the Alma Mater
(2016)
Data on: spin off, start up and patents
Public engagement events (number) organised in collaboration with the University in
the cities where it operates (data shown by type of event)
Development cooperation initiatives (number) in which Unibo participates
(disaggregated by continent)
Box on University initiatives to help solve the issues indicated by SDGs, which involve
Table I. external subjects: e.g. “Unibo for refugees” (SDG 1 – no poverty); business incubators
Performance (SDG 9 – industry, innovation and infrastructure); University museum system – number
dimensions and of visitors and opening hours (SDG 11 – sustainable cities and communities); the
indicators (continued)
 United Nations
Performance 2030 Agenda
dimension Indicators and box

agricultural company of the University (SDG 15 – life on land); participation in the

“Magna Charta” Observatory (SDG 16 – peace, justice and strong institutions);
AlmaEngage (SDG 17 – partnerships for the goals)
Box dedicated to Integrated Research Teams (IRT) operating in the Alma Mater on 509
topics related to SDGs, in particular: Alma Food (SDG 2 – zero hunger); Alma
Sequencing (SDG 3 – good health and well-being); Alma Gender (SDG 5 – gender
equality); Alma Low Carbon (SDG 7 – affordable and clean energy and SDG 12 –
responsible consumption and production); Alma Heritage Science (SDG 11 – sustainable
cities and communities); Social economy and civil society (SDG 16 – peace, justice and
strong institutions); Brasil (SDG 17 – partnerships for the goals)
Institution Unit (number) of Unibo staff (teacher and researcher, Administrative and Technical
(TA) who provides part of the activity in university hospitals or in health facilities in
agreement
Data on training on health and safety at work (number of initiatives, number of hours,
number of participants)
Indicators of economic performance and economic-financial sustainability index
Transparency through the University website. Number of: access to the site and pages
visited (distinguished in Italian and English sites)
Distribution by gender of the members of the governing bodies of the University
University glass ceiling index (values comparison: 2014, 2015, 2016)
Water consumption per year and percentage of devices with water efficiency installed at
the University. Green roofs on the Unibo structures. Renewable energy amount per year
(kwh) and percentage of conventional devices replaced with other energy efficient
Separate waste collection at the University and percentage of recycling of non-organic
waste produced at the University. Public transport for Unibo personnel
Electric cars (percentage) in the Unibo car park. Bicycles (number) on average in the
areas of the University. CO2 emissions (tonnes) in the past 12 months
Box on: University bodies and figures responsible for the protection of gender
opportunities and the gender equality plan (SDG 5 – gender equality); initiatives to
support staff with disabilities (SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth)

Sources: Paletta et al. (2018). For full information on metrics and methodology consult the Methodological
Note on the Report available for download: https://site.unibo.it/almagoals/en/about/reporting-on-united-
nations-sustainable-development-goals.pdf Table I.

promote the formation of an Alma Mater community. Some of these spaces are aimed at
students and are dedicated to the free exchange of information in housing, cultural, social
and recreational.
The promotion of more sustainable lifestyles finds convergence with innovative
technologies able to favour the creation of social networks and the sharing of information in
real time. The main tool of this strategy is an application, “mobile-first”, able to support and
guide user behaviour choices of means of transport, motor and sports activities, nutrition,
waste reduction, reduction environmental impact. As for the mobility functions, the app
provides information on the traffic conditions, pollution and CO2 savings emitted relative to
the use of transport systems with low environmental impact and will also be equipped with
the functionality for the management of vehicles university transport services organised
intermodally.
IJSHE Improving air quality, encouraging mobility on public transport, converting the
20,3 company fleet to more sustainable fuels (electric, hybrid, methane) are some of the actions
taken under the “Moving Sustainable” strategy. In particular, the car sharing management
model was introduced through a web based reservation system for service cars that, by
interfacing with an automated key release system, completely replaces the paper register.
The strategy “In symbiosis with the environment” is based on the idea of considering the
510 external environment as an extension of the internal one to the university premises: treat it
with respect and as a precious resource. The actions of this strategy include the installation
of photovoltaic systems in all new buildings and the installation of photovoltaic shelters for
the production of electricity to recharge electric vehicles in the car park and mobile phones
and tablets.
Among the actions there is then the redevelopment and redesign of the external areas
and the University sports facilities with the aim of improving the quality of life in university
spaces by making the green areas not only the places of access to the structures, but also
liveable extensions of the interior.
The Sustainable Multicampus offers a model whose preconditions are exportable in
everyone’s daily life. The final objective of the actions of this strategic management
framework is indeed the creation of an Alma Mater identity model that satisfies some of the
demands posed by the sustainable approach understood as the principle of development of a
society aimed at respecting public ethics and individual.

Conclusions
Committed with its missions, and on the base of a history that has made stronger over time,
the University of Bologna is entirely conscious that all its activities can give rise to direct
and indirect significant impacts on the community and on the region.
As a great public university, in line with its commitment and the following of social
responsibility, it has adopted the “Report on U.N. Sustainable Development Goals”, an
innovative path based on the attentive classification and reporting of its activities in a
framework that highlights its strong commitment in the sustainable development goals
achievement (Unibo, 2017).
Its strong engagement in this direction let show the perfect overlapping the goal of
quality of education and all the other possible interconnections with the U.N. Agenda SDGs.
The report, originated by this deeply rooted background, has the purpose to represent a
methodological proposal to be discussed, improved and shared and a statement of intent and
responsibility for universities in the perspective of adopting values of the hoped-for future
society set out by the 2030 Agenda perspective.
As for other organisations, even for universities, sustainable development is a challenge
that must be tackled across the board, redesigning institutional strategies, rethinking
organisational structures and management models, and certainly not least in terms of
importance, integrating the planning, control and accountability towards the stakeholders.
Universities are complex, polycentric and multi-stakeholder organisations, for which
sustainability can represent an opportunity to promote new institutional governance
mechanisms, coherently orienting internal decision-making processes, allocation of
resources and the incentive system for teaching and research (Paletta, 2004).
In this perspective, the methodology underlying the UN Agenda 2030 represents an
innovative guideline for an integrated approach to strategic planning and social reporting
with which to give expression to the effects of organisation action in terms of economic
growth, social awareness and care of the environment. The multi-year experience acquired
by the University of Bologna through a process of reporting that combines the economic
dimension with the social and environmental, has as a natural outlet questioning the United Nations
priorities to be pursued in teaching, research and the third mission to contribute to the 2030 Agenda
Agenda 2030. This is not a simple rereading of the plan objectives in terms of relevance and
significance, but a process of strategic elaboration that saw the University make its own the
17 SDGs, placing them directly among the priorities of the institutional governance. The
objectives that the University has set itself in research and education are particularly
significant, investing “in distinctive and multidisciplinary areas in relation to the needs of
the person and of society”.
511
The vision of development underlying the new strategic orientation is already
addressing concrete organisational behaviours, offering the University’s governing bodies
clear and transparent decision-making criteria for enhancing the multidisciplinary heritage
in the planning of new education initiatives and in research incentive policies.
For the future, a key challenge of sustainability is to recognise the importance of students
and increase the potential for participation of all stakeholders.
In this perspective, AlmaGoals and AlmaEngage are born to improve the synergies
among the different University actors in the pursuit of the SDGs. These are two structures of
virtual coordination of social engagement activities with a focus on the issues of
development cooperation.
University of Bologna community has long been engaged in cooperation and social
involvement projects, both at local level and in several geographical areas over all the world.
But, in particular now, the today global changes and the ever more significant and
noticeable role of universities to favour the social development at any levels, have suggested
that all the multiple initiatives be applied in a partecipated and shared way. The main actors
of the cooperation and social engagement activities are teachers and, in an increasingly way,
students as well: to being involved in these issues, in fact, it can also become a great
opportunity for education, professional growth and strengthening those transversal skills
that are increasingly necessary in a globalised society.
For universities such as the University of Bologna, with more than 85,000 students, the
contribution to sustainability also means certifying the skills acquired by students on the
environment and global changes. The basic vision of our university is that all students,
regardless of the course they attend and from professional specialisations, must be aware of
the significance of the Agenda 2030 and the 17 goals of sustainability of the United Nations.
They have the opportunity to deepen the major themes of the global change to contribute to
responsible behaviour in life and work to a new perspective of development based on intra-
generational and inter-generational economic prosperity and equity.
The acquisition of cultural sensitivity by students on the crucial issues of environmental
sustainability, including climate change, scarcity of resources, deforestation, soil and water
pollution and loss of biodiversity, must be pursued through strategies of teaching and
learning that see the active participation of students also through community service
activities to make them protagonists of sustainability actions.
The perspective of the United Nations 2030 Agenda has to be assumed as a useful
guideline at any level of HEI governance, and the experience of the University of Bologna
can be useful for other universities to move along the same direction of sustainability.

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Corresponding author
Alessandra Bonoli can be contacted at: alessandra.bonoli@unibo.it

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