The University of Bologna 2024 Sustainability Report is online

Photo: Alessandro Ruggeri

The University of Bologna’s 2024 Sustainability Report, which illustrates the effects of the University’s sustainable practices, has been published. These practices, in addition to reducing costs and waste, aim to improve the learning and working environment, contribute to a more comprehensive education to better prepare students for global challenges, and foster more responsible and innovative research to address today’s most pressing issues.

The Sustainability Report conforms to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative - GRI Standards (GRI 2021) and presents the measures, results and impact of the activities carried out by the University in relation to the UN 2030 Agenda - Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also presents the indications provided by the "University Sustainability Report", issued by the Study Group on Social Reporting in collaboration with the Network of Universities for Sustainable Development, and by the Directive of the Department of Public Administration on Social Reporting in Public Administrations.

This year, the document is divided into eight sections that follow as closely as possible the accessibility guidelines of the Agency for Digital Italy.

The first section, "Strategy", outlines the university's identity, principles and values, strategies, actions and bodies. The second section, "Sustainability Governance", reports on stakeholder groups, stakeholder engagement and material issues. The third section, "Economic Value", is dedicated to an analysis of the economic value generated, distributed and retained for the year 2023, as well as data relating to the Unibo group (Bodies, Investee Companies, Foundations, Consortia and Inter-University Centres). The fourth section, "Education and the Student Community", describes the programme catalogue, the internationalisation, the services offered, and the measures taken by the university to fulfil its mission towards the students. The fifth section, "Research", describes the activities related to the research carried out by the university, both nationally and internationally. The sixth section, "People", reports on human resources policies, incentives and training, and the university's activities to promote organisational well-being. The seventh section, "Society”, describes the relationships and impact on the region, a definition of the international reality of the University, an account of the activities of the libraries and museums and the promotion of health and sports. The eighth section, "Environment", provides an initial monitoring of the Energy Plan with a description of the consumption and cost of utilities, the building assets and an assessment of the environmental impact of the activities carried out.

The information published is the result of innovative methods of discussion with the University of Bologna’s stakeholders, in particular the teaching, student and technical-administrative staff communities, who, together with the University's management, created the index and then developed the content, structuring it according to the areas of the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan.