On January 27, 2022 the University of Genoa (UniGe) made a strong and explicit pledge against climate change, defining its Climate Neutrality Strategy 2022-2030. The strategy, starting from the latest UniGe greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, outlines a path that the university has to follow to reduce both the direct and indirect emissions of pollutants in the atmosphere. Moreover, the document defines the actions to do for the neutralization or compensation of residual emissions. This is the last step of the strong and continuous commitment towards the spreading of the Sustainability culture in all the activities of the University of Genoa. The 2021-2026 UniGe Strategic Plan also identifies sustainability as one of the five strategic development lines together with digitization and innovation, inclusion, internationalization, and quality.

In 2011, UniGe started its sustainability commitment by focusing the research and projects of the Savona Campus on Sustainable Energy and Smart City. Great efforts were made to reduce the carbon footprint of the Campus by the creation of two big Research Infrastructures (a Smart Microgrid and an energy self-sufficient building) integrating different renewable energy sources and system automation. For those reasons, in November 2016 the Savona Campus joined ISCN sharing its best practices with other international universities. In the meantime, the UniGe Commission on Environmental Sustainability was created to improve the sustainability culture of the whole university. Several actions and projects have been carried out so far, including participation in Italian and international networks or rankings.

“The University of Genoa has made a lot of efforts to improve its sustainability performances in all its campuses. I think that participation in networks, rankings and conferences stimulates us to consider aspects related to sustainability in a systematic and continuous way, enriching our knowledge. For that reason, I decided to sign the ISCN charter on behalf of the whole University of Genoa.” — Prorector for Sustainability, Adriana Del Borghi