On June 9th, 2011, the “Città Studi Campus Sostenibile” project was officially presented at the 2011 ISCN GULF conference “Pathways to Progress: Demonstrating Campus Sustainability“, that took place at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, from the 8th to the 10th of June. The project was created thanks to the synergies between Politecnico di Milano and Università degli Studi di Milano that resulted in the first expression of interest.
On April 10th, 2013, the two universities signed an agreement for the implementation of the “Città Studi Campus Sostenibile” project, with the aim to improve the quality of life on campus with a focus on sustainable development, and actively involving not only the two academic communities but also the public and all stakeholders (associations, institutions, companies, etc.).
In more detail, the two universities collaborate on specific objectives related to the 17 Goals for Sustainable Development of the UN 2030 Agenda, among which:
- the development of joint projects to be presented to the Municipal Administration and competent authorities and bodies in the territory concerning sustainable mobility and accessibility to universities, energy saving, waste management and circular economy, climate change, public spaces improvement, and environmental, food, and health upgrading;
- the development of joint research and training projects, also linked to the “Third Mission” on sustainability issues, applied to university campuses;
- the joint organization of events and dissemination and awareness actives, promoting more sustainable choices and lifestyle, both in and out of the campuses;
- the promotion and implementation of the recommendations contained in the Manifesto from “Universities for Sustainability” to “Sustainability in Universities”, signed by the Rectors of Italian Universities on May 30th, 2019 in Udine, which “recognizes that universities play the fundamental role of implementing the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and suggests concrete actions according to different recommendations”.
In order to improve communication and increase active participation, an official website was created, as well as official profiles for all of the major social media platforms (Facebook, X formerly Twitter, YouTube and Instagram)
Since 2013, the “Città Studi Campus Sostenibile” project has been supported in particular by the Environmental Sustainability Unit for Politecnico di Milano (in agreement with the Rector’s Delegate for Environmental Sustainability) and by the Building and Sustainability Department for the Università degli Studi di Milano.