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The University of Palermo is certainly one of the main actors in the Sicilian territory, with its community of students and staff close to 50,000 and its budget in the order of 300 MLN €/year. Therefore, the University must contribute directly to the issue of sustainability, not only through training and research, but also through sustainable energy, mobility and supply choices that can decrease the environmental, social and economic impacts of the activities related to its institutional roles.

The University of Palermo is also called upon to contribute innovative, participatory and shared solutions to the global challenges faced in decarbonizing the economy, making it circular and centering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, which place the culture of sustainability in a whole new light, based on an interdisciplinary and transversal approach, capable of crossing issues such as equal opportunities, access to education, and the establishment of democratic institutions.

Achieving the ambitious goal of "zero climate-changing gas emissions" envisioned in the European Green Deal, among others, cannot disregard the research and innovation contributions of universities, which can offer the territory concrete solutions through the development of sustainable and economically feasible systems and technologies.

The goals of reducing energy consumption have already been the subject of particular attention in recent years by the University, a founding member of the Network of Sustainable Universities, with the important contribution of the central figures of the Energy Manager and the Energy Policy Delegate. Equal attention has been paid to the issue of mobility (again providing for the figure of the Mobility Manager), with some appropriate interactions with the Municipal Administration already underway and to be further strengthened.

In the face of the many initiatives under way, the importance and transversality of the culture of sustainability require a further step based on a systemic approach, to be pursued by adopting strategies that are integrated and horizontal to the University's activities as a whole. To contribute to the achievement of these goals, the University of Palermo must increase the impact of its research and training activities, further expanding its reach, including by strengthening cooperation in the Mediterranean basin. Within the general framework of realizing a concrete sustainable economy, the University will therefore have to play the triple role of promoter (through the training of new generations), proposer (through its own expertise and research results) and implementer (by transforming the university microcosm into a system-pilot of sustainability). The energy policy and sustainable development goals to be set by the University will be achieved through a series of coordinated actions, in a framework of effective cooperation with all Departments, Structures and Administrative Areas. To this end, the Center for Sustainability and Ecological Transition was established with the aim of becoming a catalyst for initiatives that, in different capacities, intersect the themes of sustainability and the UN SDGs.

Targets

• Promote and stimulate, with a flexible and multidisciplinary structure, the University's research activities in the field of sustainability and encourage the strengthening and development of the educational pathways currently present or to be prepared at all levels, from Bachelor's degrees to PhDs to Master's degrees;
• Interact with the University's Departments and individual scholars engaged in research and innovation activities in the fields of sustainability, to implement effective solutions applicable in the management of the University's facilities and the relevant territory;
• Integrate sustainability principles into the University's information and third mission activities;
• Support at the local scale initiatives aimed at the concrete achievement of the EU Green Deal, also promoting the introduction of circular economy principles;
• Create a Regional Forum on Sustainability, to strengthen the dialogue between UNIPA and stakeholders working in various capacities in the field of sustainability;
• Activate a structured dialogue between UNIPA's various technical and administrative bodies aimed at strengthening a culture of sustainability, while coordinating activities and policies that contribute to the improvement of UNIPA's performance in the individual SDGs.