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This study aims, first of all, to analyze the extent to which Italian higher education institutions declare their mission statements in their official documents; then, to examine their content; and finally, to investigate whether mission statements include considerations on sustainability dimensions.

After a theoretical background on the new strategic approach adopted by higher education institutions and the related disclosure of their mission statements, the study deepens their sustainable perspective presenting the concepts of social engagement and knowledge transfer from a literary point of view. Then, a documentary analysis on the content of Italian universities’ official mission declarations will be conducted, to understand the role they play in society, by individuating their actual interest in sustainable dimensions.

Findings suggest that 36% of the 98 Italian universities state their engagement in societal issues, but only 3 of them mention sustainability targets in their mission declarations.

The study is limited, exclusively based on what higher education institutions share and, in terms of future perspective, the aim can be to investigate further official documents, especially for what concerns sustainability reports.

Practical implications regard the denounce of weak attention paid by Italian universities to sustainability, with the aim to foster them to increase connections with the external world, aware of the centrality of their role within society.

In a context that is not yet completely investigated, the originality of the paper regards the intent to study the sustainable propensity that characterizes the Italian higher education system.

This paper aims to identify the key issues that healthcare knowledge-intensive organizations (KIPOs) should focus on to define themselves as socioenvironmentally and governance responsible for integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) logic into their business strategy. At the same time, this provides an understanding of how healthcare KIPOs contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Taking a cue from the model developed by the World Economic Forum, an “ESG Processing Map” was constructed to identify qualitative disclosures that a healthcare company should consider when implementing sustainability logic. The aspects investigated were processed, considering national and international standards, frameworks and disclosures. The social network analysis technique was used to systemize and combine the outcomes of these processes and analyze their consistency with sustainable development.

Through the “ESG Processing Map,” 13 areas of action and 27 topics specific to the health sector were defined on which to intervene in sustainability in order to concretely help HCOs to place specific corrective and improvement actions over time concerning socioenvironmental and governance aspects.

The paper provides contribute, on the one hand, to enriching and updating the academic literature on ESG logic in a still underexplored field and, on the other hand, to provide these types of organizations with a “compass” to guide and orient their business strategies towards sustainability.

This paper aims to investigate the extent of public participation of youth in strategic planning for local sustainable development, emphasising the establishment of a positive dialogue process between public administration and young people. Previous studies and international guidelines recognise youth as an essential group in the territorial sustainability process but also require a framework for processes and modalities for youth participation.

The analysis was carried out according to a multiple-case study approach conducted from the secondary sources (e.g. planning documents enabling sustainable development at the local level) developed by the 14 Italian metropolitan cities to assess the state-of-the-art and establish similarities and differences concerning the engagement levels found in the literature.

Although almost all the sample has undertaken a youth engagement process, this research demonstrates that only 6 out of 14 metropolitan cities - corresponding to 43% of the sample - have promoted highly engagement-intensive forms, underlining a total absence of a standardised and recursive approach in which the younger generation is consistently an integral part of sustainability strategies.

This research is innovative as it addresses practical and theoretical objectives simultaneously. The study underlines the adoption of engagement processes by metropolitan cities by considering the participatory methods implemented and providing a framework for enhancing forms of dialogue between young people and public authorities, contributing to the advancement of theoretical understanding and practical implementation.

The chapter aims to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy domain at EU decision-making level, aiming to understand the nature of the participation shaping the CSR policy agenda co-design.

Building on a conceptual framework of participation, the chapter highlights the literature and policy views around the importance of EU CSR policy and how EU envisage the framework of the CSR policy co-design. By highlighting conceptual dimensions of the participatory governance, different levels of participation that shape the policy are evidenced. In particular, a case analysis emphasising the predominant role of the consultation approach in the decision-making process of the CSR policy is undertaken.

The findings shed light on the shift from the traditional passive participation in EU CSR policy decision making, based on purely communications towards consultation and multi-stakeholders participation. From the multi-stakeholder perspective, the EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum’s strategic relevance is observed, however, with no clear mechanisms to enforce its aims. Although the CSR policy is a core priority on the policy agenda, its voluntary approach justifies its early stages of implementation and fragmented use.

The research is qualitative, based on literature review and policy view. Further research directions could enrich the chapter.

The research contributes to the theoretical discussion around participation in a supranational context. Our insights shed light on the levels of participation and CSR policy goals and call for a critical debate on the EU policy co-design processes. Furthermore, through the lens of a case analysis, it sheds light on how EU CSR forum fits in with the current EU structure and its ‘principle of subsidiarity’, which states that decisions must be taken close to its citizens.

This study aims to investigate the contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and propose strategies to cultivate a culture centred on the SDGs in HEIs.

The methodology used encompassed an integrative literature review, combining bibliographic analysis on how HEIs incorporate the SDGs into their practices, adopting a qualitative approach for the analysis and categorization of the results.

The multifaceted contributions of HEIs in promoting the SDGs stand out, through their roles in teaching, research, management and integration and communication between university and society.

While influencing policies at various levels, HEIs encounter challenges in the effective integration of SDGs into their strategies. This underscores the need for contextualized governance, understanding students’ perspectives on sustainability and active external collaboration in policy formulation.

There is an urgent need to integrate SDGs into academic programmes, emphasizing the importance of redesigning curricula, actively involving teachers, researchers and students, establishing partnerships and promoting research applied to SDGs.

The social relevance of the study lies in the emphasis on an SDG-centred culture, involving teaching, research, outreach, community engagement and governance practices.

The study’s uniqueness lies in identifying persistent challenges during the transition to an SDG-centred culture, necessitating multisectoral collaboration and educational programmes that integrate sustainability principles into the strategy of HEIs.