Unipi Sostenibile
Action: Food
The Agenda 2030, approved by the United Nations Assembly in 2015, aims, through 17 important and ambitious goals, to achieve improvements in social, medical, food, and environmental fields by 2030. Among these, goal number 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, aims to ensure sustainable models of production and consumption; in particular, goal number 12.3 involves halving global food waste and reducing food losses along production and supply chains. Goal number 2, Zero Hunger, aims to "end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture." Therefore, reducing food waste must also be closely linked to improving the quality of production from a nutritional and nutraceutical perspective.
University of Pisa can become a laboratory for healthy habits on food, consumption, and production issues, promoting sustainable actions through projects and concrete actions, thus demonstrating the university’s role as a conscious actor in local food policies.
Firstly, awareness-raising actions on the importance of healthy and sustainable nutrition within the University of Pisa and dissemination of good dietary practices for healthy and conscious eating will be carried out through the organization and promotion of events, surveys, and workshops on this topic.
Attention to nutrition represents the expression of social and environmental responsibility entrusted to the university as a public institution. Interest in nutrition and well-being is therefore very high. These aspects constantly pervade our lives with significant repercussions on our physical, psychological, and mental performance, and not least with important impacts on the surrounding territory.
In this context, University of Pisa, regarding collective catering, relies on the canteens of the Regional Agency for the Right to University Study (DSU), which since November 2023 have adopted sustainable menus, nutritionally balanced with locally sourced seasonal vegetables and fruit from Tuscany (FT) or organic (BIO) farms, organic products, and certified geographical origin products (DOP, IGP), as well as other traditional Italian agri-food products (PAT) or sustainably sourced fish (MSC).
Furthermore, DSU Tuscany includes in the identification procedures of catering points the minimum environmental criteria “CAM” aimed at identifying measures, solutions, and methodologies that impact health and the environment.
The University of Pisa also commits to defining guidelines on the types of products that can be provided during catering services for workshops, conferences, and seminars. The main objective will be to reduce refined carbohydrates and animal fats in favor of increasing fiber and fruit and vegetable products to elevate the nutraceutical and nutritional quality of the products provided during catering services. The choice of food preparations aimed at minimizing water and energy consumption and waste of edible parts, as well as the use of biodegradable, compostable, or reusable materials for food consumption and monitoring of separate collection of excess until its final recovery/metabolization, will be some of the key points of the new guidelines for the university catering service. Indeed, waste and excess will be subject to careful recovery, thanks to the application of what is provided for by the Good Samaritan law and the Gadda law, as well as the pursuit of the new CAM.
Finally, many studies have highlighted how the quality of meals and snacks consumed during the day by students and academic staff significantly impacts obesity levels and academic and work performance. For this reason, the University of Pisa also commits to defining guidelines on the types of products to be included in vending machines through a special contract for the provision of beverage and snack dispensing services through vending machines.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Every sustainability action undertaken by the University of Pisa corresponds to one or more goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For this action, the following goals are involved:
Charging of this action
The University of Pisaâs Commission for Sustainable Development (CoSA) coordinates the sustainability initiatives, and this action is monitored by the following members:
