2020 Sustainability Institution of the Year Finalist: University of Oviedo – Spain

University of Oviedo – The present and future of the University of Oviedo in regard to its commitment to Sustainable Development Goals  

The 2030 Agenda has given the University of Oviedo the chance to rethink its role in society and has led, for the first time, to a full awareness to manage and implement strategic actions between 2016 and 2019 linked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This focus has never been given to the University´s strategic roadmap before, or in other education settings and institutions in their geographic/ surroundings. With this challenge, the University of Oviedo is one of the pioneering Spanish universities in going a step further. It is making the community more responsible and calling for collective actions for the commitment of sustainable development, as well as increasing awareness that the University of Oviedo has multiple roles to play in this (in education, research and as institutions in a specific economic and social ecosystem). An important message of this institutional project has been that, even though the 2030 Agenda appeals to every country, government, organisation and citizen, its targets need to be localized to a certain geography and/or institution (both metaphorically and literally). 

Top three learnings: 

1. The 2030 Agenda: Our responsibility as a university 
2. Local community engagement 
3. SDGs - A global challenge