Sustainability is a multidisciplinary concept. In 1987, the final report of the World Commission on Environment and Development known as “Brundtland Report” or "Our Common Future" defined sustainability as the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Synthesis of the need to simultaneously reconcile economic, social and environmental aspects with a view to promote and achieve a substantial intergenerational equity.
Since its foundation, and from Ferdinando Bocconi's wish to create a prestigious educational institution in memory of his son Luigi, Bocconi University has pursued ethical and responsible values that were already expressed in the first program drafted by Leopoldo Sabbatini and in the Statute of 1902.
Based on these values, Bocconi University developed a holistic approach to sustainability.
In 2013, Bocconi University established the Sustainability Committee, it is composed of faculty, staff and students, and is tasked with promoting and coordinating the University’s projects and initiatives regarding sustainability.
The vision 2030 and the STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2025 confirm the central role of sustainability as a global challenge, in its many forms. In this sense Bocconi is fully committed, devoting its best efforts to achieve more sustainable, inclusive development geared towards future generations. It acts as a catalyst for sustainable change both through research, aimed at building new knowledge for the benefit of society and through education, aimed at providing students with the necessary tools to become key players in this change. Bocconi urban campus is also an example of attention to energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental stewardship. For more in depth information about sustainability at Bocconi, please read the university Sustainability Report.
From the a.y. 2022-2023 the MSc degree in Transformative Sustainability will be active.
In 2015 the United Nations published the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, signed by 193 UN Member States, aimed at fostering sustainability in a view to promote a more equitable, inclusive, and green society.
Bocconi Library supports the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda through the Pick your goal! initiative by promoting targeted services and resources to meet the research and learning needs of the community.