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European Climate Pact
non-profit organisationIstituto di ricerca sul territorio e l’ambiente - Leonardo (IRTA-Leonardo)

Istituto di ricerca sul territorio e l’ambiente - Leonardo (IRTA-Leonardo)

Overview

Location

Italy

Sector

Education and research

Organisation type
Non-profit

Pathway pledges

Carbon Emissions (or CO2e)

We pledge to advocate and campaign to encourage the University of Pisa to become plastic-free, thereby reducing fossil fuel consumption

For their daily needs, students and staff only have water in plastic bottles at their disposal. These can be bought at vending machines located in all the university building, or in all the bars and shops in the university area, or in the University canteens. On the whole, in the University of Pisa, 350.000 plastic bottles of water per year are consumed. The pledge of Leonardo-IRTA is to encourage the University to become plastic-free through the installation of drinking fountains in each Department, and by giving a reusable water flask to each student.

Activities to be implemented by Leonardo-IRTA to support advocacy work in the next 12 months:

  • We shall adopt a bottom-up strategy, starting from the student’s improved awareness of climate change problems and of the necessity of an answer.
  • First step: Meeting with student representatives inside the Department Assemblies and with members of the Academic Boards already active in fighting climate change in all Departments which are members of Leonardo-IRTA, to illustrate our aim and ask for their active support towards the University Rector and the Academic Senate, subscribing a shared document
  • Second step: Presenting the document to the Departments Directors and Staff asking for their approval, sending the approved document to the press - Third step: Meeting the University Rector and Pro-Rectors, and at the same time involving the press
  • Contemporarily, asking students representatives to act in support of the pledge for the University of Pisa to become plastic-free

Status date: Submitted (15/01/2022)

Data source: https://www.leonardo-irta.it

Energy

We pledge to advocate and campaign for the University of Pisa to shift from buying energy from renewable sources to directly producing it, by installing photovoltaic panels and tiles in University building roofs and appurtenances.

The headquarters of the Leonardo-IRTA are located in a building of the University of Pisa with no renewable energy provisions. The pledge of Leonardo-IRTA is to encourage the affiliated University Departments to shift to solar energy with the installation of photovoltaic panels or tiles on their roofs. The installation of solar panels at the University of Pisa is a very difficult task, for two reasons:

  1. The majority of the University buildings are located inside the historical centre of Pisa, where the regulations issued by the Superintendence to Historical Monuments tend to prevent any modification to the appearance of the buildings.
  2. Up to now, the University Rectorate and Administration have not been interested in investing in photovoltaic panels giving the difficulties above illustrated. The only action taken to be sustainable was to buy energy produced from renewables.

Activities to be implemented by Leonardo-IRTA organisation to support our advocacy work in the next 12 months:

  • We will demonstrate that the Superintendence has already made exceptions to its own rules, giving photographic evidence of an historical building (an ancient monastery) within the urban circle of Pisa where other University buildings are located, which has photovoltaic panels installed on its roof, apparently having got a permission to do so, whereas in many other cases the permission has been denied by the same Office.
  • We shall act moving from different fronts of actions, trying to create a button-up movement to reach the Rectorate and the administration. As the cost of energy is so rapidly raising in these days, and there are public incentives to shift to renewable energies, the target seems possible to reach.
  • We are potentially targeting all the Departments of the University, but we shall propose to start with the Departments which are members of the Leonardo-IRTA and whose buildings are located outside the historical centre of Pisa: Department of Economics and Management, Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, Inter-Departmental Centre for Research in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
  • First step: Meeting Department Directors, Staff and Student Representatives, to illustrate the initiative within the University of Pisa net of the Sustainable Universities, and obtaining their support.
  • Second step: Department Directors and Student representatives presenting our requests to the Rector and administrative Bodies.

Status date: Submitted (15/01/2022)

Data source: https://www.leonardo-irta.it

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We pledge to advocate and campaign to encourage students and staff of the University of Pisa to use bicycles and/or public transport instead of private cars

In a former campaign, we engaged Leonardo-IRTA staff to reach their workplace using public transport or bicycle or by foot. The pledge of Leonardo-IRTA is to encourage all its members belonging to many University Departments to extend this practice to other staff Departments and to students.

Activities to be implemented by Leonardo-IRTA to support advocacy work in the next 12 months:

  • Stimulating joint initiatives between public administration and University administration to encourage students and staff of the University of Pisa to use bicycles and/or public transport instead of private cars, by offering subscriptions at a reduced rates for staff and students for public transport and bike sharing.

Status date: Submitted (15/01/2022)

Data source: https://www.leonardo-irta.it