SDGLab Campus UAM
Description
Institution
Organizations/areas of the university involved
Sustainability Policy, Operations, Teaching and Research, Community Outreach
Country
Spain
In the month of May of 2018, the Vice-Rector for Campus and Sustainability and the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations, Social Responsibility and Culture of the Autonomous University of Madrid organized, with the collaboration of Altekio and Transitando, the SDG-Lab Campus UAM, the first laboratory for applying the Sustainable Development Goals to the UAM campus.The SDG LAB Campus UAM was a workshop where we explored how to reinforce and enhance the ecosystem services of the UAM through collaborative relationships amongst the different members of the university community. It starts from the existing experiences in the different areas of teaching, research and management related to environmental aspects and sustainability.For this purpose, the workshop had the following structure:• 1st Session: Inspiration: what are the SDGs? External experiences and experts. Then, cooperative-networking work on what each participant comes to contribute.• 2nd Session: Landing, localization: what does the campus offer? What resources and opportunities do we have? Work on maps or directly on terrain (walk) + proposals (teaching, academic work, as a student, in your life on campus, in management)• 3rd Session: Let’s make it happens: designing the road map. Prioritization of proposals / responsible / resources + evaluation.
Results and impact measured or expected
The result of the workshop was a road map for the improvement of the environmental contribution of the UAM through 56 educational, research and management actions, with which it will result in an improvement of the achievement of the SDGs by the UAM, an environmental improvement of its environment, but also in a better performance of its educational and research activities related to sustainability.
Connection with the SDG framework
The SDGLab Campus UAM is considered a starting point to plan the environmental contribution of the UAM to the achievement of the SDGs. This approach is directly related to those classified as those of the biosphere: 6. Clean water and sanitation; 13. Climate action and 15. Life on land. But it has strong implications for the following more social SDGs: 7. Affordable and clean energy; 11. Sustainable cities and communities and 12. Responsible consumption and production. Also, those that can be considered more related to the university activity, due to their relationship with the academic functions: teaching and research: 4. Quality education and 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure. Finally, in a transversal way, the ODS 17 Partnerships for the goals is highlighted, because the main objective of the SDGLab Campus UAM is to weave the alliance between academics, managers and students that facilitates the UAM’s contribution to all the SDGs.
Barriers and follow up
We find as main barrier lack of budget and common effort to afford all the activities proposed, even those ones considered as priorities. However, to try to maintain the flame of the first SDGLab, a permanent SDGLab were established, with those academic staff most implied in sustainability. This group is in charge of fostering and assessing sustainability activities, raising awareness through campaigns (Activate +) or partnerships with other local institutions.
