Bocconi's Sustainability Developments
Bocconi is becoming increasingly sustainable. The University’s Sustainability Committee – established in 2013 – promotes and coordinates an annual Report and the 2023 Sustainability Report is a testament to this. The University has also just obtained ISO 14064-1:2018 certification for the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions, verified by an independent third party. This is another recognition for the University campus that is a leader in the Financial Times’ Carbon Footprint Rank. In addition, during the 2023-2024 academic year, Bocconi activated a process aimed at formalizing Management Systems according to ISO 14001 and ISO 20121 standards. Respectively, they concern the implementation of an environmental management system and a sustainable management system for organizing events. The energy management system was already certified according to the ISO 50001 standard.
Regarding the related issue of equal opportunities, the first edition of the University's Gender Report was presented during this academic year. Also, with the aim of improving faculty quality of life – and in particular for better management of working time to safeguard "work-life balance" – additional benefits have been introduced for parental leave with greater protection also in favor of LGBTQI+ families.
"Sustainability and inclusion are central elements in our vision of a university that prepares students for the job market, while at the same time promoting cultural change for a constantly evolving world," explains Bocconi Managing Director, Riccardo Taranto. “For us, being a cutting-edge institution is about not only excelling in academia, but also taking on the social responsibility to go in the direction of an increasingly sustainable future, where every milestone we achieve motivates us to raise our standards even further."
In detail, the 2023 Sustainability Report is a snapshot of the University's results in light of three guiding principles that represent the University's macro-challenges for the future: Empower, inspiring future agents of sustainable change; Embrace, continuing to develop a sustainable Bocconi; and Engage, being key players of sustainability challenges.
Empower. On this front, 27 programs were funded by the European Research Council in 2023, while 169 research projects were launched, 62 of which were dedicated to sustainability (compared to 36 and 18 respectively in 2022). In addition, there were 210 events dedicated specifically to sustainability, up from 208 in 2022 and 141 in 2021.
Teaching also focuses on sustainability issues, with 111 courses dedicated to these topics, compared to 102 in 2022. This brought the number of teaching hours dedicated to sustainability to 5,168, compared to 4,320 in 2022. Theses on sustainability topics increased from 890 in 2022 to 922 in 2023.
The core faculty has also increased to 424 members, including: 25.5% with non-Italian citizenship; 46.9% who have obtained a PhD abroad; and 31.8% who are women, in line with leading universities in the social sciences worldwide.
Embrace. In order to ensure access to quality education, Bocconi increased the amount allocated to financial aid and scholarships during the 2020-2022 three-year period, reaching €42.7 million in 2023. The number of tuition waivers and scholarships disbursed increased from 3,931 in 2022 to 4,280 in 2023. There were 5,622 international students welcomed in 2023 (compared to 4,550 in 2021), while 410 students with disabilities and learning disorders attended the University: over 200 more than in 2021. During the same period, students engaged in volunteer activities have more than doubled, reaching 1,190.
Engage. To offer students the opportunity to undertake academic and personal growth on a global scale, the University has entered into agreements with a network of 288 partner schools in 55 countries. 4,234 students have spent a period abroad as part of study or work programs. There are 141,207 Alumni, 16% of whom are based abroad.
Lastly, Bocconi is also committed to promoting entrepreneurship: in 2022, Bocconi for Innovation (B4i) welcomed 32 startups in its pre-acceleration program and 13 in the acceleration program. In total, starting from the first batch, startups participating in B4i have created more than 110 jobs and raised €18 million, including both acceleration and pre-acceleration rounds.