The Actions and Good Practices Implemented by Educational Institutions to Promote Sustainability (Also in Synergy with Other Institutions/Bodies Involved)

In Italy, May 6, 2025, will be the so-called “Earth Overshoot Day†, the day of national overshoot. This means that, from 6 May onwards, our country will have demanded more from the territory than ecosystems can provide over the entire year1. Year after year, the day when we witness the beginning of overexploitation of the land in our country is getting closer and closer. Suffice it to say that only last year, in 2024, the same day was remembered between 19 and 20 May. Going back again, in 2000, the overcoming took place on September 17. If we look closer, we will notice that the last time Italians exploited the resources that their land was able to provide them with during the entire year was in 1970. Not only in Italy, but all over the world, the situation is degenerating. What experts tend to recommend is a gradual change in one’s daily habits, to achieve a social transformation that can heal the whole situation. According to the Global Footprint Network: “this process involves a greater knowledge of the key factors that can affect sustainability and the experimentation of new lifestyles to lower one’s Ecological Footprint†2. Schools show themselves as the main tool capable of guaranteeing greater knowledge of the subject and, in fact, making sure that change is possible. For this reason, the actions carried out by any type of institution that, together with educational institutions, can guarantee awareness in future generations are fundamental. Fulco Pratesi was already clear about the situation when, in 1966, he founded WWF Italy, an organization whose main mission was to “conserve nature†3 in its entirety. For this reason, the organization promotes the “Our Values†campaign, which focuses on the importance of the educational process for the protection of the world’s ecosystem. “For the WWF, education is the common thread that unites every action to conserve biodiversity, every battle for the protection of ecosystems and every initiative aimed at ensuring a sustainable future. Only through the dissemination of a culture of sustainability can we lay the foundations for a greener, healthier and fairer world, where everyone can feel part of a global community capable of respecting and protecting the extraordinary richness of our planet†4. The initiative demonstrates the value that is given to proper sustainable education. Specifically, there are more and more teachers and citizens who propose the creation of ad hoc initiatives, which are functional to schools for the dissemination of greater environmental knowledge.