The University of Oviedo promotes the creation of the first Network of University Chairs in Sustainability

This new network aims to promote collaboration in training, research, innovation and transfer of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

The network invites university chairs from all over Spain to join this commitment to collaborate in achieving the challenges posed by the SDGs.

Oviedo/Uviéu, 14 November 2023. The University of Oviedo is promoting the constitution, for the first time, of a Network of University Chairs in Sustainability. This new network, which includes universities from all over the country, aims to promote collaboration in training, research, innovation and transfer of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This new network arises after the agreement reached by all the academic institutions of higher education that participated, last 4 October, in the I Meeting of University Chairs of Sustainability that was held in the Historic Building of the Asturian university. The University of Oviedo has so far three chairs related to sustainability. They are the Concepción Arenal Chair on Agenda 2030, the Climate Change Chair and the Cogersa Chair on Circular Economy.

The University Sustainability Chairs Network was presented this morning at an event attended by Inés Peñuelas, Vice-Rector for Sustainability, Mobility and Environment; Begoña Cueto, Vice-Rector for Transfer and Business Relations, and Rosario Alonso, Director of the Concepción Arenal Chair for Agenda 2030. 

The main points on which the new network will work are the following:

• Collaboration.The chairs, which are attached to universities in different territories, are committed to actively collaborate to address the challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Cross-cutting approach. The network adopts a transversal and multidisciplinary approach, which recognises and celebrates the diversity of knowledge and approaches present in the different Chairs.
• Promotion of knowledge and rigorous information. 
• Members are committed to a clear and strong position on the validity and urgency of sustainability. 
• Common platform for communication and dialogue.A common platform will facilitate communication between the chairs that form part of the network, promoting collaboration in projects and the dissemination of activities. The network is constituted as a common interlocutor of the aforementioned Chairs.
• Annual rotating meetings. The network establishes a commitment to meet at least annually in rotating meetings, hosted by network institutions, to strengthen cohesion and evaluate progress. 
• This initiative reflects the commitment of the three sustainability chairs of the University of Oviedo.
• The network invites university chairs from all over Spain to join this commitment to collaborate in achieving the challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals.