The Sustainability Officers Network (SON) is a collaborative body within the EUTOPIA Alliance. It was established through a bottom-up approach prior to the submission of the EUTOPIA MORE project, funded by the Erasmus+ Program.
This multidisciplinary network has around 60 members. The 10 universities in the Alliance are represented by vice-rectors, administrative and academic staff as well as experts involved in the implementation of the EUTOPIA MORE project. SON holds regular online meetings and is actively involved in the implementation of Major Activity 2.5 of Work Package 2 of the project. The actions under this major activity aim at developing a strategic framework for the EUTOPIA Alliance in the field of sustainable development.
With this objective in mind, SON has conducted a system mapping in six strategic areas prioritized at Alliance level:
Sustainable Development Strategies, Leadership and Governance;
Climate framework, energy, mobility, waste and resources;
Biodiversity;
Social innovation and social entrepreneurship;
Cultural Sustainability;
Diversity, equity and inclusion;
Education for sustainable development.
Qualitative data collection focused on gathering information on existing practices, strategic approaches and institutional achievements in the above mentioned areas. The results, together with relevant findings from the scientific literature, will form the starting point for the development of the EUTOPIA strategic framework for sustainable development. SON members had their last face-to-face meeting in July 2024, during the EUTOPIA Week organized in Cluj-Napoca, at UBB, to discuss the mapping results, as well as a joint meeting with researchers involved in the literature review to merge the results and formulate preliminary conclusions. They are now involved in planning the strategic framework and developing concrete action plans.
The strategic area most advanced at Alliance level is ‘Diversity, equity and inclusion’. The Inclusion Group, established during the implementation of the EUTOPIA 2050 project funded by Erasmus+ in the 2014-2020 financial year, has already compiled good practices from EUTOPIA members and produced an Inclusion Manifesto and an Inclusion Framework. The Inclusion Group has become an integral part of SON. It is the main driving force behind EUTOPIA Inclusion Month, organised every year in November.
UBB is represented in the network of Sustainability Officers and Inclusion Group by:
Bálint MARKÓ
Artur IONESCU
Borbála SZÁSZ
Petra SZÁVICS
