Insights from REGGIO EMILIA, the co-host of TM7

Reggio Emilia is a medium-size city in the heart of the Italian Food and Motor Valley, it is known for its innovative pedagogical approach, the “Reggio Emilia Approach” and for its rooted cooperative system. Reggio Emilia is an open and intercultural city, and has a natural inclination for international relations, it takes part in many networks and it has signed several twinnings all over the world. But it is also a bike friendly city, the first town in Italy for KMs of cycle paths.

During the second day of the Transnational Meeting 7, the staff of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia had the opportunity to illustrate to the other partners its priorities for the localization of the sustainable developement goals, with specific insights into its strategic planning documents and their connection with the Global Goals of the Agenda 2030. 

The Municipality of Reggio Emilia has included the SDGs in the Single Policy Document (DUP). The Document provides the general framework of all the policies, indicators and strategic projects of the institution. The 6 strategic guidelines defined by the Mayor through the mandate lines are divided into 23 objectives, 48 actions and over 200 indicators. The Municipality of Reggio Emilia has selected a “guide” indicator with a specific target for each goal of the 2030 Agenda. These guiding indicators have been selected from official sources (Asvis and Istat). At the local level, the impact indicators of each objective of the DUP were taken (identified and monitored by the individual services) and were associated with the "guide" indicator of Agenda 2030. Each indicator present in the DUP can in fact contribute to the achievement of a specific susainable developement goal.

The Municipality of Reggio Emilia's main objective is to connect more and more local policies and initiatives to the SDGs at the local level, implementing initiatives on different levels:

• Point out strategic SDGs and political priorities to be addressed, designing strategic projects to be implemented;
• Improving awareness, capacities and skills of Municipal Executive Committee, Heads of Departments and civil servants in considering SDGs as flag to guide definition of actions and initiatives;
• ​​​​​​​Enforcing the implementation of tools and indicators to monitor and evaluate the impact of the policies developed and the SDGs achievement at local level through localised indicators;
• ​​​​​​​Building up the local community of stakeholders (civil society organisations, enterprises, schools, citizens) to design and promote concrete actions to address and localise SDGs.   

                                                                        
As stakeholder and member of the ULG in Reggio Emilia, the E35 Foundation for international projects had the chance to present its experience in terms of sustainability and the work done in drafting the first Foundation's Sustainability Report in 2021. The Sustainability Report represents an opportunity for E35 to reflect on what aspects it is important to focus on for the future, with an approach marked by sustainable development, and oriented towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In the report they tried to connect to the SDGs all the project they are implementing, in order to understend the impact they are having on the achievement of the Agenda2030 goals. In the report they also describe the measures taken for making their work more sustainable for the environment, the economy and the people.