Approved by the University Council (Consu) at the end of last year, the Executive Directorate for Sustainability (DExS) will be installed by Unicamp this Monday (2). The body will be responsible for centralizing the planning and execution of the institutional sustainability policy at the University. The launch will take place in a ceremony in the auditorium of the Social Benefits Management Group (GGBS), at 14 pm.
“The creation of the Directorate is of great importance with regard to the reorganization and redefinition of the priorities and objectives that the University sets for sustainability issues,” said Roberto Donato, faculty advisor to the Rector's Office, appointed executive director of Sustainability.
“The new Directorate will bring together bodies that are scattered throughout the University and give them an institutional purpose,” he explains. “From the moment these actions fall under an institutional policy, under a set of organized guidelines, they gain new objectives – such as, for example, better interaction with the outside world,” he explains.
"Furthermore, the University can contribute its own experiences, research, and capacity to act in the territories to strengthen policies for addressing the climate crisis," he adds.
According to Donato, the Board will also work to strengthen the actions of HIDS (International Hub for Sustainable Development), which is being developed at Unicamp. The idea, he says, is that HIDS will be not only a benchmark for innovation production, but also for dialogue with society and territorial transformation.
The director also drew attention to a third objective of DExS. "We will work to ensure that there is a strategic alignment between the sustainability actions we will produce at HIDS and what can be done on traditional campuses."
Other initiatives
DExS will incorporate HIDS, the Sustainability Coordination (CSUS), and other existing initiatives in the field at Unicamp.
The body will be directly linked to the Rector's Office and will have an executive board, the Sustainable University management system, a sustainability advisory committee, as well as a sustainability coordination office, a HIDS implementation coordination office, and a waste and licensing coordination office.
The Coordinator of the Waste Management and Licensing Division, Regina Micaroni, says that the creation of the Directorate represents a strategic leap for Unicamp.
“We’ve moved beyond simply complying with legal requirements to focus on the complete product lifecycle. Our focus is now twofold: circularity and sustainable procurement,” she says. In the first case, she states, waste will no longer be seen as 'garbage' but will be treated as a resource, ensuring that what leaves the laboratories and campuses returns to the production chain whenever possible. As for procurement, it’s about strengthening the idea that sustainability begins on the shelf.
“By integrating product control with an environmental perspective, we began to choose inputs with less impact, optimizing stocks and avoiding the unnecessary disposal of reagents. This change aligns the University's operation with the most modern practices in global management: it is not enough to remedy the impact; it is necessary to plan for efficiency from purchase to post-consumption,” he explains.
Sustainable Campus
Professor Luiz Carlos Pereira da Silva, coordinator of the University's Sustainable Campus Office, said he is optimistic about the creation of the new Directorate. “I see this as a very significant step forward in Unicamp's organizational structure, following what other major universities around the world have been doing. Such an action is fundamental because the climate emergency is the biggest problem humanity faces today,” he assessed.
According to Silva, the Directorate is also important for integrating various efforts that are currently diluted across different areas of the University, as well as bringing the subject to the forefront as a cross-cutting theme in the areas of teaching, research, and outreach.
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