Ongoing Activities
Updates on current sustainability initiatives
The University is committed to continuously promoting environmental, social, and economic sustainability. This page presents the activities that have already been completed, those currently underway, and the actions planned for the near future, with the aim of providing a transparent and up‑to‑date overview of the progress made.
Completed
BioBag (completed December 2025)
The BioBag initiative, promoted by the social promotion association Parma Sostenibile in collaboration with APS IoMangioLocale and supported by the ONFoods Project of the University of Parma, enabled students and university staff to collect a weekly bag containing a surprise selection of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables, either certified organic or guaranteed through the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS).
The products were supplied by the agricultural producers participating in the MercaTiAmo project.
Ongoing
UNIPLATE (available from February 2026)
UNIPLATE, developed by the University’s Human Nutrition Unit and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, encourages an adequate intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and plant‑based protein sources. It provides valuable support for planning and preparing meals and, thanks to its content, promotes greater knowledge and awareness of healthy and sustainable eating.
The app is part of Unipr4Life, a well‑being initiative dedicated to the entire university community, offering services that promote health, psychological and physical balance, inclusivity, sports, and healthy lifestyle and dietary habits.
EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES IN CANTEENS AND FOOD SERVICE AREAS
This initiative is part of the ONFoods project.
In collaboration with the Regional Agency for the Right to Higher Education ER.GO and the company Cimas Ristorazione srl, university canteens promote the purchase of healthy and sustainable dishes identified by a dedicated logo. These dishes meet specific nutritional and environmental criteria, both in the menu and directly along the serving line.
Additionally, educational posters on health and sustainability displayed in canteens and food service points across the University help raise awareness of healthy and sustainable food choices.
EUGREEN RECIPE BOOK
The project, coordinated by the EUGreen alliance, aims to create a recipe book featuring easy‑to‑prepare dishes that are healthy and have a low environmental impact. The selected recipes are included in the UNIPLATE app.
In its ongoing effort to achieve increasingly sustainable management of both built and open spaces, the University of Parma recognizes the central role of its outdoor areas and green spaces.
The project involves an in‑depth survey of the various types of open spaces across the University’s campuses, aimed at identifying the main critical issues and potential of green areas, pathways, and existing outdoor furnishings.
The analysis covers different categories of green spaces — historical, designed, residual, or undergoing transformation — along with lawns, flowerbeds, green walls, and tree and shrub vegetation. At the same time, walkways, permeable and impermeable surfaces, outdoor furniture, and lighting are examined to assess their condition, functionality, and integration with the surrounding context. Particular attention is also given to infrastructural elements and visual mitigation conditions, with the goal of improving the perceptual and environmental quality of the campuses.
The Municipality has issued a new ordinance to protect the environment, public safety, and urban decorum, with particular attention to celebrations that often generate waste and microplastics.
Prohibitions across the entire municipal territory
Releasing into the air balloons (including biodegradable ones), sky lanterns, colored ribbons, plastic confetti, and other aerostatic devices
Throwing solid or liquid substances onto public ground, such as eggs, flour, sauces, oils, food, detergents, foams, paints
Any practice that results in defacement or abandonment of waste.
These behaviors have previously caused accidents, hygiene issues, and the dispersion of microplastics into the environment (e.g., confetti used during graduation celebrations), posing risks to wildlife and waterways.
Reasons for the ordinance
Protect the environment and reduce waste dispersion
Ensure safety and usability of public spaces
Promote more civil behavior during celebrations, graduations, end-of-school events, and other occasions
Encourage sustainable choices shared by citizens, schools, associations, and event organizers.
Mayor Michele Guerra and Councillor Gianluca Borghi emphasize that the goal is not to ban celebrations, but to encourage respectful ways of celebrating that safeguard the city and its residents.
Penalties
From €300 for waste abandonment or dispersion.
From €450 for releasing balloons or other materials that generate microplastics or pose risks.
Obligation to restore the area to its original condition.
What is allowed
Environmentally friendly forms of celebration are permitted, such as:
Paper confetti and paper streamers
Soap bubbles, kites, pinwheels, origami
Fabric or paper flags
Balloons as long as they are not released into the environment
Reusable decorations
Controls
Compliance with the ordinance is overseen by the Local Police and other competent law enforcement authorities.
link available at:
Book crossing is a practice that emerged in the early 2000s and involves leaving books in public places so that others can find them, read them and put them back into circulation. It is based on the free sharing of stories and emotions, with the idea of ‘setting books free’ and allowing them to travel from reader to reader. Book crossing sees books as bridges connecting people and places, making every exchange a simple yet poetic gesture.
The University of Parma has also set up book exchange points, and relevant information can be found on the dedicated page under ‘Waste, Prevention and Reuse’.
The text sets out how to use paper correctly and sustainably for printing and photocopying at the University of Parma. The rules apply to the entire university community—students, faculty, and staff—whenever they use printers, photocopiers, or paper materials for activities related to the University.
Paper may be used only for study, teaching, research, or administrative purposes. Its use for personal needs unrelated to university activities is not permitted.
The University strongly encourages reducing paper consumption and respecting the environment. This means giving preference to digital tools, such as electronic documents and digital signatures; printing only when truly necessary; using recycled paper and double‑sided printing. Users are also encouraged to reuse single‑sided printed sheets for notes or drafts, to limit paper materials at university events, and to manage exam registrations carefully in order to avoid unnecessary printing. Graduation theses should mainly be in digital format; if printed, they must comply with environmental criteria.
When paper is no longer usable, it must be disposed of correctly in separate waste collection, after removing staples or plastic parts.
The University periodically monitors paper consumption through systems that track printing devices and purchasing data, in order to assess whether the measures adopted are effective and to intervene where consumption remains too high.
Information campaigns are planned to raise awareness of the importance of reducing waste, increasing the use of digital tools, and disposing of paper correctly.
Finally, paper purchased by the University must meet specific environmental standards: it must be recycled or certified, sourced from responsibly managed forests, and have a low environmental impact. This ensures more sustainable use of natural resources.