Strategic framework

The National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) represents the national coordination framework that takes on the 4 guiding principles of the 2030 Agenda: integration, universality, transformation and inclusion. The document presents two sections:

• 5 Ps” section: this section describes Italy's sustainable development goals, based on the “5 Ps” of the 2030 Agenda - People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda’s targets are not included as such in the NSDS, which rather works on the interconnections among the SDGs, identifying 15 Strategic Choices, which are divided into 55 National Strategic Objectives. NSDS also establishes an integrated monitoring system to monitor target values and associated indicators.
• “Sustainability Vectors” section: the NSDS identifies the Sustainability Vectors as the enabling conditions for the achievement of sustainable development goals at national and territorial level. The three Sustainability Vectors are policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD), culture for sustainability, participation for sustainable development.

Finally, NSDS presents and includes two annexes. The first one is the National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development, which is the result of the collaboration between the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), DG Reform of the European Commission with the support of state and non-state actors. The second one is the renewed Regulation of the national Forum for Sustainable Development

 The Italian National Sustainable Development Strategy| download (IT)
 

 Learn more about the National Strategic Choices and Vectors of Sustainability | video
 

The NSDS represents the national reference framework for environmental and territorial planning, programming and evaluation processes, as foreseen by the art. 34 of the Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent amendments. According to the same article, the Regions are required to develop their own Regional Strategies, to be coherent with the National one. Moreover, Regional Strategies are required to show their contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the Strategy at national level, ensuring an integrated monitoring. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) therefore collaborates with the territories, not only Regions and Autonomous Provinces, but also with Metropolitan Cities and local authorities, in localizing NSDS and in the definition of sustainability strategies at different levels of government.

To this end, since 2018 the Ministry has enabled the “NSDS system”, which includes specific mechanisms and tools aimed at ensuring the participation of institutions and non-state actors. To ensure a whole-of-government approach, it promoted the creation of institutional Working Groups, with line ministries and with Regions, Autonomous Provinces and Metropolitan Cities, for NSDS monitoring, implementation and its application at territorial levels. To ensure a whole-of-society approach, it also has activated the national Forum for Sustainable Development, specifically established to guarantee the widest involvement of civil society and non-state actors, organizing at the same time numerous meetings, initiatives, events, conferences, workshops and seminars, as well as the annual National Conference for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Forum. In 2023, the Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) adopted the “Program for the use of the fund for measures and interventions to promote sustainable development 2023-2024” with the Resolution n. 22 of 20 July 2023 (GU no. 247 of 21 October 2023). The program aims to keep on supporting the implementation of the NSDS, outlining the main lines of action tailored on the three Sustainability Vectors and with particular regard to their localization.

Each year, MASE submits to the CIPESS the Annual report on the implementation of the NSDS, and thus presents to the Presidency of the Council the state of the art of the carried out activities, together with a monitoring report based on the NSDS indicators developed in collaboration with the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and with Regions, Autonomous Provinces and Metropolitan Cities. As required by the law (art. 34 paragraph 3 of Legislative Decree 152/2006), the NSDS is updated every three years, through a broad participatory process that involves state and non-state actors, and approved by the Inter-ministerial Committee for Ecological Transition (CITE).

Finally, at international level, Italy regularly presents its Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the United Nations within the High-Level Political Forum. VNRs are a voluntary tool aimed at reporting at the UN level on the progress achieved at national and subnational levels to achieve the sustainable development goals and implement the 2030 Agenda.