The Key Role of Universities in Sustainable Development: The Human Dimension Among the Goals of 2030 Agenda – A Comparison Between Italy and Spain

This chapter discusses the primary role of higher education institutions (HEIs) promoting sustainable development as environments of education and training, by retracing the regulatory evolution starting from the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (Rio, 1992) until the current 2030 Agenda. Specifically, this work will be based on the comparison between two countries, Spain and Italy, and will look at the best-performing universities according to the 2021/2022 sustainable development goal (SDG) international rankings. Among the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda, this contribution will examine those concerning the person (1, 5, 10 and 16), investigating how universities contribute, through regulations and good practices, to the development of a more inclusive society.