Sapienza has doubled the number of water fountains on its main campus. As part of its drive to promote sustainability, Sapienza University has renovated the historical water fountains on its main campus to reduce the need to purchase water in plastic bottles, allowing students, academic staff and technical-administrative personnel to enjoy fresh water throughout the university.

The 11 water fountains that are currently present on campus will be doubled, becoming 22, with two elevated water spouts per fountain that will make it easy to fill bottles and thermal flasks.

Moreover, the university will add six more temporary water fountains at the main entrance to the campus for the Sapienza “Porte Aperte – Open Days” Orientation Event that will be held on July 16-18 to make sure there is enough fresh water for all prospective students visiting the campus on those days. In fact, the new Sapienza thermal flasks will be distributed at the event, before they become a permanent and cheap item at the university shop.

The initiative follows the agreement signed by the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) with the “Marevivo” Association and the National Interuniversity Consortium for Science (CONISMA) to join the #StopSingleUsePlastic Campaign. Furthermore, it is also part of the Sapienza Programme for Sustainability and the activities organised by the University Network for Sustainable Development (RUS).

During the three days of the “Porte Aperte – Open Days” Orientation Event, Sapienza will also adopt a new air-cooling system that will allow a 50% saving on energy. The system, which is markedly more sustainable and efficient than previous ones, nebulizes water into 10-micron droplets (less than the width of a hair) that instantly evaporate, lowering the surrounding temperature. Moreover, the system also consumes 50% less water than traditional nebulization methods.

Sapienza University is similarly committed to coordinating actions on the energy front with a major plan to convert to renewable energy, address the issue of waste and integrate this into didactic activities with lessons dedicated to sustainability in all degree programmes.

All activities addressing sustainability are based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015 for the new Agenda 2030.