Sustainability, knowledge, and the future: a complex challenge affecting society
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Sustainability is no longer just an environmental issue. It is a complex challenge that involves society, the economy, territories, knowledge, and governance. This is the starting point for Prof. Antonio Garofalo's editorial, which opens issue 1 of the Review of Studies on Sustainability, published on June 25, 2025. A true key to understanding our times: because the current model of development is showing increasingly evident limitations and because today, talking about sustainability means rethinking the relationship between well-being, resources, innovation, and the future of communities in an integrated way. In the editorial of this issue, Garofalo revisits the major international frameworks (from the Millennium Declaration to the United Nations 2030 Agenda) to highlight how the idea of sustainability has gradually expanded beyond an exclusively environmental vision. Today, sustainability is a dynamic balance between natural, human, economic, and social capital. This balance cannot be entrusted to short-term competitive strategies, but requires new models of development, new policies, and above all, a new focus on knowledge. Knowledge is the common thread running through the editorial and the entire issue of the magazine. Research, innovation, training, and decision support capabilities are not presented as separate areas, but as parts of a single dynamic system capable of generating lasting value for local areas and supporting truly shared development. This holistic approach appeals not only to scholars, but also to public decision-makers, businesses, third sector organizations, and citizens interested in understanding the transformations taking place. The first issue of the Review of Studies on Sustainability brings together international contributions addressing key issues: from migration to the human ecological footprint, from neuromarketing applied to food choices to sustainable development strategies in organizations, from the environmental management of local communities to digitization, social justice, and the role of education. It offers a broad, multidisciplinary overview designed to provide tools for understanding and action. It starts with migration phenomena, analyzed through the lens of the human ecological footprint, to understand how population growth and the movement of people affect global environmental balances and raise urgent questions about the planet's ability to sustain these dynamics in the long term. Alongside this, some contributions explore less traveled territory, such as neuromarketing applied to sustainability, showing how the unconscious mechanisms that guide our choices can become strategic levers for promoting more responsible eating habits. Ampio spazio è dedicato anche alle organizzazioni e alle imprese, con studi che analizzano l’impatto concreto delle strategie di sviluppo sostenibile sulle performance aziendali in diversi contesti nazionali. Non manca l’attenzione alle comunità territoriali e alla gestione ambientale locale, con analisi dedicate al ruolo della spesa pubblica per la protezione dell’ambiente e alla sua efficacia nel migliorare la qualità della vita e ridurre i rischi ambientali. Infine, uno sguardo è rivolto all’innovazione tecnologica e alla formazione: dalla digitalizzazione dei processi pubblici alle politiche fiscali, fino al ruolo dell’istruzione e dei sistemi educativi come leve fondamentali per raggiungere gli Obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile dell’Agenda 2030. Please note that the journal is available in open access mode. 👉 You can consult it on the Franco Angeli website by clicking here!