The 2030 Agenda research area aims to support the new strategic direction of sustainable development defined by the UN on September 15, 2015 by developing innovative research tools to interpret and manage the complexity that characterizes the current socio-economic system. The pursuit of this objective requires an overview of the situation and an integrated thinking approach to link FEEM’s projects to the global context; the development of assessment tools and models to implement sustainable development at international, national and local levels; the creation of stakeholder networks to stimulate debate in the scientific and public spheres and to support policy makers in their respective choices.

To pursue these goals, the area collaborates with public and private bodies and research centers for the analysis and development of tools enabling the implementation of the UN Agenda and with the communities through initiatives to raise awareness on issues related to sustainable development.

The 2030 Agenda 2030 is divided into three sub-programs.

The first sub-program, the "UN 2030 Agenda", aims at localizing the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda. Recognizing the centrality of public-private partnerships and the importance of new generations and civil society to pursue full sustainability, this sub-program aims at disseminating the culture of sustainable development through calls for ideas, events, seminars and training workshops. Research activity focuses on the study of sustainability indicators in Italian cities, and it is currently focused on the achievement of the goals at regional level.

The second sub-program, “Environment, Energy, Uncertainty”, studies the water footprint of economic activities by developing studies aimed at assessing the impacts of policies and investment decisions on water resources and on the energy-water nexus, by adapting and further developing micro and macro studies related to energy and the use of water for production systems.

The third sub-program is focused on “Food” and aims at assessing how environmental impacts, the use of water and natural resources can affect food production and its nutritional value.

FEEM is the hosting institution of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Italia, which is part of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN), and participates in the working groups of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS).