SDGs Implementation in Italy: A Comparative Assessment of Subnational Strategies for Sustainable Development

Currently, many countries are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included in the United Nations Agenda 2030. The subnational governments are playing a key role in SDGs implementation at local level. In Italy, the “National Strategy for Sustainable Development” (NSDS) for 2017–2030 defined an integrated system of objectives and actions for guiding policies and interventions towards SDGs. Italian subnational governments (Regions and Autonomous Provinces) must adapt the NSDS to their contexts through local-specific strategies, according to different territorial features and priorities. This paper provides a comparative assessment between four Italian subnational Strategies for Sustainable Development – Liguria and Marche Regions, Autonomous Region of Sardinia and Autonomous Province of Trento – in order to highlight differences and similarities in vision, approaches and implementation mechanisms for embedding SDGs across local strategies, action plans and programs. Thus, the main aim is to provide a first detailed insight of the implementation strategies for SDGs in Italy and to contribute to the growing knowledge in the field of strategic and operational planning related to sustainable development.