The Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability (TLQS) is a laboratory spread across various scientific and humanities institutions in Friuli Venezia Giulia with the aim of developing scientific methods capable of quantifying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The research activities focus on scientific modelling in the following areas:
- Exploration of the blue planet with regard to the sustainability of the marine economy
- Nutrition and biodiversity for the health of the planet and its inhabitants
- Climate change and the environment
- New data science for sustainability and human ecology
- Energy transition and industrial processes
- Sustainability and social sciences: the right to sustainability, the consideration of diversity and inclusion, and the relationship between sustainability and social justice
- Space-based instruments for monitoring terrestrial habitats
By collecting existing data, managing it through machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms and analysing it globally, it will be possible to derive comprehensive sustainability indicators. The aim is to understand the fundamental components of sustainability science — a science that enables short- and medium-term predictions about the health of the planet and its inhabitants, as well as the impact of different policies and technologies on societies, groups and organisations.
The Lab's vision is to bridge the gap between research and science, governance and the productive sector, and to promote a circular rather than a linear model of development. This approach aims to create wealth for our societies, contribute to social inclusion and, above all, protect the environment.