The Go2Score indicator, a pioneering way to assess sustainability of local businesses

This thesis arises from the intention to describe the project developed by the non-profit start-up Go2Rail - Fun. Shared. Affordable, whose objective is to transform the mobility and consumption behaviours of European students and encourage a sustainable lifestyle in three spheres: environmental, economic, and social. The focus of this thesis is the initiative carried out within the context of Go2Places, a European network of local and eco-friendly businesses that offers the main activities meeting the needs of European students. The initiative consisted in the conception, development, and validation of an indicator called Go2Score, useful for assessing the level of sustainability of local commercial activities present in European university cities, in respect to a list of sustainability criteria, also called items, grouped into six categories: Energy, Water, Waste, Products and Services, Building and Social Sustainability. The Go2Score validation process occurred in the historic centre of Bologna and involved 28 local businesses in the area. These businesses were selected by the Go2Rail team as the main local realities in the area that already offer an eco-friendly approach and meet the consumption needs of the student population. The validation process enabled the calculation of the final percentage of factors satisfied out of the total number of identified items, resulting in the Go2Score for each business. The analysis of the data collected for each activity reveals that there is ample room for improvement in the sustainability field, even for businesses that already make active efforts to offer customers a sustainable approach.