ABOUT THE CENTER

Established in 2009, the Polo Center of Sustainability functions similarly to a university spin-off, non-governmental organization. It was first put together along the Italian Riviera in the city of Imperia, Italy, and has established additional offices in Sopot, Poland, the Southeast Asian city of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, an Indian and South Asian Office in Bangalore, India, and, our latest addition, an African Office in Abuja, Nigeria. The primary focus is the advancement of sustainability-based research with interdisciplinary interests in human geography and the environment. The Center is actively engaged with linkages at the local, national, and international level and is collaboratively engaged in strategies that bring together researchers, policy makers, government agencies, and the community at large to develop innovative solutions to living within a sustainability-oriented society.

EUROPE CENTRIC

The Polo Center of Sustainability provides the European social science research community with access to first-rate data surveying and scientific services. It offers a full range of survey design, data management, analytical, and qualitative and quantitative skills. Our enthusiasm has stemmed from the desire to collect data of the highest quality, to carry out research, and investigative work in the public good and to develop upon knowledge base to support state-of-the-art decision-making. Our aim is to be internationally recognized as a Center for excellence in the provision of scientific research, academia, and co-relating organizations.

INTERDISCIPLINARY UMBRELLA 

The Center's key research interests are rooted and focus on the two themes that correspond with PCS Publishing, Co.'s special issue journals based in the Biblioteca Centrale "G. Marconi", Italy's central library in Rome: (1) Special Issue Journal of Human Geography and Environmental Studies, ISSN 2036-7910 and (2) Special Issue Journal of Sustainability Science and Studies, ISSN 2036-7929. The Center has been developed to allow researchers from various backgrounds to collaborate under a coherent interdisciplinary umbrella. This focus extends across various fields and perspectives through which the fundamental and related questions of sustainability are examined. The scale, complexity, and implication of sustainability related concerns requires good baseline research, along with the conceptual need for change over time, and the development of effective sustainability related tools to enhance outcomes.

MISSION

The Polo Center of Sustainability is devoted to running first-rate scientific research that informs decision making and improvements upon our understanding of European society, and beyond.

GOVERNING PRINCIPLES 

Our premise is attained by its governing principles:

1. being leaders and innovators in applied social scientific research methodologies;

2. undertaking research that has a positive societal impact;

3. maintaining expert collection, processing, and interpretive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data;

4. promoting a corporate ethos of continuous advancement with the pursuit of excellence as a focal premise;

5. creating high-performance research units or groups and working respectfully, collaboratively, and transparently with our clients, our stakeholders and each other;

6. working to the highest ethical standards;

7. actively enabling in our research all members of society, regardless of social status; and

8. encouraging and supporting our people to reach their top capacity.

CSR AT THE CENTER

The Polo Center of Sustainability is committed to creating first-rate scientific research solutions to support informed decision-making on ongoing and contemporary issues. Our mission is a commitment to conducting ethically sound research and to behave in a socially responsible manner. We extend this pledge to all of our stakeholders, our staff and others within the research community that we corroborate and collaborate with, in the research we undertake and those that we conduct research for. This is demonstrated through our governing principles which are stated above. In accordance with the Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility, ISO 26000, we comply that social responsibility is the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior. The governing principles highlight our commitment towards being socially responsible and our efforts to conduct our establishment appropriately so that we have a positive impact on the community, the environment, and our people. We believe that this is vital to the success of the Polo Center of Sustainability. Our responsibilities cover three areas: our staff, our community, and the environment.

OUR MEMBERS 

The Polo Center of Sustainability has a dynamic workforce with members working internationally in various forms; this includes permanent, adjunct, and casual staff. Our people make our organization and so their welfare is principal to healthy day-to-day work. All employees that are permanent, fixed term (more than one year), and regular senior casual staff are included in our performance and development review process. These reviews are an important part of the Polo Center of Sustainability’s efforts to grow and develop our employees, through regular discussions and planning with managerial decisions. This contributes to the Polo Center of Sustainability’s culture of continuous improvement and ensures that we achieve our strategic objectives. Staff also have access to professional development and, if desired, are encouraged to learn and study outside of their paramount fields of expertise. We also ensure we have adequate number of staff who are trained in first aid or pre-arranged access to medical facilities in-house and abroad.

OUR COMMUNITY

Our community encompasses a wide range of groups, including our clients, our research partners and collaborators, the individuals and organizations who participate in our research, others in the social sciences research community, and the wider community itself. The Polo Center of Sustainability has taken an active decision not to participate in research projects for organizations which could have a detrimental impact on our community. Our research portfolio instead focuses on areas that are for the greater good of society. We strive to ensure that our research is as inclusive as possible, through adopting flexible approaches (the use of translators and translation services, for example is common practice), undertaking ethically sound research and full compliance with all relevant professional European standards. In addition to the orientation of our research activities, we encourage, recognize, and support our staff members’ own involvement in charitable activities. We encourage staff to participate in individual charitable and volunteer activities and showcase these through our internal communications.

THE ENVIRONMENT

At the Polo Center of Sustainability, we believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to contribute to sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices. We understand that even the smallest changes can go toward making a big difference in our organization. The Polo Center of Sustainability has adopted an Environmental Management Framework under which it: (1) advocates to encourage more environmentally sustainable transport; (2) assists members to reduce their environmental impact; (3) ensures that the Polo Center of Sustainability is environmentally responsible in the conduct of its business; and (4) assists the wider community to help the environment. The Polo Center of Sustainability has environmental policies it advocates in the areas of sustainable transport, air pollution, alternative transport, and environmental education. These policies support the need for sustainable development and environmental responsibility.

EUROPEAN FUNDING SYSTEM

Collectively, the European Commissioners have the ultimate political responsibility for ensuring that European Union funds are properly spent. Each year they endorse the European Union’s annual accounts, including data on all expenditure during that fiscal year. The European Parliament then decides whether to give its approval to how the Commission implements its budget, a procedure known as the ‘budget discharge’. The European Commission delegates day-to-day management of the budget to its directors-general and the head of the European External Action Service. They provide an analysis of the internal control and financial management systems set up by each department to ensure European Union funds are properly managed. The European Union’s accounts are based on ‘accrual accounting’ standards, a modern and transparent accounting system which only a few national governments apply as yet. The system mirrors the modern accounting standards used by the private sector. 

FOCUS, EFFICIENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

The Polo Center of Sustainability complies with an international three-point platform of effectiveness:

1. Focus: to find practical, sustainable solutions to the problems concerning interdisciplinary studies, we concentrate our support for applied research on development priorities.

2. Efficiency: at the Polo Center of Sustainability, we have several mechanisms at both board and management levels to review priorities, evaluate successes, identify problems, and allocate resources. The Organization approves research, projects and plans that spell out our priorities, objectives and evaluation strategies.

3. Accountability: to manage risk effectively and fully comply with audit and evaluation functions. This is also demonstrated in Privacy and Disclaimer sections of this website.

TRANSPARENCY AND RISK MANAGEMENT

The Aarhus Convention grants the public rights regarding access to information, public participation, and access to justice in governmental decision making processes. This act gives European citizens, permanent residents and any individual or corporation present in Europe, the right to access records under the control of the Polo Center of Sustainability, subject to limited and specific exceptions. The Convention provides every individual who is a European citizen or a permanent resident with a right to access their personal information held by the Polo Center of Sustainability and protection of that information against unauthorized use and disclosure. The Polo Center of Sustainability has an integrated series of strategic, programmatic, and operational processes to manage the risk that is inherent in its work. This includes: (1) at the strategic level and senior management review and discuss the Center’s business risk profile; (2) at the programmatic level, the Center’s projects are assessed for risk before approval and risks are monitored throughout the project life cycle; and (3) at the operational level, the Center assesses its grantee institutions for financial and administrative risk and applies appropriate monitoring and reporting controls.

FRAMEWORK OF THE CENTER

Established in 2009, the Polo Center of Sustainability is structured within the parameters and framework of a business organization.

WORKING FOR THE CENTER

The Polo Center of Sustainability offer a vibrant, friendly and flexible working environment and is home to a wide portfolio of research projects in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and research infrastructure development. As an interdisciplinary and collaborative Center we encourage our staff to become involved in a wide range of activities both internally and in the wider community. The Center supports flexible working arrangements wherever possible.