NBFC – Spoke 6: social sustainability, biodiversity and strategic communication

Milan, October 16, 2025 – In the landscape of Italian biodiversity research, the NBFC – National Biodiversity Future Center project represents one of the most important system-level initiatives, aiming to connect science, innovation, environment, and social impact. Among its nine thematic spokes, Spoke 6 – Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing – focuses on an increasingly central aspect: how biodiversity, studied and protected, can directly influence human health and quality of life.

MiRò supports Spoke 6 as a consultant for mediation and communication activities, playing a key role in connecting the scientific leads of the working tables with the agencies involved in content production. This means listening, interpreting, and transforming the complexity of research into messages that are understandable, relevant, and coherent for the media, institutions, and the general public.

A project structured into four working tables

Spoke 6 is organized into four working tables, each addressing the relationship between biodiversity and health from a different perspective: from urban exposome studies to plant bioprospecting, from sustainable biotechnologies to the economic and social value of biodiversity.

Table 1 – Biodiversity, exposome, and lifestyle in urban contexts

Coordinated by Prof. Rachele De Giuseppe (University of Pavia), this table explores the concept of the exposome, i.e., the set of environmental factors to which an individual is exposed from conception onwards, which together influence health.

In urban contexts, where an estimated 70% of the global population will live by 2050, it becomes a priority to modulate the exposome through natural solutions and targeted interventions.

The goal is to study how Nature-based Solutions (NbS), such as green barriers and green-blue infrastructure, can mitigate environmental impact and reduce the incidence of chronic diseases (obesity, diabetes, cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases). The table employs bioinformatic models, omics analyses, cohort studies, and artificial intelligence, including Exposome-Wide Association Studies (ExWAS) and machine learning.

Table 2 – Bioprospecting and Bioactivity

Led by Prof. Flavia Guzzo (University of Verona), this table studies Italian terrestrial and marine flora as a source of bioactive molecules for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food applications. The aim is to transform the richness of national biodiversity into tangible resources for human health.

The output of this table is not only scientific but also economic and industrial, paving the way for new sustainable supply chains in pharma, food, and wellness sectors.

Table 3 – Biotechnology and Biodiversity

Directed by Prof. Paola Branduardi (University of Milano-Bicocca), this table analyzes the biotechnological potential of urban biodiversity, transforming waste materials into high-value resources.

This approach combines circular economy, sustainability, and innovation to generate industrial solutions from waste, with a positive impact on both the environment and the urban economy.

Table 4 – Biodiversity, Restoration Economy, and Social Impact

Coordinated by Profs. Flavio Ceravolo, Stefano Denicolai, and Michele Rostan (University of Pavia), this table explores the socio-economic value of biodiversity and its implications for public policy, labor markets, and education.

Through case studies of companies integrating biodiversity into their business models (from cosmetics to construction), web scraping of job portals, and interviews with key stakeholders, the table provides enterprises, institutions, and citizens with concrete tools for ecological and cultural transition, promoting a restoration economy based on skills, equity, and social innovation.

Biodiversity as a driver of health and social innovation

Spoke 6 of the NBFC project represents an ambitious and necessary challenge: translating biodiversity into wellbeing, health, and economic opportunities, with social sustainability at its core.

Thanks to the joint work of universities, research centers, and communication professionals, a new way of thinking about the relationship between humans and nature is emerging: more integrated, more aware, and more future-oriented.