Our Team

Giulia Sonetti is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at ISGlobal and former Beatriu de Pinós Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability Science and Technology, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona. She holds a PhD in Environment and Territory and two MSc degrees in Building Engineering and Renewable Energy. Her academic trajectory combines technical, environmental, and social perspectives to address complex sustainability challenges.

Professionally, Sonetti has developed a transdisciplinary research portfolio at the intersection of sustainability transitions, mental and planetary health. Her work integrates transformative learning principles with participatory and arts-based methods, fostering dialogue and engagement across academic, policy, and community contexts. She has collaborated with international networks, cultural institutions, and local stakeholders to co-design initiatives that bridge science, art, and societal transformation.

She is a founding member of Pulmons de Barri, a collective advancing environmental health through community-driven, science–art collaborations. In her current roles, she leads the Cycling to Care project, which explores how emotional well-being can act as a catalyst for pro-environmental change by supporting young people facing climate anxiety, creating safe spaces for collective grief, and fostering active hope in future transformations. Sonetti’s research emphasises collaborative knowledge production, ethical engagement, and transformative action toward sustainable futures. 

Lines of research

• Sustainability transitions and transformative learning
• Environmental psychology and climate anxiety
• Health and well-being in the context of planetary health
• Participatory and arts-based research methodologies
• Science–policy–society interfaces for sustainable futures
• Sustainability management and education in higher education institutions
• Energy–Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) integration for policy and practice

Main publications

• Sonetti, G., Sarrica, M., & Norton, L. S. (2021). Conceptualization of sustainability among students, administrative and teaching staff of a university community: An exploratory study in Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 316, 128292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128292
• Leal Filho, W., Salvia, A. L., Paço, A., Dinis, M. A. P., Vidal, D. G., Da Cunha, D. A., Anholon, R., Rampasso, I. S., Platje, J., Lovren, V. O., Vauterin, J. J., Brandli, L. L., Molthan-Hill, P., Ozuyar, P. G., Emblen-Perry, K., Nunn, P., Bardi, U., Vasconcelos, C. R. P., ... Sonetti, G. (2022). The influences of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainable consumption: An international study. Environmental Sciences Europe, 34(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-022-00669-x
• Sonetti, G., Arrobbio, O., Lombardi, P., Lami, I. M., & Monaci, S. (2020). "Only social scientists laughed": Reflections on social sciences and humanities integration in European energy projects. Energy Research & Social Science, 61, 101342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101342
• Mourik, R. M., Sonetti, G., & Robison, R. A. V. (2021). The same old story–or not? How storytelling can support inclusive local energy policy. Energy Research & Social Science, 73, 101940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.101940
• Norton, L. S., Sonetti, G., & Sarrica, M. (2023). Crossing borders, building new ones, or shifting boundaries? Shared narratives and individual paths towards inter/transdisciplinarity in research centres for urban sustainability. Sustainability Science, 18(3), 1199–1213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01271-5