Giovanni DE FEO | Curriculum

Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, he teaches Industrial Ecology in the Master's Degree Programs in Chemical Engineering and Management Engineering at the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIIn) of the University of Salerno.

He is accredited as a First-Class Professor in the field of Environmental Engineering.

He is a member of the Faculty Board of the PhD Program in Innovative Engineering Technologies for Industrial Sustainability (IETIS) at the University of Salerno.

He graduated with honors in Civil Engineering from the University of Salerno, holds a PhD in Civil Engineering for the Environment and Territory, and was a research fellow with the role of "Expert in the environmental impact of sanitary engineering works."

He has taught courses in:

• Pollution Phenomena and Environmental Quality Control;
• Environmental Management Systems;
• Environmental Assessment Procedures;
• Environmental Impact Assessment;
• Environmental Impact Elements;
• Wastewater Treatment Plants;
• Solid Waste Disposal and Treatment;
• Environmental Impact of Civil Engineering Works;
• Remediation of Contaminated Sites;
• Public Service Management;
• Environmental Sanitary Engineering;
• Environmental Impact of Sanitary Engineering Works;
• Legal Aspects of Technical-Engineering Activities.

He has supervised, co-supervised, and mentored around 500 theses.

Since June 2017, he has been responsible for the "Waste" thematic table of the University of Salerno’s Sustainability Working Group. Since November 2017, he represents the University of Salerno in the "Resources and Waste" Working Group of the Network of Universities for Sustainable Development (RUS), where he coordinates the "Separate Collection" sub-group. Since November 2021, he represents the University of Salerno in the "Climate Change" Working Group of RUS.

He conducts his research at the Department of Industrial Engineering, focusing on the following main topics:

• Management of municipal solid waste and environmental sustainability
• Wastewater treatment and historic water infrastructures
• Circular economy and bioeconomy
• Sustainability of packaging and the food industry
• Environmental education and scientific communication
• Advanced waste and material treatment technologies
• Integration of multi-criteria approach in environmental sustainability

He is an Editor for the journal Water Supply and has been for Water, Science and Technology. He is also a member of the Editorial Boards of Sustainability, Recycling, Standards, Energy and Environment Research, Environment and Pollution, International Journal of Environmental Protection, Academica Science Journal - Economica Series, and Ingegneria dell'Ambiente (IDA).

He acts as a referee for around 40 international journals and is a member of the scientific committee of Ingenio. He has participated as a speaker in numerous seminars, conferences, master’s programs, and training courses. He is the author and co-author of around 200 technical-scientific publications and monographs.

He is the creator and promoter of the third-mission environmental education and outreach project "Greenopoli," which, since December 2014, has involved more than 600 schools and around 80,000 students.

In 2017, he was awarded at the Caselle Film Festival.

In 2018, he received the Vesuvio Verde, Anfiteatro d'Argento, Premio Internazionale Prata, and Premio Ambientalista dell'Anno – Luisa Minazzi awards. In May 2018, he was appointed Honorary Member of the Italian Association of Environmental Sciences (AISA).

In 2019, he won the Pabulum and Eccellenza per i Giovani Campani 2019 awards.

In 2021, the third-mission project “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental outreach with the Greenopoli method” from DIIn received the PA Sostenibile e Resiliente 2021 Award in the "Training on Sustainability" section.

In 2022, the Greenopoli project was presented as an "excellent example of an educational model" in the international book Social and Environmental Issues to Sustainability written by university professors Rainer Stegman, Evangelos Gidarakos, Wenjing Lu, and Maria Avalioti for the Technical University of Crete Press (ISBN 978-618-5558-031).

In February 2022, the Greenopoli method was the subject of a Master’s thesis in Science in Journalistic Practice at the University of Rome Sapienza, titled “Le vocali della rivoluzione: il podcast di Greenopoli.”

On April 16, 2022, within an episode dedicated to Campania and Salerno, the Greenopoli method was featured on Rai1 in the program "Linea Verde Link," alongside other research and outreach initiatives of the University of Salerno.

In 2023, he was invited to give environmental education talks in Spain and Bangladesh and won the Giovanni Bozzini Award - Best Italian Paper Award at the Sardinia Symposium.

In 2024, he received the Sustainability Awards 2024 from UCID and CONFASSOCIAZIONI Campania, and the "La natura siamo noi – #Battipaglia 2024" award for his exceptional ability to communicate and disseminate environmental issues to all age groups. He also received recognition at the Terramia Film Festival and the Festa dell’Ambiente di Mirabella Eclano for his commitment to environmental protection.

From 2022 to 2024, he contributed to drafting the GUIDELINES for waste separation in universities, a project that won the Best Practice 2024 CONAI – Comuni Ricicloni Award.

On January 18, 2025, in Benevento, he received the "Eccellenze del Territorio" Award from the Lions District 108Ya for his commitment to environmental engineering research, university teaching, and outreach through the Greenopoli project.