(Finance) – “We have been talking about for some time ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) they represent the three directions that we will have in mind in the coming years. There is already one directive of the European Union which provides, starting from 2024, that the most important companies to be listed on the Stock Exchange they will have to have i ESG requirements and they will have to certify them both in the explanatory note and in the management report”. He recalls it Eraldo Turipresident of the Order of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts of Naples, presenting the forum organized by the ESG Study Commission of theOdcec of Naplesheld this morning at the headquarters of Palazzo Calabritto.
“The businesses are not ready yet to adopt ESG systems – he underlined – they will obviously have to equip themselves. In Italy the entrepreneurial fabric is mainly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, which perceive the concepts of ESG with less importance than those of large dimensions, it is therefore essential that they prepare themselves to remain attractive and competitive on the market”.
Second Raffaele Ianuario (managing director of the Order of Naples with responsibility for the ESG Commission) “la ESG sustainability has become a point of no return, Europe has decided and there will be no turning back. It is a great opportunity for professionals who have the task of accompanying companies towards one sociocultural change. So no longer a greenwashing, a ‘simple’ cleaning of the balance sheets but a real search for sustainability also for small and medium-sized enterprises”.
Happy Females (general manager of Banca di Credito Popolare) underlined that “the bank is already committed to sustainability issues inspired by ESG values, an important transition from a climatic and environmental point of view. In support of small, medium and large enterprises who now have to deal with the issues of sustainability la Banca di Credito Popolare has already made a specific commitmentwhich consists in achieving those objectives included in the 2023-2025 strategic plan”.
In favor of sustainable financewhich is characterized by giving new business models and a very great competitiveness, she expressed herself Milena Prisco (Of Counsel Studio Pavia e Ansaldo): “What is happening at the community level is extraordinary, a real revolution which starts from finance and then falls back on the real economy. Today, being sustainable means carrying out a self-analysis to integrate ESG factors into the business model and prepare for a market evolution that requires an important approach to attracting investments. ESG loans and green bonds are great tools. Companies, if sustainable, will have much more important ratings to be listed on the stock exchange”.
For Riccardo Resciniti (full professor of Economics and Business Management at the University of Sannio) “there is a great attention to the theme of sustainability in every respect. However, the concept of sustainability is not always perceived concretely in terms of financial markets and consumption. There willingness to pay a premium price to have more sustainable products than others that are less sustainable. So, it is an information campaign is needed and effective and systemic communication to make consumers aware of the issue “.
That the concept of sustainability must absolutely become part of the corporate cultureand on the fundamental role of accountants for this purpose, he has no doubts Emmanuela Saggese (President of the Neapolitan ODCEC ESG Commission): “We will soon get to dover draw up integrated financial statements that detect all the criteria relating to the environment, the social aspect and the governance aspect. Sustainability will be an essential factor for investments, activating a series of mechanisms which become synergistic with each other and will make companies not only more competitive but also attractive both in terms of attracting capital and in terms of bank financing”.
The meeting was also attended by Ada Rosa Balzan (founder and managing director of ARB SBPA Sustainability Consulting), Antonio Minervini (president of the Scientific Committee of the ESG Commission – Environmental, Social and Governance), Alessandro Di Ruocco (president of Rdr Spa Società Benefit and president Group of Young Entrepreneurs of the Union of Industrialists of Naples) and Antonio Marciano (secretary of the President of the Campania Region).