(Finance) – The new edition of the annual study “Seize the change” analyzes the most relevant and significant ones trend Of development sustainable for companies in the country and for 8 years it has represented a moment of systemic reflection on current sustainability practices and in future prospects.
THE results of the study confirm how overall Italian companies are increasingly committed to integrating sustainability into business and this occurs both for small-medium enterprises and for large ones. Two years ago, on the contrary, it was the big companies to advance faster than PMI on sustainability issues. However, this happens at variable speed on individual issues and with unevenness between sectors as some (energy And textile) proceed faster than others (media & telecommunication and construction) in the integration of sustainability.
Maximum Antonelli, CEO of EY in Italy and COO of EY Europe West, comments: “sustainability has changed companies: it is no longer just an opportunity, but a necessity to respond to the systemic challenges we are facing. Today it represents the investment priority for 40% of the world’s CEOs. While in Italy, according to our study, small and medium-sized enterprises are finally traveling at the same speed as the large ones in integrating sustainability into business. More than half of the companies interviewed consider sustainability a fundamental driver for increasing their competitiveness in the reference markets and creating medium and long-term value for all stakeholders, thus rebuilding confidence in the future and putting people at the center of the transformation”.
This year’s edition features novelty significant as regards, on the one hand, the panel of companies examined which was extended to a total of 350 companies (150 of these were interviewed directly while the non-financial statements of 210 were analysed) and, on the other hand, for an in-depth study conducted on the economic-financial performance related to companies, with the relative correlations with i behaviors sustainable. Furthermore, it was investigated how the Italian entrepreneurial fabric is replanning its sustainability strategies also according to the new crisis following the war in Ukraine.
Richard Giovannini, EY Italy, Climate Change and Sustainability leader, adds: “The results of our study demonstrate how companies in the country are increasingly at the forefront of integrating sustainability into their business. The data from the survey confirm that in 62% of cases the companies’ sustainability plans are integrated with the respective industrial plans and there is also a clear acceleration in the commitment to combat and mitigate climate change: almost 8 out of 10 listed companies have structured a process of identification and management of priority-risks related to climate change. The more companies strengthen their path towards sustainability, understood as a determining driver of transformation, the more they will be able to support competitiveness and future growth”.
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