MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Initiatives capable of transforming environmental and social challenges into opportunities for the country, generating tangible impacts for people, communities and territories: they are those awarded on the occasion of the second edition of the Impact Award, promoted by Polimi Graduate School of Management in collaboration with the research center Tiresia and with the support of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). The award was given to representatives of the seven winning projects during the event held at the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan and which saw the participation of the President of CDP, Giovanni Gorno Tempini, the managing director of CDP, Dario Scannapieco, and the Rector of Politecnico di Milano, Donatella Sciuto.
“The biggest challenge for companies and institutions is to combine competitiveness and sustainability while guaranteeing a transition that does not leave anyone behind – said Giovanni Gorno Tempini, President of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti –. CDP has a balanced and pragmatic approach: we support the development of the country by facilitating access to credit and directing funding to projects capable of producing positive impacts. Moreover, we look at innovation that today more than ever requires a system commitment. The experiences we reward together with the Politecnico di Milano with the Impact Award are a clear example of the link between sustainability and digital transformation.”
Dario Scannapieco, CEO of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, underlined: “The winners and finalists of the second edition of the Impact Award tell concrete cases of reality that design the future in social and green key, generating real and measured impacts thanks to our evaluation methodologies and work with the Politecnico di Milano. As emerged from Doxa research, companies and companies continue to see investments in sustainability as a possibility of growth in the medium-long period. The task of CDP is to provide resources and skills to promote a virtuous circle towards a right transition.”
Donatella Sciuto, Director of Politecnico di Milano, said: “As a technological university committed to the common good, we believe that the impact goes beyond the results obtained; it is also important to generate new knowledge and opportunities for the territories. The Impact Award recognizes not only what has been done, but also the potential for growth of people and initiatives rewarded to make the effects even more solid, transforming experience and knowledge into shared value.”
At the second edition, the Impact Award is divided into several categories: SMEs, Enterprises, Infrastructures, Public Administration – with distinct awards for environmental and social impact – and International Cooperation. The seven winning projects stand out for the ability to produce measurable benefits for the environment and people, thanks to innovative solutions that meet concrete needs with positive and lasting effects. The initiative is aimed at those active in these areas who signed a financing agreement with CDP.
The jury, composed of sustainability and innovation experts from entrepreneurship, the public sector, but also from the academic world and the third sector, has selected the winners from a rose of 20 finalists.
The winning projects cover seven categories: for SMEs, the Simpro S.p.A. (Piemonte) has built an industrial building to zero almost all energy consumption, thanks to a photovoltaic system, a geothermal system and structures for electric mobility; for Environmental Enterprises, Damiano S.p.A. (Sicily) has developed the water efficiency of the production process along the dry fruit chain, the digitization of the warehouse and the creation of a dedicated allergen ward; for Impresand Social, Esaote S.p.A. (Liguria) has created and marketed a magnetic resonance device for brain glioma surgery, collaborating with neurosurgeons and using innovative technologies; for Infrastructure, E-Distribution S.p.A. (Lazio) has invested in the strengthening of the national electricity distribution network, improving the quality, efficiency of the service and strengthening its climatic resilience; for PA Ambientale, ABC Napoli (Campania) has created a latest platform to reduce the losses of the water network, improving the efficiency of the service and sustainable management of the water resource; for PA Sociale
ARCA Puglia Centrale (Apulia) has started the redevelopment of the public residential heritage, with priority to the elimination of architectural barriers and the accessibility of housing; for International Cooperation, XaBank (Mongolia) has expanded the portfolio of loans to support micro, small and medium-sized Mongolian enterprises, in particular to female and youth and rural areas, and green projects and the chain of sustainable cashmere.
In the course of the award, the survey “Sustainability, competitiveness and impact” curated by Doxa, part of the Ipsos Group, from which it emerges how, in a global scenario characterized by uncertainty, companies oriented to invest in sustainability and the local authorities pay more attention to the social dimension and governance, without neglecting the environmental component. In short, there is a progressive shift from the E component to the S and G components of sustainability.
In detail, the share of enterprises, including SMEs, which declares to want – in the next three years – to increase investments in the welfare and protection of workers (offrendo smart working, flexibility of working time, corporate welfare and training), reaches 66%, increasing from 44% of the last three years. The number of entrepreneurship companies that aim to increase the commitment to health and safety of employees also increases: 53% d?l 44% of the previous three years. Finally, the percentages for investments to improve governance (39% from 33%). The indication for a reduction of the environmental impact, however, decreases as priority, going to 69% from 89%.
More attention to the social component is also noted for the local authorities: 35% of the municipalities investing in sustainability are willing to make their territories more attractive in terms of infrastructure and services (was 26% in the past three years) while the commitment to reducing the environmental impact (69%).
The research also highlights how sustainability does not represent only a reputational factor for the entire sample of respondents, but is increasingly perceived as an economic-financial lever in the medium-long period: in particular for 30% of companies improve financial performance and for 26% facilitate access to public and European funds.
Finally, in order to accelerate the investments, 1’81% of the companies and 93% of the municipalities consider necessary support, with resources and skills, especially in the phase of technical and economic planning.
– Photo f12/Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
