SUSTAINABILITY, CONFINDUSTRIA: CONSUMERS DRIVEN BY QUALITY AND PRICE, 80% ATTENTIVE
According to Havas research, companies see sustainability as a long-term solution but only 1 in 4 SMEs has a dedicated figure
Da Ros: without public policies to support 5.0 investments, risk of unsustainable costs and loss of competitiveness shares

Rome, 15 November 2023 - Confindustria presented a survey on the state of the art of sustainability in Italy, which provides a quantitative analysis of consumer sentiment towards sustainability at 360° and an assessment of the maturity of Italian companies in integrating these topics in their respective realities. Between last October and November, the survey, conducted by Havas Pr, involved a sample of 500 respondents representative of the Italian population and 16 entrepreneurs from the Italian industrial panorama.
The study was illustrated at the main event of the 22nd Corporate Culture Week of Confindustria 'Industry 5.0: the future is here. Awareness and sustainable development' at the MAXXI in Rome. The day, through the interventions of distinguished speakers, devoted particular attention to the reflection and sharing of experiences on the key issues of sustainability and economic, environmental and social responsibility in their various forms and in different sectors.

The quantitative consumer survey showed that Italians continue to prefer high-quality products, but price remains a critical determinant: 92% considers quality and 89% cost as the main purchase factors. Sustainability, focusing on environmental and social aspects, is relevant for 80% of the respondentswith particular attention being paid by women and individuals between the ages of 55 and 64. The presence of children accentuates the interest in quality, origin and sustainability of the supply chain.

Despite stated positive attitudes, only 28% of Italians say they are 'very attentive' to sustainability, while 52% say they are 'fairly attentive' to the issue - associating it mainly with recycling and waste collection; 1 in 5 (20%) declared themselves indifferent or considered sustainability unimportant. The 60% of respondents say they are not familiar with the acronym ESG.

While individual responsibility is related to the environment and recycling, sustainable companies are judged on both environmental and social issues. 46% of respondents consider worker protection as the main criterion for a sustainable company, followed by respect for equal opportunities (41%).

Young people inform themselves and choose sustainable brandswhile the 57% of Italians are willing to opt for sustainable products without impacting their walletdown to 50% in the 45-54 age group.

For the private sector, the importance of transparent and effective communication emerges. Consumers, in fact, inform themselves mainly through diversified channels, with the official company website in first place (45%). Communication also becomes an employer branding tool, with an equal distribution between genders, ages and different consumer backgrounds.

From the qualitative survey conducted through interviews with entrepreneurs emerged that the Italian companies integrate sustainability from the outset and see it as a long-term solution. Companies are evolving from a 'regulatory compliant' approach to a approach that uses sustainability to differentiate itself in the marketplace. Employee satisfaction is a priority, with increasing focus on inclusion and equity. Welfare, skills and the relationship with schools are relevant issues. Technological innovation is crucial for the green transition, with a focus on the circular economy and the integration of Artificial Intelligence. Sustainability governance and generational transition are challenges, with only 25% of SMEs have a dedicated sustainability figure.

Collaboration between supply chains is a key element. Companies invest in ESG training to support smaller supply chains. Made in Italy, with its hallmarks of quality, creativity and human relations, offers a unique advantage.

Investment priorities denote a clear focus on an integrated approach to sustainability: digital, green and human capital-training ESG.

The companies interviewed express the need to reviewing industrial policies - national and European - with a view to integrating the three aspects of E-S-G sustainabilityto focus on 'Made in Italy' as an effective lever to enhance the value of our country on markets all over the world, generating wealth and development in the long term.

"Capitalism is evolving and businesses are no longer called upon to produce value but values: economic, social and environmental. Business in key 5.0 puts man at the centre and makes it clear that the investment in people is, today, an industrial investment,' said claimed Katia Da Ros, Confindustria Vice President for Environment, Sustainability and Culture. In this context, employer branding is a key factor in communicating one's values and sharing a vision of the future and community, focusing on human resources. Added to this is good sustainability governance, which means first and foremost a corporate organisation capable of accompanying the evolution of production processes. The approach to sustainability,' continued Da Ros, 'can only be integrated, as is clear from the qualitative interviews in the survey: good governance is a prerequisite for good reporting; good reporting for effective employer branding, and the latter for evolving business models in a 5.0 key'.

"All this," stressed the Vice President of Confindustria From Ros - translates into investments for businesses but, without public policies that support them and are guided by the criterion of technological neutrality, it risks becoming an unsustainable cost and causing the country to lose competitiveness shares. In recent years, with the Green Deal, we have witnessed a Community policy that has approached environmental objectives in an ideological manner, without understanding the risks for the industrial sectors most exposed to international competition, and without realising that industrial development and innovation are the focus of technological solutions to achieve sustainability, environmental, economic and social objectives,' Da Ros added. We need to adapt the timing of the green transition to the timing of industrial transformation to avoid the risk of deindustrialisation in Europe and ensure economic and social sustainability. Innovative investments must be stimulated, as the US and China are doing, to turn the challenge of the green transition into a great opportunity for sustainable development'.

The morning's institutional speech was entrusted to the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin who stated: 'It is now well established that development will inevitably have to travel along the tracks of sustainability. Development will have to be necessarily and unavoidably sustainable. The development we are aiming for is that which brings wellbeing to communities without affecting the environment and the land. It is therefore important that Confindustria has decided to take an active part in the national and international debate: it confirms the fundamental role of companies in intercepting, anticipating and leading the change stimulated by the new development paradigm, Industry 5.0, which is emerging in Europe, including Italy. Talents enhanced by new technological solutions, an element of non-traumatic growth if processes are made sustainable. These are the qualifying points of Industry 5.0, in the end, and this is why I can assure you that our commitment to bring this important measure home will not fail. A commitment that will always be inspired by listening to your positions'.

The topic of sustainability was also addressed from a marketing perspective with Christian Sarkar, Founder Double Loop Marketing LLC, and Enrico Foglia, Managing Director Regenerative Marketing InstituteThey emphasised: 'We have a deep conviction: sustainability must be the foundation of development, both for companies and local communities. For this reason, we have developed our regenerative model, conceived as a response to the growing global demand for projects geared towards the preservation of the commons. As founders of the Regenerative Marketing Institute, our commitment is to shape a future in which sustainability becomes a genuine driver of progress.

Ethics and the centrality of the person, alternative and inclusive models at work, the role of digital are the themes of the reflection of Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Vice Chancellor Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, who said: 'Sustainability, referred to by the Church's social Magisterium itself, is increasingly understood as a global and inclusive vision, capable of recognising in human activities the interconnections of ecological, social and economic aspects, which is what Industry 5.0 also aims for. In it, everyone should participate in the same development equation. From the perspective of sustainability, development transcends the economic dimension alone and affects people and even the environment. The self-referential view of theHomo oeconomicusto develop a new vision of man, in which the subject of reference is less abstract and more eclectic, capable of reciprocal relationships, intrinsic motivation and is socially responsible'.

The event "Industry 5.0: the future is here. Awareness and sustainable development" is promoted by Confindustria with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and IWS, together with the Strategic Main Partner for Enterprise Culture 4.Manager, with the partnership of Audi and in collaboration with Fondimpresa.

"14 November 2023