The meeting of Confindustria: sustainability is the absolute priority by Sara Cirone
On February 16th 2018, in Verona, at Veronafiere, the general meeting of Confindustria was held. Let’s see the significance and the value of this event.
Towards a positive competitiveness
This event concludes a work of System consultations with the involvement of 14 phases based on the territory. The economic Agenda is the result of these meetings and has been presented to the Country. The focus has been on the national industrial issue: it will bring an inclusive and dynamic growth in opposition to poverty and to the reduction of the inequality only if the industry becomes positively competitive.
Sustainability
The fundamental theme of this meeting is sustainability. The report “Le sostenibili carte dell’Italia” (“The sustainable Italian files”) of the Centro studi di Confindustria (Confindustria Centre of Studies) confirms this. Its definition of sustainability is: «The condition of development that can ensure the satisfaction of the needs of the present generation without ruling out the possibility for future generations to realize the satisfaction of their needs». In our Country, sustainability should be achieved through corporate practice as a guarantee of a worldwide competitiveness in a global scenario where other countries have been already sensitive towards these themes.
The three resources of our country
In order to win the challange of sustainability, «Italy has three winning cards: its territory, its cultural heritage and its entrepreneurs». In this view, sustainability today is the absolute priority for the development of our national competitiveness at a global level. This goal must be achieved through the resources of our territory (to be intended as landscape and wealth of knowledge and competences), of our cultural heritage (limitless creativity) and our entrepreneurs (with the aim to activate a development in the future perspective). Although the resources are different, the strategy for our country is one: according to this study, sustainability should be at 360 degrees, where the entrepreneurial spirit merges with awareness and the economic growth reconciles with the environmental equilibrium and with equity.
Beauty
Our country owns a sui generis raw material: beauty, belonging to the landscape, arts, history and architecture. These resources can give creativity to our industry because they can achieve the combination of innovation and traditional ancient knowledge, building a unique and an absolutely precious heritage. Beauty can create well-being.
Territory
The territory should become a great resource for our country. This fact implies the capability to involve marginal areas and reinvent them or regenerate them with strategies of inclusive development, thus creating a circular economy applied to that knowledge naturally held in the territory.
The entrepreneurs as active agents
Entrepreneurs are the third fundamental resource for the Italian sustainability. They are the active agent of the push towards innovation through their decisions in the production and development of new technologies, in the care and management of the territory and its culture.
Family and people
In particular, in the sustainable perspective, family becomes the main institution of the society of our country: the world of business companies and the world of families are finally close and without separations. In fact, business companies help and support people with work. The main perspective aims to a more inclusive future in a more sustainable country, where efficiency can be combined with reassurance about the future, investing in training and people.
The Manifesto for the Responsabilità sociale d’impresa per l’Industria 4.0 (Social Responsibility for business companies and industries 4.0)
During this event, Vincenzo Boccia, President of Confindustria, announced the Manifesto for the Corporate Social Responsibility 4.0. According to it, the themes of sustainability, innovation and responsibility are the true pilasters of the economic development. This goal can be achieved through the contribution of the small and medium enterprises because they can truly change the way to make and to be business companies. Italy and Europe can become the best place in the world for both innovative and responsible business organizations only if they adhere to this sustainable and sensitive view.