Beginning with the tripartition proposed within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly resolution of September 25, 2015, we observe the emergence of the concept of social sustainability, within which various dimensions converge including well-being, equity, social cohesion and so on. In addition to this, the gradual affirmation within the public debate of the topic related to sustainable development-supplemented by a widespread increase in awareness and the numerous regulatory interventions on the subject, at the international level-has contributed significantly to raising the awareness of economic actors and pushing companies to integrate its paradigms within corporate management. But what, to date, is the state of the art? What are companies in Italy doing with regard to social sustainability? And how do they approach the issue? Let’s try to answer these questions together by taking a look at the latest data collected by the Sodalitas Observatory on Corporate Social Sustainability.
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Corporate social sustainability: the latest Italian data
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, with direct interviews with 24 partner companies and online questionnaires of a sample of 127 responding companies, the latest Sodalitas report offers an interesting insight into how economic actors interface with the topic of social sustainability.
What emerges is a widespread recognition of the importance of this dimension of sustainable development (88 percent) and a consistent growth in attention over the last 5 years taken as a reference, amounting to 91 percent over the 5-year period 2018-2023. The motivations behind companies’ adoption of socially sustainable practices are multifaceted: in addition to the regulatory push we have already highlighted, surveyed companies rated improved corporate reputation as one of the main benefits. Next, factors such asattractiveness to young talent, long-term competitiveness, and improved internal climate were identified as crucial to proactive and future-oriented business management.
However, despite the fact that social sustainability is recognized as a relevant strategic resource by the actors involved in the survey, the assessment regarding the insufficiency of the efforts made by companies in this area is surprising. A 34 percent of respondents, in fact, believe that companies operating within the Italian economic fabric make little or no commitment to social issues. According to the opinions collected, there would thus be a certain disconnect between the importance attributed to the second pillar of sustainability and the actual implementation of initiatives related to it.
Socially sustainable practices in business: which ones are the most common
Regarding the specific fields of action, the companies involved in the survey reported a tendency to most frequently involve five specific areas that include, in order:
- The quality of work within the company;
- welfare measures;
- diversity and inclusion policies;
- The protection of gender equality;
- training.
It clearly emerges, then, how the main focus of social impact actions put in place by companies is aimed at the internal workforce, embracing the concept of “well-being at 360 degrees” (relational, economic, physical, psychological). This posture is consistent with giving greater weight within corporate social sustainability strategies to the employee category, followed by consumers, suppliers and local communities.
Local communities and corporate social impact: some considerations
Regarding the relevance of local communities in the social impact strategies deployed by companies, we think it is appropriate to make a few more considerations. In fact, despite the fact that 70 percent of the companies involved in the Sodalitas survey define them as very important when managing social sustainability initiatives, only half consider the implementation of community support measures as a priority. This discrepancy is even more peculiar if we take into account the fact that companies value support for local communities as a strategic element for communication on the external front, aimed at signaling the goodness of their actions to wider audiences. There emerges, therefore, a clear need to invest in this regard and implement more effective communication strategies to cover social impact actions in favor of local communities, including through the integration of new modes of engagement.
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Discovering Positive Impact: territorial approach and benefits of social-environmental sustainability
Precisely in response to this need we at Recuperiamo have launched the Positive Impact project, pursuing the intention of offering businesses solutions to help fuel virtuous initiatives aimed at generating social and environmental impact on the Italian territory. By purchasing our Impact Tokens you have the opportunity to support national projects to fight waste, protect the territory and circular solidarity promoted by more than 1,000 partner associations. Thanks to Positive Impact tokens, tracked on blockchain, your company will be able to make a substantial contribution, getting a sea of benefits in return. In fact, thanks to our exclusive Impact tokens you can:
- differentiate yourself from competitors and breathe new life into your communication by associating them with your promotional offers;
- Retain your customers and make them key players in sustainability by linking tokens to your products and services;
- Obtaining data useful for reporting and drafting the sustainability report, ensuring transparency and accountability.
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