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di sviluppo legate al miglioramento della qualità
ambientale
dei
propri
prodotti,
comunicando
con i propri stakeholder, sollecitando il mercato,
interagendo e cercando la collaborazione con le
istituzioni.
Ma questo non è un percorso facile. La responsabilità
sociale e ambientale, e più in generale l’impegno
aziendale verso lo sviluppo sostenibile, sono un
processo che va costruito giorno per giorno, anno dopo
anno, con la completa volontà e la consapevolezza
dell’impresa. Non è qualcosa che l’impresa possa
conseguire immediatamente. E la meta finale, se
ve n’è una, non è facilmente raggiungibile poiché la
domanda di impegno cresce quanto più un’impresa
viene realmente coinvolta nella società in cui opera.
Le strade della sostenibilità si ramificano e si fanno
più complesse ad ogni passo compiuto. In questa
logica, la creazione di valore per i diversi stakeholder
è un obiettivo da raggiungere attraverso l’assunzione
di principi guida e di un’identità valoriale dell’impresa
con la collettività, condivisa e con radici profonde, in
grado di orientarne le scelte e le attività in molte aree
dell’agire economico e sociale.
La sostenibilità deve essere vissuta profondamente
come un progetto imprenditoriale. Gli stakeholder che
sono interessati alle performance sociali e ambientali
dell’impresa non sono semplicemente “destinatari” di
iniziative di sostegno o di beneficenza, bensì partner
di un progetto che l’impresa può attuare soltanto con
il loro contributo.
Uno dei risvolti più interessanti di questo approccio
è il tema della comunicazione e dell’informazione
nei confronti dei clienti e consumatori sulle
caratteristiche ambientali del proprio prodotto e
servizio. Una maggiore attenzione verso la qualità
ambientale si misura anche attraverso il “contenuto
informativo” dei prodotti che deve poter esprimere
efficacemente anche il patrimonio di conoscenze,
innovazione, identità, storia e creatività del processo
aziendale e della filiera che l’ha originato.
In questo senso, alcune aziende d’avanguardia ma
con salde radici nella tradizione, come Dorelan,
hanno puntato su una “qualificazione” in termini
di ambiente e sostenibilità del proprio prodotto o
servizio, che può costituire un fattore di competitività
di formidabile efficacia. La qualificazione ambientale
e di sostenibilità risponde ad un crescente aumento
della consapevolezza nel mercato e nella collettività
e, quindi, della richiesta di informazioni da parte
dei clienti e consumatori. In questa logica, cresce
l’importanza di un riconoscimento, come ad
esempio una “certificazione”, che sia un elemento di
differenziazione ambientale rispetto ai concorrenti e
di garanzia di reputazione e di credibilità dell’impegno
dell’azienda sul fronte della sostenibilità.
La differenziazione sulla base di una superiore
qualità ambientale, attestata da un riconoscimento
ufficiale, diviene efficace sotto il profilo competitivo
nella misura in cui si affermano quote significative di
domanda sensibili alla variabile ecologica ed etica.
Queste dinamiche si stanno oggi sviluppando in tutti
i diversi mercati di riferimento per le imprese: dal B2B
al B2C, fino alla domanda del settore pubblico, che
in Italia come in altri Paesi occupa una quota molto
significativa del consumo totale.
La
motivazione
che
spinge
maggiormente
i
consumatori italiani ed europei a preferire prodotti
con caratteristiche di più elevata qualità ambientale
e sostenibilità è dovuta ad una sempre crescente
consapevolezza della società (soprattutto nelle leve
generazionali più giovani) nei confronti dell’ambiente
e dell’etica, spinta dalle emergenze ambientali di
grande attualità e urgenza. La sostenibilità troverà
una piena realizzazione quando queste dinamiche
si consolideranno sui mercati e i prodotti e servizi di
quelle aziende che sono seriamente e credibilmente
impegnate nel miglioramento dell’ambiente verranno
premiati dalle preferenze e dalle scelte di acquisto
di consumatori avveduti e, soprattutto, disposti
a mettersi in gioco per dare il proprio piccolo ma
indispensabile contributo al successo competitivo di
queste imprese.
Uno scenario ancora lontano, ma decisamente
realizzabile.
Green to white: the
commitment to produce
certified quality and wellness
that respects the environment
and the future
Companies that transform their way of producing,
sourcing and selling; consumers that radically
change their purchasing choices; and institutions that
facilitate and encourage this transformation. This is
the ultimate meaning of the Green Economy and the
contribution it can make to sustainable development.
The need to ensure sustainable development
prospects is a prerequisite, and it also lies at the
very foundation of an increasingly important part
of business strategies, social behaviour and the
economic dynamics of contemporary societies. Many
definitions of “sustainable development” have been
proposed over the last twenty years, but, of these,
few are rigorous enough to be able to capture a
broad consensus among scholars, policymakers and
business operators.
Aside from the differences in terminology however,
(which also take into account the wealth of approaches
that the issue of sustainability has dealt with) the
basic principles that have inspired this concept are
widely agreed upon, and are now beginning to guide
its implementation in different fields by people and
businesses.
Particularly in recent years, a different vision of the
relationship between companies and the environment
has emerged, as we grow in our awareness that
natural resources and social acceptability are, just
like other production factors, resources to be used the
best possible way and, if we are able to, they need
to be “reproduced” over time to ensure the survival
of a company. Many entrepreneurs have greater
awareness now thanks to their ability to positively
evaluate the “environment” factor.
A first “quantum leap” consisted in recognising that
the issue has a vital role in the dynamics of each
‘company’s growth. When natural and environmental
resources deteriorate, it can jeopardise the ability to
compete, to stay on the market and even to operate the
company. Inefficiencies linked to the underestimation
of the value of the environment emerge daily, from
the mismanagement of environmental impacts and
risks to the failure to take advantage of economic
opportunities linked to them. Many entrepreneurs
have understood these risks and want to overcome
them.
The reformulation of the concept of “pollution”
proposed by Michael Porter, a guru of company
management, is quite interesting. He sustains that
a company must interpret any emission of harmful
substances,
energy
and
potentially
recyclable
material as a sign that the resources at the company’s
disposal have been used incompletely, ineffectively or
inefficiently. The pollution that is generated involves
costs for the company or for consumers. Considering
these costs as “imposed” constraints on the business,
which would be the “traditional” vision, is actually a
mistake. Environmental improvement actions leading
to the reduction of pollution should be seen as
opportunities to increase the productivity of company
resources and their own competitive ability.
But the relationship between environment and
competitiveness in recent years has shown even
more
positive
aspects.
The
most
innovative
companies today are beginning to experiment with
economic advantages and benefits deriving from the
improvement of their environmental performance:
energy savings, reductions in the costs of resources
and raw materials, recovery of waste materials, use
of processing residues by taking advantage of the
circular economy, and so on.
A further “quantum leap” in the relationship between
companies and the environment took place when
they saw there were new needs and expectations
in the social and economic contexts in which each
company operates (the local community, the market
where the company’s products are sold, etc.). Today a
growing number of companies are actively searching
for development opportunities in order to improve
the environmental quality of their products. They
are communicating with their stakeholders, putting
pressure on the market, and interacting and seeking
collaboration with institutions.
But it is not easy. Social and environmental
responsibility, and more generally the company’s
commitment to sustainable development, all make
up a process that must be built day by day, and year
by year, with the complete support and awareness of
the company. This is not something that the company
can achieve overnight. And the final goal, if there is
one, is not easily attainable because the demand for
commitment grows the more a company is genuinely
involved in the society in which it operates. The roads
to sustainability branch off and become more complex
with every step that is taken. The creation of value for
the various stakeholders is an objective that must be
achieved through the adoption of guiding principles
and a company value identity within the community. It
needs to be shared and it must have deep roots, able
to guide choices and activities in many areas, whether
economic or social.
Sustainability must be tackled as an entrepreneurial
project. Stakeholders who are interested in the social
and environmental performance of the company
are not simply “recipients” of support or charitable
initiatives, but partners in a project that the company
can implement only with their contribution.
One of the most interesting aspects of this approach
is the issue of communicating and informing
customers and consumers about the environmental
characteristics of products and services. A greater
focus on environmental quality is also measured by
the “information content” of the products, which must
also be able to adequately express the heritage of
knowledge, innovation, identity, history and creativity
of the company process and the supply chain that
originated it.
Some avant-garde companies strongly rooted in
their traditions, such as Dorelan, have focused on
“qualification”, in terms of the environment and
sustainability, of their product or service. It can
garner a formidable competitive advantage. The
environmental
and
sustainability
qualification
responds to a growing awareness in the market and
in the community and, therefore, the ‘customers’
and ‘consumers’ demand for information. There
is more and more need for recognition, such as
a “certification”, because it is an environmental
differentiation with respect to competitors, and a
guarantee of the company’s reputation and credibility
when it comes to sustainability.
Differentiation based on superior environmental
quality, attested by official recognition, becomes
effective from a competitive point of view because the
demand for products that are sensitive to ecological
and ethical variables is increasing. These dynamics
are now developing in all of the different reference
markets for businesses: from B2B to B2C, and on up
to the demand from the public sector, which in Italy as
in other countries, occupies a very significant share of
total consumption.
The motivation that pushes Italian and European
consumers
to
prefer
products
with
better
environmental quality and sustainability is due to a
growing awareness in society in general (especially
younger generations) regarding the environment and
ethics, driven by environmental emergencies of great
urgency. Sustainability will find full realisation when
these dynamics are consolidated on the markets,
and the products and services of companies that are
thoughtfully and credibly committed to improving
the environment will be rewarded by the choices of
discerning consumers who are, above all, willing to
put themselves on the line to make their own small but
indispensable contribution to the competitive success
of these companies.
Though this scenario is still out of reach, it is definitely
achievable.
