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GOAL
The aim of this project was to explore the relationship between businesses and sustainability within the local context. This led to a focus on two main areas of investigation:
• The social responsibility practices adopted by local businesses for the benefit of the surrounding area;
• The forms of collaboration among local businesses and the types of support provided by other local stakeholders to promote sustainability-oriented practices.

 

RESEARCH AREA DESCRIPTION

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
A key element in the development of a territory is entrepreneurial activity and the role of businesses, whose operations are directly linked to the levels of production, employment, and well-being in a given local area.  

Sustainable development requires balancing three fundamental dimensions:

• Economic (creating economic value),
• Environmental (protecting the natural environment by minimizing pollution and the use of scarce resources);
• Social (ensuring equity and social inclusion).

RESULTS AND PROPOSALS
A possible tool to foster collaboration among local stakeholders on sustainability could be the creation of a structured working group, where businesses can explore ways to “work as a system” on these issues and, subsequently, initiate concrete inter-company collaborations and partnerships with other local actors.
Key steps for this working group should include:
• Identifying the needs expressed by businesses and other local stakeholders regarding various aspects of sustainability;
• Identifying specific resources and skills that these businesses and stakeholders can contribute to addressing those needs;
• Organizing structured working sessions to implement collaborative and supportive actions on specific topics.
Ultimately, this working model aims to pursue four main objectives:
Knowledge sharing among companies regarding sustainability practices (including knowledge and information transfer from large to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as across sectors and business sizes);
• Identifying areas for operational collaboration among companies to implement social responsibility practices (e.g., joint investments to optimize logistics or employee mobility);
• Identifying shared support needs among companies and opening dialogue with other local stakeholders to co-design solutions that address those needs;
• Raising awareness and engagement among citizens and institutions on sustainability issues and the efforts already being undertaken by businesses in this area.

RESEARCH TEAM
Barbara Del Bosco (Associate Professor UNIBG), Cristina Bettinelli (Associate Professor UNIBG), Silvana Signori (Associate Professor UNIBG),  Silvia Zanotti (Research Fellow UNIBG)