Support small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe in their conversion to a more sustainable business model. This is the mission that inspired Generali, which to celebrate its 190th anniversary has decided to launch what CEO Philippe Donnet himself called it “the largest operation ever” of its kind. Meanwhile, for the numbers: SME EnterPRIZE (this is the name of the initiative) it involves over 6.000 businesses across the continent, seven of which were awarded during the presentation in Brussels as "Sustainability Heroes", one for each country that joined (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic).
Generali's goal is to encourage these companies to adopt sustainable business models, but also simply to give them visibility and to stimulate public debate. It is no coincidence that the venue chosen to illustrate the project was Brussels, with the involvement of the Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the European Commission, Paolo Gentiloni, Vincenzo Amendola, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for European Affairs in the Draghi government, and by the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness.
Involving the European institutions also means, in the intentions of the Italian insurance group, to actively participate in the economic recovery and potentially in the various initiatives related to the Next Generation EU, and for this reason Generali has also presented the White Paper “Fostering Sustainability in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” (Promoting sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises), created by SDA Bocconi – School of Management Sustainability Lab.
The companies selected as "Sustainability Heroes" will serve as an example for Generali to inspire other small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to develop sustainable behavior in three specific areas: environment, welfare and sense of community. The first obviously concerns the fight against climate change, which Generali reiterated as a priority of its plan which expires this year; the second the well-being of employees and also of their families; the third evaluates the positive impact in terms of economic repercussions and not only on the territory and on the communities in which the companies operate.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises commented the CEO Philippe Donnet – constitute a fundamental pillar of the European economy and one of the main drivers for implementing the sustainable transition. SME EnterPRIZE is part of the 'Generali 2021' strategic plan and is in line with our ambition to promote a greener and more inclusive society, in line with the European Green Deal and the Next Generation EU. In addition to enhancing the most significant experiences and supporting SMEs in adopting more sustainable business models and practices, we want to promote continuous dialogue with national and European institutions, with the academic world and with other realities in the private sector to analyze the barriers and development opportunities in a key sector for the sustainable growth of our continent's economy”.
The 7 SMEs judged to be the most sustainable are the following:
. Natura Iblea-PaniereBio (Roberto Giadone, Italy), a farm with the highest organic production volumes in Southern Italy, which has implemented particularly significant welfare initiatives for its employees, especially during the pandemic crisis
· PlanA.Earth (Lubomila Jordanova, Germany), a certified Software as a Service (SaaS) platform using artificial intelligence and scientific foundations for automated carbon accounting, decarbonization, ESG management and reporting
· Wanted Community (Christian Delachet, Jérémie Ballarin and Luc Jaubert, France), which aims to create inclusive spaces by managing responsible café-restaurants and carrying out numerous solidarity initiatives
· Rioma (Jose Almedina Polonio, Spain), a company active in the textile sector, has created a Foundation that operates in Spain and South America in support of young people at risk of social exclusion
· Shop Hotel Stadthalle (Michaela Reitterer, Austria), eco-hotel defined as “passive house” – a standard for the energy efficiency of a building, which reduces its ecological footprint
· Virgin Oil Press Ltd. – Grapoila (Marianna Pinczés, Hungary), who zeroed out waste in cold-pressed oil production processes and whose strategy includes an urban environment program that allows local residents to familiarize themselves with permaculture, a form of agriculture designed to be sustainable and self-sufficient, without the need to resort to chemicals
· Clever Farm (Vojtěch Malina, Czech Republic), engaged in the development of smart solutions for farmers such as IoT-based sensors and precision farming tools.
In the White Paper, Generali and SDA Bocconi then identified data that give an idea of the importance of investing precisely in SMEs in this phase: to create a virtuous ecosystem, given that SMEs are part of the production chains and in quantitative terms they represent 99,8% of the companies present in the European Union and in Switzerland, providing over 100 million jobs, two-thirds of the total. These data are accompanied by a total added value of 4,3 billion euros, i.e. 56,4% of the total in the EU and in Switzerland.
°°°°Yesterday Cattolica Assicurazioni's board of directors gave the go-ahead for Generali's takeover bid, deeming the price fair (6,75 euros per share) but the Stock Exchange is asking for more, while Benetton withdraws from the agreement with Mediobanca and Del Vecchio calls for changes to the bylaws of Piazzetta Cuccia to reduce the presence of internal managers on the board and make more room for independent candidates
