The South wins the challenge with the Centre-North in the bioeconomy. In the South, 23,6% of companies are "organic", that is, they use biological resources, including waste, in their production, compared to 19,7% of companies in the rest of the country. This is what emerges from the survey carried out by the Tagliacarne and Svimez Study Center on a sample of 2 thousand industrial companies, with a number of employees between 5 and 499 units.
Organic companies, 23,6% in the South: thus they are also more innovative
And in the South there are even more "organic" companies innovative. 59,8% have invested or will invest in 4.0 technologies between 2017 and 2024 (compared to 56,3% in the Center and North). 50,0% have adopted an "open innovation" model, i.e. open to collaborations with universities, customers and suppliers for structured growth of the territory and for the strengthening of production chains (against 46,1%). This is also why the organic choice can be a powerful one key to development for the South.
For the general director of Svimez for the development of industry in the South, Luca Bianchi, the development potential offered by the new sectors of the circular economy and the bioeconomy in particular for the South is confirmed, provided that the important experiences present today are accompanied by industrial and supply chain policies functional to making them more solid and encouraging their growth also dimensional".
Organic companies and green investments
Overall, the "organic" choice is a powerful incentive to invest in Southern Italy as in the rest of Italy green and innovation on which 63,2% of national bio-economy companies have focused (against 35,5% of non-bio ones). In the South, in fact, 63,4% of organic companies invested between 2017 and 2024 in processes and products with greater energy, water and/or less environmental impact (against 37,0% of non-organic), in line with what occurred in the Centre-North where (63,2% against 35,2% in non-organic). This is also why 57,3% of these southern companies have invested or will invest in R&D in the same period (against 45,3% of non-organic companies).
Being "organic" also translates into greater attention to workers not only from a social point of view, but also professionally. 61,0% of organic businesses in the South have started training paths for its employees in the two-year period 2017-2019 and intends to continue training activities also in the two-year period 2022-2024 (vs. 57,0% of non-organic companies in the South). A share that is even higher in the Centre-North (62,5% versus 54,7%).
