Sustainability Desk to help companies with their ESG strategies

In 2021, the cluster Confindustria Emilia Area Centro set up a Sustainability Desk to assist their members on their sustainability journeys. The aim was to help member companies capture the full range of opportunities that comes from taking a strategic approach to sustainability – going beyond mere regulatory compliance.

As a first step, the cluster offered sustainability assessments in the form of a gap analysis to help companies create a sustainability strategy. One year later, they expanded the Sustainability Desk to include a Sustainability Orientation Service – a training programme structured in 2 modules of 3 hours each, adaptable in content and duration. The programme is available to both SMEs and large companies and can be extended to connected companies and/or suppliers. It is provided directly by the cluster staff of Confindustria Emilia Area Centro and is financed by member fees.

Objectives and contents

• Introduction to sustainability and the main international frameworks

• Materiality analysis 

• Associated stakeholders and their impact

• Sustainability risk

• Build your own toolbox for the operational management of ESG issues in the company

• Overview of corporate decarbonisation, LCA, circular economy, diversity, equity, inclusion 

• Mandatory (and non-mandatory) sustainability reporting

The service allows member companies to:

• Train the company's internal staff members on sustainability topics

• Align the management team on ESG issues, expectations, and operations

• Raise awareness in the company’s supply chain of sustainability objectives and facilitate dialogues on the topic

The latest addition to the service is a CSRD gap analysis for larger companies that will come with an additional fee.

Read more about the Sustainability Desk here: https://www.confindustriaemilia.it/servizi/ricerca-innovazione/desk-sostenibilita