Large companies are increasingly focused on the environmental and social sustainability of supply chains. These are the findings of the Sustainability Monitor Report on a sample of 192 large Italian businesses. According to the Report, more than 37% of companies have established sustainable procurement practices and only just over 4% have not yet addressed the issue. Environmental criteria are more widespread in purchasing than social criteria, with 50% against 41.7%. Almost 60% of the companies indicated they have an established supplier business sustainability rating system.
Setting a sustainable example: Poste Italiane
The report is presented by the Buygreen Community, a network of large Italian public enterprises — including Poste Italiane — promoting transformation of purchasing processes as a tool for sustainable transition of their activities, products and services, with the important sponsorship of Confindustria. Massimiliano Monnanni, Head of CSR/Group Risk Management at Poste Italiane, also spoke during presentation of the report, emphasising that there is a “great responsibility for state-owned companies in the area of sustainable procurement”. Monnanni, who noted the recent appointment of Marcello Grosso, Poste Italiane’s Head of Sustainable Development, Risk and Group Compliance, as a sustainability pioneer for the Global Compact for Italy, explained how the company places great importance on business sustainability policies, highlighting the need for large companies “to make ground on sustainability goals, in terms of sustainable purchasing and green procurement. The current energy scenario”, Monnanni added, “must drive us to find policies that ensure sustainability and enable us to meet challenges around energy-costs”. Speaking about Poste Italiane, Monnanni pointed to the “Platoon Project, financed by the EU” which uses smart grids to implement “adaptation and neutrality of environmental impacts” from Poste Italiane’s extensive real-estate assets, which exceed 13,000 sites. He went on to highlight Poste Italiane’s commitment within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for 5,000 post offices in small municipalities, training through webinars on key environmental issues and the Group’s contribution to the circular economy.
