THE SUSTAINABILITY IN ITALY: PRESENTATION OF THE 2019 ASVIS REPORT

“The future is very open, and it depends on us, on all of us. It depends on what you, I and many other people do and will do, today, tomorrow and the next after. And what we do and we will do depends on our ideas and wishes, on our hopes and fears. It depends on how we see the world and on how we asses the open possibilities of the future. (Karl Popper) And we see the future like this: the 17 goals of the Agenda 2030 are our future.” These are the closing words of the speech of Enrico Giovannini, ASviS’ spokesman during the presentation ceremony of the 2019 Report of the Alliance for the Sustainable Development. An event which was held today, Friday, 4th of October, at the Sinopoli Sala of the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Roma in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. At its 4th Edition, the Report of the Alliance for the Sustainable Development is an important instrument to track the progress of the public, national and European policy, the business strategies and the attitude of single concerning the 17 Goals of the Agenda 2030 signed by the UN countries.
 
We have been following the UN goals since the Agenda 2000-2015
Sara Cirone Goup Benefit Society has implemented in its Statute several goals of Common Benefit based on the culture of Sustainability. The society aims to promote cultural models of humanist nature, together with sustainable legal forms of undertaking, economic paradigms and sustainable business methods and instruments, in order to promote the cultural growth of the territory, the awareness of all stakeholders and the sustainable development of the community, and in order to disclose non-financial reporting instruments, which are aimed to enhance the sustainable strategic vision in the organisations, in order to support the deployment of the sustainability’s culture as a guide for the territorial communities. 
Today, together with Enrico Giovannini, have taken part in the discussion Pierluigi Stefanini, the President of ASviS, Roberto Fico, the President of the Chamber of Deputies and Roberto Gualtier, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance. The presentation has been concluded by a video speech from Bruxelles of Paolo Gentiloni, new European Commissioner designated to economy.
 
New models of sustainable development
Today, we are looking at a considerable diffusion of the sustainable issues, also thanks to the many young people who are taking action all over the world, and this means that we are facing a major challenge, that is to promote the awareness and the inclusiveness about these issues. For this reason, President Stefanini pointed out that ASviS can play a very important role to put in place concrete and strategic choices for the future of our Country. So, the commitment od the whole society becomes imperative so that we push ever more in order to translate in choices the Agenda 2030 and in order to put in place all the actions and the managerial models of development which implement and promote the transition to the Sustainability: foster the democratic participation, drive the change, plan and monitor.  It’s time to take concrete decisions with a holistic view which involves and measures to create a sustainable future for our planet.
 
The principle of Sustainable Development in the Constitution.
Roberto Fico, the President of the House, emphasised the unsustainability of the current model of development which consumes resources for 1,7 planets, which will cause, if the trend would be confirmed, an increase of 2°C by 2030, with the consequence of serious environmental damages, which could become problems of increase in poverty, in hunger, in social unrest and in migration (within 2030, 700 million displaced persons are expected because of climatic issues). So, it is really important to take note of the iniquity of the actual development’s model and to predict a reorganisation of the mechanisms of consumption, production and distribution of the wealth.
President Fico has considered very positive the centrality of the Sustainability in European policies with the intention of the European Commission to put in place an European Green Deal in order to make the Union a zero environmental impact within 2050, making in this way Europe the world leader in circular economy and in clean economy and he has pointed that it’s important for our Country to recover the gap to the other member countries in order to play an important role in all this. Thanks to Parliament, Italy has now the advance procedural instruments to put in place the Agenda 2030: it’s the first Nation that has introduced the equitable and sustainable welfare indicators (BES) in the economic program, Italy has a national plan for the sustainable development and a control room “Welfare Italy” and there is a permanent Commission for the implementation of the UN goals, but unable to use its potentialities. These instruments have to be used more and more and better and better to change tack and to look to the future. The guidelines of the new government consider the inclusion in the Constitution of the Principle of Sustainability and the start of a urban agenda for the Sustainable Development. The Parliament will be the guide in a process of transition to the sustainable economy. So, we need new business models that allow these transformative changes of the society and the production, we need to implement a new culture which involves all the subjects of the institutions, of the companies and of the civil society. 
 
The extraordinary adventure to save the world.
Then, Giovannini presented the ASviS Report, that showed that unfortunately we are not on the path of the sustainable development: the improvements are too slow, there are economic, social and cultural tensions. Many people go back, they are unable for fear to accept the change. This is what Bauman called “retrotopia”.
Today, the global situation is worse than in 2015; we are at the record high of conflicts and the number of persons suffering hunger has increased again. Million people are already strongly affected by climate change, poverty, hunger.
The crisis has caused serious damages, there are some improvements, but we get stuck at the levels of some years ago. 
Europe is the most sustainable place in the world, but Europe is not either a way of Sustainable development and there are many incredible differences among individual European countries,
As for Italy, in the goals 1-8 the conditions aren’t positive or at least are far from the goals and the achievements of the other countries. For the 13 goal (climate change) there is a significant improvement but without a really idea about future perspectives.
21 of the 169 targets expire in 2020. We are making progress, but it is not enough, we aren’t at the same level as the other countries. We must achieve a greater education about the sustainable development, in order to raise awareness and attention of people toward these issues. On the other and, the economic system has realised that about sustainability there are many opportunities of development: the sustainable companies resulted in a 15% increase of their productivity compared to the unsustainable companies.
 
Converting actions
One positive thing, is that the government has a new language and is implementing new decisions for the fight against climate change. It’s imperative to take converting actions, to do things that may trigger deep changes. It’s important to rewrite the integrated plan energy/climate about the carbon neutrality. It’s important to balance a series of measures, accelerating the transition toward a sustainable future. In this regard, ASviS invited President Conte to realise some converting actions: to send an official Guideline to all the ministers for their action toward sustainability, to enhance the role of the control room, to turn CIPE into Committee for the sustainable development, to start a dialogue during the unified conference State-Regions, to take the undertaking that in the law there is an impact report about the targets of the Agenda 2030. The government has been asked to include the principle of the Sustainable Development in the constitution, to trigger the government departments, to re-examine the strategic plan of Sustainable Development, to make an annual law on the sustainable development, reconstitute the inter-ministerial committee for the urban development, an high profile board for general policies, an action of information for all citizens, to re-examine the d.lgs 254/2016 which sets a ceiling of 200 companies forced to a report in economic, social, environmental terms. So, the 17 goals are a way to attack the economic-social-environmental integrated system in every way.
 
The 17 goals are our future
What to do? It’s necessary to think about the environmental and climate crises, escape the investments in fossil energy,  re-examine the fiscal system in ecological terms, predict protection systems for poverty and inequalities, so that taxation doesn’t affect the weakest, there should be new laws for equal treatment for woman in the work place, an employment pact for young people, education and health are central issues. There should be policies which look at the future for adult learning, about this we are behind the other Nations, for the fiscal system as well as for the law for soil consumption and the recovery of the waste in the sea. We need an urban agenda for the sustainable development and we need to concentrate our efforts on green finance. It’s also important to take part quickly to planned meetings for the international cooperation. The 17 goals are our future.
 
Green Bonds for a sustainable future
Gualtier, the Minister of Economic Affairs, starting from the presentation made by Enrico Giovannini, has pointed out that also the little progresses are not enough to affirm that we are on the way of a sustainable development. There must be a change of pace and the government wants to implement it trough a dialogue with the society and by getting the investments for the environmental and social sustainability. For this reason, he has announced the engagement of the State to issue Green Bond in order to support measures of Sustainability and he has anticipated that in the manoeuvre there will be some aspects regarding the fiscality under the principle of progressivity and environmental sustainability. 
European Green Deal
The video-speech form Bruxelles by Paolo Gentiloni highlighted the issue of the role of Europe, he pointed out that the Green Deal is the whole point of the European Commission’s activity. The general target is to make Europe the first ecologically cleaner continent, through many interventions and investments. The “Sustainable Europe” investments plan will be implemented. It will be a great opportunity also for the economic development and the green jobs. Gentiloni also explained that the inclusion of the goals in the testing procedure of the budget of the different countries will be achieved. The energy taxation’s system will be re-examined too, so that it will be possible to influence the behaviours of all citizens in order to encourage the ecological ones and to make the damaging ones less favourable for the environmental sustainability.
So, we need a responsible evolution of companies end territories which spurs us to a possible future of our civilisation.