Benefit Competition, interest remains high for second leg

Choosing to become a benefit company is a commitment, a commitment one makes voluntarily in order to pursue not only the traditional objectives of any business - creating value and making a profit - but also common benefits, for the territory and society. In order to promote this business model, to give people the chance to get to know it and to listen to the experiences of those who have embarked on this path, or intend to do so, one occasion is the Benefit Competition, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy which, with its itinerant formula throughout the country, aims to reward and spread the benefit business model throughout the country. After the first stage in Milan, the second will be held in Brindisi on 12 March. In line with the growth of benefit companies in Italia (+21% is the annual rate with 2025 closed with 5,540 companies that have chosen this model), interest in this competition, dedicated to companies that have already adopted this model or that intend to transform themselves, is high.

Of the applications received for the Brindisi stage, the majority came from Apulia (29.5% of the total), a region that has passed a law that provides for a bonus for companies registered in the regional register of benefit companies in calls for tenders for company subsidies, and also the southern region with the highest number of benefit companies; followed by Lombardy (19.2%), the region with the highest number of benefit companies in Italy; with Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Lazio all in third place with 8.9% of applications each. Proposed initiatives came from all over Italia: from Abruzzo to Veneto, passing through Tuscany, Sicily and Calabria, to Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Umbria, Marche and Molise. This picture reflects how the Benefit Competition is catalysing transversal adhesions, enhancing business models oriented towards the creation of economic and social value. The event will be an opportunity to listen to experts in the field and companies that have presented initiatives that enhance common benefit, to share their experience. The ten finalists selected for the stage by the Evaluation Committee will have the opportunity to present themselves and talk about their experience and activities. The territorial jury will choose the three companies that will stand on the podium.

Looking at the data in detail, 55 of the applications were submitted by companies that are already established as a benefit, 18 by companies that are established but not yet a benefit, and 5 are in the process of being established, reflecting the involvement of both established companies and those engaged in growth paths towards systemic sustainability. At sector level, 22 applications are from companies in the Professional and Consultancy Activities - which at national level account for 27% of all benefit companies - 11 from Manufacturing and Industrial Production companies, 10 from companies active in the Trade, Transport and Logistics sector, 9 from the ICT sector, 7 respectively from companies active in Health and Personal Care, Education and Cultural, Sporting and Artistic Activities and Tourism and Hospitality Activities, with 5, finally, specialising in Construction, Building and Real Estate Activities.

Most of the applications for the Brindisi stage came from small (32.7%), medium (16.4%) and large (5.5%) enterprises, when the vast majority of benefit societies in Italia are micro-enterprises (72.9% of the total of 5,540 benefit societies in Italy, according to the Observatory of the Brindisi-Taranto Chamber of Commerce and Infocamere on Benefit Societies). With its itinerant appointments, the competition can be an opportunity for all these realities to increase their visibility and make themselves known to a wider audience. For the Brindisi stop, as mentioned, most of the applications came from Apulian companies: about 25% of the total, when at a national level, benefit societies based in Apulia are less than 5% of the total. As for Lombardy, which hosts more than 30% of all Italian benefit companies, companies amounting to around 18% of the total number of applications came forward for the second stage of the competition. For most of the other regions, there is homogeneity between the weighting of applications and the percentage of benefit companies at national level.

Finally, examining the sectors to which the benefit companies applying for the Brindisi stage belong with respect to the Observatory's national data, there is an almost perfect correspondence between the percentage of applications submitted by companies in professional and consulting activities and the weight they have on the Italia total, as well as for the Construction, Building and Real Estate activities sector. On a percentage level, however, there is a greater weight on applications for Brindisi compared to the national figure of companies in Manufacturing and industrial production, as well as among those active in Commerce, transport and logistics. For the ICT sector, the applications for the competition are just over 10% of the total, while at national level the benefit companies belonging to this sector are over 15%. Finally, the Health and Personal Care, Education and Cultural, Sporting and Artistic Activities and Tourism and Accommodation sectors each account for almost 10% of applications, while nationally they are all well under 5%.