Benefit societies, is it an identity crisis after 10 years? The critical nodes

Benefit societies are celebrating ten years. They were established by the 2016 Stability Law (Law 208 of 2015). In Italy, at the end of June, there were 5,161 of them. Benefit companies are companies that combine the traditional profit-making purpose with one or more purposes of common social and/or environmental benefit. This purpose must be included in the corporate purpose and in the articles of association, and an annual impact report must be drawn up each year.

Benefit companies are in fact the ancestors of sustainable companies as defined by countless recent EU regulations. Taking a look at 120 Italian benefit companies, large, small and medium-sized, is a report by the consultancy firm Goodpoint, which highlights some of the critical nodes of this particular type of company.

The companies analysed (there are also some listed) were divided into four groups based on employees: 1) below 10; 2) 10 to 50; 3) 50 to 250; 4) and over 250. Joint stock companies (63%) prevail over limited companies (36%). There is also a 1% represented by mutual insurance companies.

Then there are the purposes of common benefit, the true hallmark of these companies. Well, here is already the first critical point: 13% of the companies analysed did not state the purposes in the impact report. They are there in the corporate purpose and statutes but in the key document they cannot be identified. So how does the stakeholder (employee, supplier and others) understand whether the purposes of common benefit have been pursued? As the experts teach, if sustainability is not measured and made transparent, it is only narrative. It must be said, however, that the majority of the Goodpoint sample included such indications in the impact report. Moreover, for 66 per cent, common benefit purposes are the key to reporting.

Impact Report. Already the name evokes a document with quantitative indicators, comparison with the past and future strategies, and the measurement of impact as some purists in the field have been demanding for years for all sustainable companies. Well, the report shows that "65% use performance indicators (Kpi) with respect to the activities carried out and the results obtained". A step forward, Goodpoint analysts point out, compared to simple narration. Narration, albeit punctual, is used instead by 23%, while 3% report in a generic way on what has been achieved. Only 9% make 'an assessment of the impact with respect to the actual change generated for stakeholders'.