Certification and sustainability allied to winning companies

There is the South of the companies you expect, with the excellent food exported all over the world, with the creativity that creates business and carves out rich and unimaginable market niches, and with start-ups enhanced in poles of excellence around universities, incubators and research centres. And there is the South of companies that you would not expect, made up of rigorous certifications, practised and accounted-for sustainability, flexible and precise photovoltaic installers, logistics hubs that would have little to envy in Switzerland, and expertise in physical and IT security. In the list of companies Stars of the South 2026 Sole 24 Ore-Statista there is all this, and each company is surprising in the end, because it exalts itself in the difficult conditions of Southern Italy and transforms them into grit, innovation, flexibility, stubbornness. Originality emerges everywhere: from software to prevent birds from colliding in wind turbines (by Internet & Idee, 200 professionals from Cosenza to Tirana) to smart eco-islands for separate waste collection (by Ecocontrolgsm of Molise), to digital twins in the form of animations and cartoons for 3D renderings and film presentations (by DigitalComoedia of Naples).

Compared to past years, the ranking of the 200 companies selected by the researchers of the global data analysis giant Statista shows a greater ability to network, to draw on regional, national and European funds to grow, to use the tool of certification to better qualify for public tenders and pre-qualification as suppliers to large companies. There is also a glimpse of greater efficiency in the planning required to participate in projects financed by the NRP and to draw on state incentives that have supported building and plant engineering for years in terms of energy saving and renewable sources.

It is therefore not surprising that the list is still dominated by construction companies (including bathroom, tile, fixtures, doors, windows, and installations) and energy companies, due to the boom in construction and installations as a result of government incentives and the race for renewables. Also in evidence were IT and services companies active in the installation, maintenance and management of equipment, hardware and software as a result of the ongoing digital transition and the Industry 4.0 and Transition 5.0 incentives. Also doing well were companies supporting import-export logistics, wholesale trade, e-commerce sites, and those selling excellent agrifood products abroad, such as mozzarella from Campania, burrata and tarallini from Apulia, strawberries from Basilicata, and Sicilian oranges and pistachios.

There is no shortage of companies operating in the field of hospitality and tourism, such as the leading 2025 and 2026 ToIt group (Towns of Italia Group), which for 15 years has been offering experiential activities linked to Italian culture, cuisine and lifestyle, and such as Delphina, the Sardinian-owned chain that on the north coast of the island has 12 hotels, 26 villas, two residences with 101 flats, 33 in-house restaurants and 5 thalasso & spas, all of which are Green Key certified (international recognition in the field of sustainable tourism.

"The 200 winners of the Stars of the South 2026 ranking, now in its third edition, achieved the best performance among all the companies examined in terms of growth in revenues, the number of employees, and tangible and intangible assets in the three-year period between 2021 and 2024," explains analyst Maria Giuditta Zarroli, who with Lisa Dei coordinated Statista's research team. "At the top of the list of winners is the Construction and Engineering sector, which accounts for 14% of the total (+1.5% compared to the last edition). The most pronounced relative growth, however, concerns IT & software: 12% of the 2026 winners belong to this sector (+4% over 2025). Wholesale trade is also progressing, gaining 3 percentage points to 6.5% of the list.