Benefit Companies Observatory

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Mimit challenge for benefit enterprises kicks off

1 December 2025

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Tuscany's Rifò, Lombardy's Latteria San Pietro and the Marche's Diasen are the three winning companies of the first territorial stage of the 'Benefit Competition', the initiative promoted by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit) aimed at rewarding and spreading the benefit business model in the country. This is a paradigm that does not focus exclusively on profit, but broadens the horizon by pursuing a broader social responsibility, operating in a sustainable and transparent manner towards all stakeholders: from people to local communities, from territories to the environment, from cultural and social assets to bodies and associations, and all stakeholders.

An initiative to support forward-looking enterprises

In detail, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy has chosen to value companies that have decided to adopt the 'benefit' business model, a fairly young way of doing business since legally it was only introduced in Italy a few years ago: the law of incorporation is that of 28 December 2015, no. 208. Benefit societies have a statute and a specific legal form. But beyond the form, the choice to become a benefit company can prove farsighted since it brings a number of advantages. For example, benefit companies are able to attract more talent, retain customers and penetrate more markets. They also boast greater long-term resilience. On the reputational front, the status of a benefit company entails a veritable official certification of corporate social responsibility, which increasingly attracts the attention of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investors, a growing segment in the international financial landscape. But that's not all. MIMIT's Directorate General for Business Incentives is implementing activities to promote the spread of this business model. Within this framework, the Ministry has launched a competition between benefit and non-benefit companies, which aims to connect companies that are different in terms of history, geographical location and size, but with the same desire to pursue values of social and environmental responsibility. The initiative is structured in five territorial stages, to which is added the national final.

78 companies competing from all over Italy for the Milan leg

On 21 November, the first stage of the Benefit Competition was held in Milan. Ten finalists were selected from 78 companies that applied to take part. These were companies from all over Italy. The shortlist of the ten finalists was chosen by an Evaluation Committee appointed by directorial decree on 27 October 2025.

In particular, Milan contended for the podium Atlas Carbon Neutral Solutions, Crocco, Diasen, ForGreen, Latteria San Pietro, Little Genius International, PoliMi Graduate School of Management, Rifò, Sensosan and Zerolab.

Each company presented its business model and projects to a panel of judges consisting of Valentina Coen, Lombardy House of Made in Italy, Barbara Tommasi, Lombardy Region, Rossella Sobrero University of Milan and Catholic University of Milan, Roberto Valente, Lombardy Chamber of Commerce, Chiara Cormanni, Milan Monza Brianza Lodi Chamber of Commerce, and Vera Martinelli, Finlombarda.

Rifò, Latteria San Pietro and Diasen on the podium

The winner of the competition was Rifò, a Tuscan company founded in 2017 in the textile district of Prato. The company produces clothing using recycled and recyclable materials in order to reduce its environmental impact. In addition, it invests around 1% of its turnover in projects for the inclusion, training and enhancement of traditional textile crafts. In the context of the Benefit Competition, it presented the 'Nei Nostri Panni' project, which combines social inclusion, innovation and environmental sustainability by training and employing migrants or people in fragile situations in the traditional crafts of the textile supply chain at risk of disappearing.

In second place was Latteria San Pietro, a cooperative of farms in the Upper Po Valley that produce Grana Padano PDO and that differs from other agricultural realities because it is following the path of a benefit society by integrating environmental sustainability, technological innovation and social impact in the dairy sector. In particular, Latteria San Pietro has developed energy production from renewable sources, improved the efficiency of production processes, introduced a welfare plan for employees, and launched territorial regeneration initiatives, such as the Oasi dei Prati Stabili, promoting environmental education and enhancing local biodiversity.

Lastly, Diasen, active in the production of mortars and paints for design and architecture, which became a B Corp in 2017 and a Benefit in 2020, also made the podium thanks to a model that integrates innovation, sustainability and social welfare. In recent years, it has developed natural technologies for the energy efficiency of buildings, systems to reduce pollutants and improve living comfort, along with interventions aimed at the health and safety of workers. In particular, during the 'Benefit Competition' it presented the Comfort Domus project which, by using cork waste, creates reflective and photocatalytic paints that, applied to walls and façades, optimise the thermal management of buildings, purify the air and create healthier environments.

Next appointment in March 2026 in Brindisi

In the meantime, preparations are already underway for the opening of a new call and the pre-selection of a new round of companies, which will participate in the stage planned for March 2026 in the city of Brindisi. More information and the application form will be available at the dedicated page on the MIMIT website from 15 December. Three more stages will be held in the course of next year, after the one in Puglia. Then, in the first quarter of 2027, a national final will be held, during which the overall winner of the Benefit Competition will be decided from among the three winners of each of the five territorial stages.