Social sustainability as a strategic development lever for companies
Celebrating thirty years of the Sodalitas Foundation means retracing a history of vision, commitment and alliance between business and society. It was 1995 when, responding to Jacques Delors' appeal and the Manifesto of Businesses against Social Exclusion, Assolombarda and its then president Ennio Presutti set up the first Italian organisation dedicated to promoting Corporate Social Sustainability. Since then, the Sodalitas Foundation has been a point of reference for companies that believe in the value of social responsibility as an integral part of their identity and strategy.
In thirty years of activity we have built a model of concrete cooperation between business, institutions, schools and the Third Sector, generating results that speak for themselves: we have accompanied more than a thousand Third Sector organisations in their growth, trained more than nine thousand young people every year in Italian schools, collected more than a thousand adhesions to the Charter for Equal Opportunities, involved eight hundred Italian municipalities in sustainable partnerships with businesses, and activated thousands of employees in corporate volunteering programmes. It is a heritage built thanks to the vision of our member companies, the dedication of our volunteer managers, and the expertise of our team.
Today, we are living in an era of profound change: demographic, technological and social transitions that redefine the way we work, do business and live in our communities. These transformations open up challenges but also extraordinary opportunities. The real question is whether these opportunities will be accessible to all, or only to a few. Extending access to the opportunities generated by change to all is the key to building solid, inclusive and sustainable growth. This is why social sustainability is increasingly a strategic lever of competitive development for companies, as well as a responsibility to society.
The Sodalitas Foundation wants to continue to strengthen welfare and the ability to respond to new needs, support the Third Sector, enhance the skills of young people and promote gender equality. We are committed to activating public-private collaborations in order to implement sustainability projects in Italy. We act to help reduce the distance between schools and the world of work, to encourage diversity and inclusion, and to make the digital revolution an opportunity for growth for all.
On these fronts, a strong alliance between business and society is not only necessary but strategic. Businesses that choose to invest in social sustainability are responding to a growing expectation: that of workers, who demand well-being and meaning; of new generations, who seek commitment and consistency; of consumers, who reward responsible behaviour.
