Sustainability: a new summit for the Sustainability Makers association
Isabella Manfredi (Feralpi) is the new president of the Italian Association of Sustainability Professionals. The new executive committee has also been appointed
There has been a change at the top of Sustainability Makers, the Italian association of sustainability professionals. The general meeting of members has elected Isabella Manfredi, Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer of the Feralpi Group, as the new president for the three-year term 2026–2029. She succeeds Marisa Parmigiani, who has led the organisation for the past six years.
The new summit
The election comes at the end of a consultation process which saw a particularly high turnout. Alongside the newly elected chair, the new executive board was appointed, comprising PierMario Barzaghi, partner at KPMG Advisory; Sonia Belloli, managing associate at Deloitte Legal; Simona Ceccarelli, head of sustainability at SCS Consulting; Gianluca Gramegna, Head of ESG at the ERG Group; Elena Guarnone, Head of Sustainability at Edison; Stella Gubelli, Managing Director at Altis Advisory; Astrid Palmieri, Director of Corporate Sustainability at Esselunga; and Giovanna Zacchi, Head of ESG Strategy at BPER Banca.
The composition of the new leadership team reflects a now well-established feature of the profession in Italia: the strong female presence in ESG roles. According to the ‘Sustainability Career Compass 2025’ study, carried out by the association itself, over 60 per cent of sustainability managers in Italian companies are women.
New objectives
In setting out the priorities for his new term of office, Manfredi emphasised that ‘today, at a historic moment when this transition is shaping the economic and social landscape, our role is more crucial than ever. As professionals, we have a clear responsibility: to support our business sector, particularly the manufacturing industry and SMEs, so that no one is left behind.”
The change in leadership at Sustainability Makers coincides with a phase of consolidation of the role of sustainability manager within organisations. According to the association’s latest analysis, seven out of ten sustainability professionals report directly to senior management and are increasingly involved in strategic planning processes, from setting objectives to allocating resources and assessing impacts.
