Over 500 participants attended the fourth edition of the Sustainable Economy Forum, promoted by San Patrignano and Confindustria with Intesa Sanpaolo as institutional partner and Eni and Gruppo 24 Ore as top partners. At the heart of the day's work, organised within the Rimini Community, were the themes of energy and ecological transition, pillars of the NRP, and policies for a fair and inclusive future development and a zero environmental impact society.

"The challenge of sustainable transition has long been at the heart of the priorities of companies and Confindustria. In particular, Italian companies are at the forefront in investing in technologies, dedicated to the control of CO2 emissions to reduce energy consumption and favour the circular economy'. Chairman Carlo Bonomi said, opening the Forum's proceedings. "However, precisely in light of the extreme complexity we are going through, it is important to emphasise the need for a gradual approach to accompany the transition, which takes into account the economic and social resilience of the system and financial stability. It is also necessary that the transition be supported by adequate financial backing and public investment and incentives. In this context, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan can and must be a decisive lever'.

'At the same time,' Bonomi continued, 'we cannot ignore the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Above all, the enormous difficulties in the supply of raw materials and the explosion of energy costs, which have already led us to drastically cut this year's GDP forecasts. This poses a feasibility issue for the NRP, linked to scarcity prices of materials, which could make it difficult to realise investments on schedule. But not only that, we must also ask ourselves whether, under these conditions, the commitments made with Europe are still consistent with the new priorities.

"What is needed, therefore, is a strong common awareness: without a concrete, long-term and non-ideological approach that allows us to re-discuss certain lines of the Plan and reshape certain deadlines, the conditions underpinning the very concept of sustainability will be lacking. Which is precisely environmental but also economic and social,' concluded the number one of Confindustria.

Also speaking at the close of the Sustainable Economy Forum was Confindustria Vice-President Alberto Marenghi, who emphasised: 'The transition to a sustainable development model is the driver we are called upon to work on in order to deal with the effects of increasing geopolitical tension. We need a structural and long-term approach that guarantees the resilience and competitiveness of Italian industry and European supply chains. As well as the ability to 're-shape' the NRP where the contingency makes it necessary, as is the case for the energy part. We must calibrate the content of policies, at national and European level, and rethink when and how to effectively tackle the necessary ecological transition. Policy choices must be made with a view to ensuring the sustainability of investments and business activities in the long term. Sustainability is indeed a collective imperative to build a strong economy and a more inclusive society,' concluded Marenghi.