Mission Sustainability

In the past thirty years, the theme of sustainability has gone from being a predominantly ethical and voluntaristic question to a strategic issue entailing the rethinking of the purposes of business in a broader sense.

As recalled by Fabrizio Perretti in his editorial at the beginning of the new issue of Economia&Management, Milton Friedman’s old adage stating that the only responsibility of business is to increase its profits has gradually been challenged. "Over time, a view has taken hold that has gradually shifted the attention from shareholders to stakeholders, both inside companies (such as workers) and outside of them as well (such as civil society). Businesses have taken on additional responsibilities and aims with respect to purely financial ones, extending their range of action to activities directly or indirectly linked to their business. The issues of sustainability and corporate sustainability, the subject of the Dossier in this issue, represent an interesting testing ground."

Prepared by Francesco Perrini and Stefano Pogutz respectively the Director and a Researcher at the Sustainability Lab of the SDA Bocconi, the Economia&Management Dossier addresses many issues linked to business sustainability: from the key role of the 2030 Agenda to the centrality of EGG ratings, from the rethinking of value chains to corporate sustainability, from the challenge of decarbonization to the potential of the blue economy.

Among the various contributions is an interview with Enrico Giovannini, who has just been named the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, in which he speaks of the 2030 Agenda from the standpoint of sustainable development.
"After years of substantial indifference on the part of managers, entrepreneurs, and the academic community," write Perrini and Pogutz in their introduction to the Dossier, "today the challenge of the climate, the scarcity of energy resources, human rights, gender equality, and the question of inequality have become central issues in the agendas of companies, banks, investors, and business schools. Thanks to the contributions of important figures in academic research and the private sector, this Dossier offers readers a reflection on the need for a more sustainable approach to capitalism, the real trend to follow and pursue even after the definitive end of the pandemic crisis."

In addition to the Dossier, the new issue of Economia&Management naturally offers many other contributions: from the Focus on "Cities and Culture" to the visual reading and the podcast linked to the future of operations and supply chain management, in addition to numerous articles on topical, cutting-edge managerial issues. Multiple additional items are also available for consultation on E&Mplus.  

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