Sustainability Reports Are a Necessary Step

The European regulation on the publication of sustainability reports (CSRD), post-revision, affects around 1,400 companies in Italy (Accountancy Europe, 2025). This is a paltry 0.03% of the 4.4 million companies operating in our country. An interconnected system that forms a vital network of supply chains and districts. A wealth of relationships made possible today by the economic information conveyed through accounting systems, which is necessary for market development and efficient business decision-making.

Regulation that affects few, a system that involves everyone

In order to steer this set of relationships towards sustainability, it is essential to create a sustainability information infrastructure that facilitates the transition to more resilient, efficient, and sustainable companies, supply chains, and districts, both environmentally and in terms of production and finance. It is not enough for 1,400 companies on their own to publish a sustainability report. A company is not an island and does not generate value on its own. This is even more true when the goal is long-term sustainable value.

Voluntary adoption: positive signs, but not enough yet

Data from Bocconi's SRB Lab show that the percentage of voluntary adoption of sustainability reporting in Italy (province of Milan), including companies belonging to larger groups, exceeds 20%. This is a positive figure, especially when compared to the situation in other countries. At the same time, it is still insufficient for the speed of change required by supply chains, districts, and the overall economic system. This is especially true for companies that do not belong to groups, of which only 5% voluntarily publish sustainability information. We must therefore facilitate the dissemination of sustainability information at all levels if we do not want to lose our country's competitive advantage. Two actions are essential. 

Sustainability as a lever for value creation

First, it must be stated without hesitation that sustainability generates value. This is confirmed by the best research. The impact on value is most visible for listed companies, as markets immediately discount the medium-term transformative power of sustainability on the business model and corporate risk profile. But this relationship also applies to unlisted companies. Research by SRB Lab has shown that in the three years following the voluntary adoption of sustainability reporting, companies generate significantly higher growth in revenues and employment. This is a medium-term result that shows how the transformative power of sustainability entails a learning curve. The later you start, the later you will see the impact on value. 

The solution for SMEs: shared platforms and distributed technology

Besides, a structural technological solution must be found to the problem of the complexity of sustainability reporting for SMEs. Of the 4.4 million Italian companies, 99.9% are micro (fewer than 10 employees, 95%) or SMEs (10 to 250 employees, 4.9%). The data points required to prepare a sustainability report according to the simplified voluntary framework (VSME) proposed by the European Advisory Group (EFRAG) are approximately 50 for the basic model and approximately 100 for the more comprehensive model. This therefore requires SMEs to make an investment in skills, information systems, and data management processes that they can hardly afford on their own. Here, too, networking is essential. The dissemination of sustainability information strategically involves the creation of sustainability reporting shared service centers for supply chains or districts. Distributed ledger technology now offers the possibility, at low cost, of creating data supply chains shared by all stakeholders, maintaining reliability and traceability without imposing proprietary control. 

This is the real challenge for Italy in order to maintain a competitive advantage as a country in terms of sustainability. Defining shared platforms capable of interpreting reporting requirements in an innovative way, supporting SMEs in extracting shared value from sustainability. These platforms should be based on forms of collaboration and incentive schemes encouraging individual companies to join, while maintaining their diversity.