Economia Sostenibile: rischi ed opportunita' per il sistema bancario italiano

The transition towards a sustainable economy, i.e. towards business models that are able to reconcile the typical objectives of economic and financial management with environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects and implications, is gaining increasing attention from all the main stakeholders, be they representatives of the political, scientific and social world, regulatory and supervisory authorities, market investors, workers and consumers. The companies, both industrial and financial, that will best respond to this market trend will be those that address ESG issues not as a pure response to public and regulatory pressure, but those that make it a lasting competitive advantage and longterm growth, taking an active leadership position in sustainability. For the banking sector, in particular, the implications will be considerable, given the fundamental role that banks play in financing the economy and businesses. In fact, being able to accurately identify the sectors, companies and business initiatives most exposed to these trends will be a fundamental factor in being able, on the one hand, to understand, identify, measure and effectively mitigate the new risks associated with them and, on the other, to promptly seize the new opportunities linked to the support and financing of the reconversion towards a more sustainable economy. In the current context, moreover, a great opportunity in this sense is represented by the possibility of channelling towards sustainable economy initiatives a substantial share of the public funds made available by Eurozone governments for the relaunch of the economy following the pandemic emergency. The objective of the position paper is to analyze the strategic priorities in addressing the risks and opportunities associated with the transition to a sustainable economy, to identify the initiatives with greater added value for the market and the respective enabling factors for their concrete implementation. The position paper is divided into four parts: 1. Market context and state of the art of Italian banks; 2. ESG in the banking sector; 3. ESG for non-financial institutions; 4. Key success factors and the role of risk management.