Digital transition, sustainability and business at the centre of the UN Global Compact Italy summit

Digital transition, sustainability and business at the centre of the UN Global Compact Italy summit

The tenth edition of the meeting, hosted at the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti headquarters, brought together the top management of the network's Italian member companies to discuss strategies and solutions for meeting the challenges of sustainability in an increasingly digitised global context
 

On 10 April, the tenth edition of the Business & SDGs High-Level Meeting took place at the Rome headquarters of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, bringing together Chairs and Chief Executive Officers of leading Italian companies committed to the United Nations Global Compact. Promoted and organised by the Italian Network of the UN Global Compact, the round table provided a platform for open dialogue on how to tackle the growing challenges of sustainability in an increasingly digitalised world. Representing a wide range of sectors, the participating companies reaffirmed their collective commitment to the SDGs and explored concrete strategies to accelerate progress within their industries.

The Meeting has acted as a hub for discussion and dialogue on sustainable development issues since 2016. The title chosen for this year's event, "Digital Transition in Support of Business Sustainability: Risks and Opportunities”, highlights how digitisation must be deeply linked to sustainability and propose new ways of doing business for it to be a lever of development and progress. The objective should not only be to produce profits but to cultivate social and environmental benefits, thus fostering the creation of shared value for the community.

The day began with a welcome offered by Marco Frey, President of UN Global Compact Italy, and Giovanni Gorno Tempini, Chairman of CDP. They were followed by Mario Calderini, Full Professor at the School of Management of Milan Polytechnic.

At the meeting, CDP Chairman Giovanni Gorno Tempini said:
"During this time of profound geopolitical changes the question we must answer is how to make sustainability ‘sustainable’ for the economic system, combining ecological transition with competitiveness and growth, especially in Europe. In this context, CDP has maintained a pragmatic approach that underlies the new Strategic Plan and the 2025-2027 ESG Plan: we have chosen to set ourselves very practical objectives to work closely with companies and public administrations through a variety of financial instruments and a strong focus on social impact, including through initiatives of the CDP Foundation".

Companies play a crucial role in the spread of the digital transition, being the main actors capable of translating technological innovations into practical market applications. At the same time, the digital transition plays a key role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a potential to advance at least 70% of the 169 targets of the Global Goals in key areas such as climate action, education, inclusion and the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty.

During the meeting, Marco Frey and Daniela Bernacchi, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Italy, presented a position paper focusing on the connections between digitisation and sustainability. Afterwards, the heads of the companies present took part in a round table discussion during which they illustrated the strategic vision and commitments of their respective organisations with regard to the digital transition and sustainable development at a time when technological innovation processes are increasingly intertwined with environmental and social policies.

The Italian network of the UN Global Compact has held the Business & SDGs High-Level Meeting every year since 2016, creating a space for dialogue between the top management of major Italian companies. Through debate and the sharing of good practices, the meeting aims to support the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations for 2030, to spotlight the most successful initiatives and to promote the establishment of new partnerships. CDP has been a member of the Global Compact since 2022.