Intesa Sanpaolo Awards 120 Small Businesses for Sustainability Projects

Intesa Sanpaolo met and awarded 120 small companies that have distinguished themselves in environmental, social and governance projects and to which it is dedicating CresciBusiness Progettiamo Sostenibile, the new edition of the program aimed at artisan, commercial, tourism and catering companies that will be divided into stages throughout Italy from today to April.

Companies that make up the largest entrepreneurial segment in the country, 4 million businesses that account for approximately 95% of the total, each with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover that does not exceed 2.5 million euros. Approximately 25% of them, almost 1,000,000 companies, are customers of the Banca dei Territori of Intesa Sanpaolo led by Stefano Barrese.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s CresciBusiness program

Now in its second edition, Intesa Sanpaolo’s CresciBusiness program, dedicated to the goal of sustainability, over 2,000 companies have applied and proposed their sustainable choices, and 120 self-nominated companies have been chosen and recognized, with projects dedicated to sustainability. From February 28th to April 9th, for forty days, among the cities and small villages of Italy, there will be the opportunity to meet each of the companies at their headquarters.

In the CresciBusiness plan, Progettiamo Sostenibile was launched by the group at the end of 2022, which makes 5 billion euros available for investments in digitalisation, sustainability and commercial development linked to the PNRR initiatives.

All the companies participating in the program launched by Intesa Sanpaolo are characterized by a small size, they measure themselves with the challenge of growth and recognize that ESG objectives have not only an ethical but also a business value : thanks to initiatives that are attentive to the environment, inclusion and the social community in which they operate, they improve their financial profile and increase their potential for growth and competitiveness.

The journey, which starts from Turin , will introduce 120 exemplary realities such as plastic-free restaurants that are attentive to waste management and food waste, or accommodation facilities built with sustainable building materials and that use photovoltaic systems and solar panels for a lower environmental and energy impact. Or again, the activities that support female employment, that demonstrate a strong focus on the well-being of their employees, that have adopted good governance practices determining the success and continuity of the business.

For each company, growth paths are planned in the three ESG areas (environmental, social and governance), in addition to training activities and workshops thanks to the contribution of prestigious partners such as Cerved , Intrum, Regalgrid and the collaboration with Deloitte monitors . The new line of investment solutions S-Loan Progetti Green is also designed for them , to plan and implement investments in sustainability also supported by the Guarantee Fund.

The launch of CresciBusiness Progettiamo Sostenibile was presented at the Intesa Sanpaolo Skyscraper in Turin, in an event organized in collaboration with Visa . Stefano Barrese, Head of the Banca dei Territori Division and Anna Roscio , Executive Director Sales & Marketing Imprese, spoke at the meeting , together with Gregorio De Felice , Chief Economist of the Bank.

“Today we confirm our commitment to accompanying the sustainable growth of all businesses, whether they are SMEs, startups or small businesses run by individuals or families. To listen to the needs of the latter, we have eliminated commissions for micropayments up to 10 euros for the whole of 2025, at the same time we continue to put sustainability at the center of our strategy, a development lever even in small virtuous companies” explained Stefano Barrese, Head of the Banca dei Territori Division of Intesa Sanpaolo.

“A process that we promote and to which we have contributed with almost 10 billion in credit up to last December, granted to businesses of all sizes.”

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(Featured image by geralt via Pixabay)

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