Corporate social sustainability
A thesis debated at the University of Padua explores the close bonds between CSR and ESG
Responsibility and sustainability – this is the twofold aim (and not a new one at that) that well-rounded enterprises, i.e. those valuing their role in social, environmental and territorial terms as much as profit-making, should set for themselves. Indeed, commitment to corporate social responsibility is now frequently accompanied by attention to the environmental impact of manufacturing.
Francesca Pitis’s thesis, entitled “Integrare la sostenibilità nella strategia d’impresa” (“Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy”) revolves around these two themes, and was debated at the University of Padua as part of its degree in political science, international relationships and human rights.
In the first pages of her investigation, Pitis explains how the (virtuous) combination of budgetary targets and goals unrelated to financial gain and efficiency has now become indispensable. This gives rise to a working path subdivided into three consecutive stages: first of all, the definition of concepts, including that of corporate social responsibility, with all that this entails; then, an analysis of the tools for social responsibility, understood in its widest meaning so as to also comprise the aspects connected to corporate sustainability; finally, a focus on ESG factors, somewhat conceived as the evolution of the notions and methods inherent in corporate social responsibility.
In her conclusions, Francesca Pitis rightfully cautions us not only about the convergence between the various tools identified, but also about the divergence of conceptual and applicable terms. Despite this, CSR and ESG are not mutually exclusive – actually, they can somehow boost each other’s analytical and interventional corporate impact along a production organisation’s development path that, from economic and technical, will increasingly become cultural.
“Integrare la sostenibilità nella strategia d’impresa” (“Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy”)
Francesca Pitis
Thesis, University of Padua, Department of political science, law and international studies, Degree in political science, international relationships and human rights, 2023
A thesis debated at the University of Padua explores the close bonds between CSR and ESG
Responsibility and sustainability – this is the twofold aim (and not a new one at that) that well-rounded enterprises, i.e. those valuing their role in social, environmental and territorial terms as much as profit-making, should set for themselves. Indeed, commitment to corporate social responsibility is now frequently accompanied by attention to the environmental impact of manufacturing.
Francesca Pitis’s thesis, entitled “Integrare la sostenibilità nella strategia d’impresa” (“Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy”) revolves around these two themes, and was debated at the University of Padua as part of its degree in political science, international relationships and human rights.
In the first pages of her investigation, Pitis explains how the (virtuous) combination of budgetary targets and goals unrelated to financial gain and efficiency has now become indispensable. This gives rise to a working path subdivided into three consecutive stages: first of all, the definition of concepts, including that of corporate social responsibility, with all that this entails; then, an analysis of the tools for social responsibility, understood in its widest meaning so as to also comprise the aspects connected to corporate sustainability; finally, a focus on ESG factors, somewhat conceived as the evolution of the notions and methods inherent in corporate social responsibility.
In her conclusions, Francesca Pitis rightfully cautions us not only about the convergence between the various tools identified, but also about the divergence of conceptual and applicable terms. Despite this, CSR and ESG are not mutually exclusive – actually, they can somehow boost each other’s analytical and interventional corporate impact along a production organisation’s development path that, from economic and technical, will increasingly become cultural.
“Integrare la sostenibilità nella strategia d’impresa” (“Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy”)
Francesca Pitis
Thesis, University of Padua, Department of political science, law and international studies, Degree in political science, international relationships and human rights, 2023