The first CDP event dedicated to dialogue with over 250 civil society stakeholders
More than 250 representatives from institutions, regions, academia, industry and finance, 50 students, start-ups and third sector associations, nine working groups on the most relevant topics of sustainable development and numerous national and international speakers. Just some of the numbers from the first edition of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Multistakeholder Forum, the annual event on ESG issues dedicated to dialogue and discussion with civil society.
The event, titled “Designing the future together” held yesterday at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan, was completely zero-impact thanks to the partnership with LifeGate, which will offset emissions by planting trees in Ticino Park.
Sustainability and ESG criteria are the cornerstones of CDP's 2022-2024 strategic plan and in the first ten months of 2022, it strengthened its commitment to future generations by deploying €24.5 billion, serving more than 23,000 companies and supporting 2,500 public entities. Initiatives and actions that have also recently been rewarded by Moody's, which has raised CDP's sustainability rating by three points.
Opening proceedings, CDP Chairman Giovanni Gorno Tempini highlighted that "with this first edition of the Multistakeholder Forum, the CDP Group confirms its real contribution to Italy’s sustainable development. Today's discussion testifies to the work we are doing to unite and promote national interests, including with an inclusive and systemic approach, to ensure that the opportunities created reach everyone'"
The event was also attended by Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti and European Commission Vice-President in charge of the Green New Deal, Frans Timmermans, who noted that “the ecological transition is the industrial revolution of our century. And finance, if backed by sustainability principles, can help create new opportunities and wealth”. The new Rector of Milan Polytechnic, Donatella Sciuto, followed, using her speech to talk about “the importance of rethinking the training offered to the next generation to ensure they are able to deal with increasingly changing contexts that require cross-cutting skills. Discussions such as today's pave the way for fruitful ecosystems to be built between institutions, academia and civil society”.
For the ESG talks, an opportunity for discussion between the various stakeholders, key players took the Forum stage, starting with Marco Frey, Scuola Sant'Anna professor and Chairman of the UN Global Compact Network Italy and Teresa Agovino, environmental engineer, sustainable tourism consultant and social entrepreneur for a debate on sustainability across the genders and generations. Following this, Francesco Perrini, Professor of Economics and Business Management, Bocconi University, and Virginia Stagni, Head of Business Development Financial Times, discussed the Social theme. Finally, on the theme of Governance, there was a discussion with Francesco Profumo, President of ACRI and Anita Bhatia, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.
CDP's CEO, Dario Scannapieco, brought the discussion to a close, emphasising his willingness to continue to welcome thoughts, ideas, contributions and projects that could represent opportunities for improvement “because” as he noted “for us this journey is just beginning”.
The day concluded with the working groups, an opportunity for the parties to have a real face-to-face discussion on various topics, such as “digitalisation and innovation”, “climate change and protection of the ecosystem” and “territory, social cohesion and sustainable infrastructures”, to name but a few, combining and expanding their visions in a constructive and inclusive dialogue.
Browse the gallery and see the event highlights.