How can businesses, through their ability to mobilize people, resources and capital, positively reshape the concept of the city? What if from tomorrow all companies in an urban ecosystem became Benefit Societies, committing themselves to generating value for the territory?

These are the questions that the project Un’Impresa Comune
(A Common Enterprise) born from the collaboration between the Department of Security Policies, Productive Activities and Equal Opportunities of the Municipality of Rome and NATIVA, wants to answer.

The initiative, presented on March 8 at the Campidoglio by Councillor Monica Lucarelli and NATIVA co-founder Paolo Di Cesare, aims to involve the city’s entrepreneurial fabric and stimulate it to generate a positive impact on the territory, through the transformation into a Benefit Corporation (Società Benefit).

Today, in fact, in the territory of the City of Rome, there are 271 active Benefit Corporations (whose number has grown at an average annual rate of 66 percent from 2018 to today), but also another 140.000 businesses-future potential Benefit Corporations-that play a strategic role in accelerating the transition to regenerative economic models. A Common Enterprise plans to first involve another 100 companies, which will be accompanied in the transformation into Benefit Societies, and which will form a case history to later extend the initiative to as many companies as possible. With one ambition: to create a new urban ecosystem, synergistic and committed to generating a positive impact on the territory and on people and, by 2030, to make the Eternal City the world capital of Benefit Coporations. Because in the 21st century, it is not possible to be eternal and future-proof without also being sustainable.

Businesses play a key role in promoting sustainable local development, both socially, environmentally and economically. Through responsible and environmentally oriented business practices, businesses can contribute significantly to creating more resilient communities and implementing positive change.Investing in sustainable initiatives not only enhances corporate reputation, but also plays a crucial role in preserving natural resources, promoting social justice and stimulating equitable economic growth.This is why we have chosen to invest in this experimentation by supporting companies in defining a new development model

Monica Lucarelli, Councillor for Security Policies, Productive Activities and Equal Opportunities of Roma Capitale.

If we project ourselves in the Rome of 2030, the ambition is that being a Benefit Society will be considered normal, taken for granted. Our commitment will be to grow an entire Benefit ecosystem, activating different levers that will also lead to an emulation effect. Identifying a common purpose for the city of Rome and for individual neighborhoods to meet social and environmental challenges of the territories and communities, creating collaborative groups, involving local associative networks, creating dissemination channels for the Benefit experience: these are just a few examples of the work ahead

Paolo Di Cesare, co-founder of NATIVA

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