From legacy to sustainable innovation: NATIVA Campus’s Custom Lab for Olivetti

Olivetti’s vision, which has always been rooted in the union of innovation, business, and social well-being, represents one of the most significant stories in Italian entrepreneurship. In 2023, Olivetti became a Benefit Corporation, transforming this principle into a concrete statutory commitment that guides every decision the company makes.

To translate this mission into concrete actions and engage its team, Olivetti chose NATIVA Campus—NATIVA’s advanced training school—for a two-day experiential Custom Lab in Ivrea, the company’s historic headquarters, which brought together over 60 employees from not only the Piedmontese city but also Milan, Turin, and Rome.

The goal of the Company Visit—the name chosen for the initiative—was twofold: to rekindle a sense of belonging and corporate pride and to engage the team in developing concrete ideas to honor the company’s mission of serving the common good.

The Custom Lab was designed to generate awareness and translate it into proactive action. The educational program focused on rediscovering the historical and cultural value of Olivetti’s roots, leading participants to engage with the concept of “Legacy”—understood both as a legacy received from the past and as a focus on the future and coming generations—thereby stimulating deep reflection on the role of individuals and the company in creating economic, social, and environmental value.

In its first two editions, the initiative involved over 100 participants from all over Italy, who alternated between the following activities:
- Guided tour of the Olivetti Historical Archive, an immersion in the company’s values of social responsibility and innovation, which inspired participants and fostered their sense of belonging
- Training workshops led by NATIVA Campus

The workshop included three experiential segments:

1. GET INSPIRED & REFLECT: a scientific overview of the ongoing polycrisis, the concept of “Legacy,” and the importance of the Benefit Model adopted by Olivetti. In this phase, participants learned about the company’s past actions and future goals in relation to its objectives for the common good.

2. GET INVOLVED: Inspiration turned into action through a structured call for ideas. Participants were divided into groups to generate impactful proposals aligned with Olivetti’s three Benefit objectives, thereby fostering the connection between individual contributions and the implementation of the company’s common benefit goals as a Benefit Corporation.

3 GET CONNECTED: The workshop concluded with a team-building activity that blends individual and collective dimensions to promote creative problem-solving, communication, and collaboration, revealing some unique aspects of human behavior that emerge in group dynamics.

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