ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) values are structural elements in the strategy of a rising number of Italian companies. On the one hand, this is the effect of regulatory requirements, even though recent EU directives have significantly eased restrictions. On the other, it is due to increased awareness of these issues, which are increasingly considered drivers of competitiveness, innovation and resilience.

A cultural change is underway, albeit not yet fully mature, influencing corporate governance decisions, investment choices and the way companies and investors look to the future, as evidenced by various national and global reports.

New regulations in the ESG field

2025 ended with an important development in the EU: on 16 December, the European Parliament definitively passed the Omnibus I package, confirming a substantial downsizing of regulations in this field. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) removes the obligation to implement climate transition plans, while the threshold for application rises to over 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion in annual turnover, narrowing the scope to around 1,600 companies across the Union. In addition, the maximum sanctions are lowered to 3% of global turnover, the harmonised civil liability regime is eliminated, and the entry into force is postponed to July 2029.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is also subject to a restriction: only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a turnover of more than €450 million remain obliged to comply. This will exclude around 90% of the companies currently involved, with the result that in the sectors with the greatest environmental impact (agriculture, fisheries and mining), the number of operators affected could be reduced to a few dozen across the EU.

The controversy that has arisen alternates between technical assessments and criticism of the quality of the democratic process, allegations of conflicts of interest and accusations of yielding to external political and economic pressure, from the United States to Qatar.

On the subject of social sustainability, by June 2026, EU Member States will have to transpose the Pay Transparency Directive (970/2023), introducing salary transparency requirements. This is an important piece of legislation, considering that the gender pay gap stood at 12% in 2023.

Corporate strategic agenda

Beyond obligations, however, cultural change also plays a role. 87% of companies globally, and 91% of Italian companies, consider sustainability a strategic priority, according to the survey entitled Global Sustainability Survey – From strategy to spend: The state of sustainability in business, conducted by BDO on 418 companies of various sizes in 36 countries.

Sustainability initiatives bring a competitive advantage, according to 83% of global companies and 59% of Italian companies. In 2025, 94% of the organisations surveyed, both in Italy and worldwide, increased or maintained their budget for these aspects, with a particular focus on decarbonisation and transition, despite the trend towards deregulation and delays in defining the regulatory framework. Furthermore, at the European level, only one in four European companies say they have a mature sustainability programme integrated into their business, but 53% (59% in Italy) have nevertheless published a non-financial reporting report.

Sustainability and financial stability

A specific snapshot of our country is provided by CRIF's ESG Outlook 2025, the annual report published by the Central Credit Register for Financial Intermediation, which states that by 2024, large Italian companies and SMEs will have significantly improved their levels of compliance with ESG criteria. “Companies are raising their awareness, while the banking system is playing an increasingly active role in supporting and encouraging this process, rewarding those who invest in sustainable practices and business models with greater credit,” commented Marco Macellari, CEO of CRIF Synesgy Ratings.

According to the study, in 2024, over 70% of large Italian companies will fall into the two highest ESG score bands, an increase of around 24 percentage points in just one year, while the share of companies with the worst scores will fall by 6 percentage points (4% of the total). At the same time, approximately 76% of financing to large companies will go to companies with high ESG adequacy, an increase of more than 20 percentage points compared to 2023. SMEs, too, despite starting from a less structured base, show significant growth, with a 17 percentage point increase in the most virtuous companies and an increasingly sustainable credit distribution (39% in 2024, just over 25% in 2023).

Furthermore, the integration of ESG criteria is reflected in risk assessment, to the extent that loans with high ESG adequacy will have a default rate 25.3% lower than the average in 2024.

The virtuous sectors and the struggling ones

In this landscape, which sectors are the most virtuous? While most sectors recorded an improvement in their ESG profile in 2024, not all did so to the same extent, reflecting a transition that is proceeding at different speeds. Leading the ranking with the best ESG adequacy are the ITC (Information & Communication Technology), media, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, textiles and clothing sectors, all of which have benefited from investments in efficient technologies, digitalisation and sustainable innovation.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, agriculture, food, beverages and tobacco, mining, oil and gas are struggling. In particular, agriculture not only remains in a critical position but also shows a deterioration compared to 2023, a sign of the difficulties in reducing emissions and adopting more sustainable practices.

The value of human capital

Finally, a focus on the S (Social) aspect of sustainability, an increasingly social dimension in ESG strategies, especially at a time of profound change. In Italy, over 63% of workers consider their job to be mentally demanding or stressful, compared to a European average of 56%. However, only 43% of companies say they actively promote the mental health of their employees, a figure that places Italy among the least sensitive countries on the continent, far behind the United Kingdom (75%) and Ireland (73%), as revealed by the Social Sustainability Monitor 2025, conducted by the Sustainability Lab at SDA Bocconi.

The survey highlights Italy's lack of attention to mental and physical well-being, low confidence in flexibility and still weak support for older workers, but it also points to untapped potential that companies can and must focus on in 2026 and beyond: investing in human capital, inclusion, training and well-being can translate into greater productivity, engagement and competitive resilience in the medium to long term.

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