Two new masters on the circular economy

The transition to a more circular economy is a crucial component of the efforts made by the European Union to develop an industrial-economic system capable of supporting human activities, and therefore also businesses, in the long term. The circular model, through an appropriate process design, will make it possible to maintain the value of products, materials and resources for as long as possible and will minimize the production of waste.
The transition to a circular economy necessarily implies, for companies, a series of systemic challenges, especially in terms of the managerial and economic skills necessary to set up effective and at the same time specific strategies for the sector: from research and development to innovation. technology, from supplyings to production, from people management to marketing.

It is therefore possible to affirm that circular economy, innovation, sustainability and training go hand in hand; it is in fact necessary to train a new class of entrepreneurs in order to allow companies to seize all the opportunities offered by the market and, at the same time, to anticipate regulatory and consumption trends.

Intesa Sanpaolo, aware of the impactful role it plays in the social and environmental context, has been at the forefront of sustainability and circular economy for years, with an extremely proactive commitment.                                                                  
Many are the recognitions achieved by the Bank over the years. Last in order of time, in 2021, the Sustainability Award Bronze Class 2021, assigned by S&P Global to companies worldwide that achieve the best sustainability performances, inclusion in the Global 100 - Corporate Knights, as the only Italian bank, among the 100 most sustainable companies in the world, and the "Prize of Prizes" established by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and awarded to the Group in 2020 by the President of the Republic for the results achieved thanks to the Circular Economy Plafond project.

At the same time, Intesa Sanpaolo supports many initiatives in the field of training, with major attention to new areas relating to sustainability. In this perspective the Bank recently collaborated with the Univerità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore for the implementation of two important training initiatives on circular economy issues.
The collaborations, previously initiated by the UBI Group, are continuing with the coordination of the Social Development and Relations with Universities structure.

The 1st level Master’s in Social Impact Economy & Management was launched in collaboration with the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the Brescia office. 
The course, which lasts one year, is aimed at training entrepreneurs and managers who intend to operate in sectors of the economy with a high social impact. As already pointed out, this is a highly topical theme, which now affects companies of all sizes, increasingly attentive to sustainability, the circular economy, as well as the welfare of their employees and local areas. Also, for this reason, the Master is also open to non-graduates, subject to admission by the Course Director.                                            
Intesa Sanpaolo supports the Master by awarding scholarships to the most deserving candidates, while the Group's colleagues will take part in the teaching of the course, sharing their knowledge and experiences with the students.

The Executive Master, now in its seventh edition, is promoted by ALTIS, the High School of Business and Society of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in collaboration with the Human Foundation. EMSE aims to improve the professional skills and the innovative role of entrepreneurs, managers and operators of non-profit organizations and companies that deal with social innovation and CSR.
The Executive Master is aimed at graduates and provides a part-time formula that is also suitable for those who are already involved in the world of work. Intesa Sanpaolo, in collaboration with the Human Foundation, supports EMSE with the assignment of 4 partial contributions to the study.
Both initiatives testify to Intesa Sanpaolo's ongoing commitment to the pillars of the 2018-21 Business Plan: innovation, sustainability, circular economy and training. The commitment to the new challenges of the circular economy and sustainability necessarily arises from the drive for innovation, which will bring important benefits at a global level and opportunities capable of creating new value.
In this growth process, the newly trained professional figures will be able to inspire future decisions and actions in institutional, political, social and economic systems.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   July, 2021