Intesa Sanpaolo and its reputation for sustainability

The Center for Corporate Reputation at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School has published a case study on Intesa Sanpaolo’s commitment to supporting the adoption of the Circular Economy.

The analysis starts with a question: “Where did this strategic initiative come from, and how did the bank leverage its reputation in pursuit of such an unusual endeavour without harming it?”

Researchers Mark Hughes-Morgan and Dennis West, authors of the study, provide an answer. They retrace the main stages of Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategy to support the diffusion of the circular economic production model and recognise how Italy’s largest bank has long built a solid international reputation in this area.

“In its 2018-2021 business plan,” reads the business school’s case study, “Intesa Sanpaolo has made a fundamental commitment to invest in the circular economy, with the launch of a credit facility of up to €5 billion,” later increased to €6 billion with the acquisition of UBI Banca. “The credibility of the initiative has been enhanced by its partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a leading activist for the circular economy.”

“We are committed to being, in Italy, the engine of the real economy and the social economy and not to leave anyone behind” – stressed the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Carlo Messina, at the 2021 Annual Summit of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The study highlights how the Circular Economy poses growing challenges for all companies and how important it is for a bank to refine the tools to objectively measure the direct and indirect impacts of the loans granted.

The bank has entrusted the task of pursuing these and other objectives to Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, a company led by Maurizio Montagnese that explores and learns new business models to support the long-term competitiveness of the Group and its customers.