Study with EMF and Bocconi: the circular economy reduces risks and creates value

Strategies linked to the circular economy can reduce investment risks and generate superior risk-adjusted returns, according to the white paper “The circular economy as a de-risking strategy and driver of superior risk-adjusted returns” produced by Bocconi University, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Intesa Sanpaolo.

The study “The circular economy as a de-risking strategy and driver of superior risk-adjusted returns” is divided into three sections:

• the first is dedicated to the fact that the circular economy is key to combating climate change and achieving goals related to other global challenges, while offering new and better opportunities for growth
• the second supports the idea that companies that adopt circular business models can reduce their risk profile
• the third analyses Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategy to seize the opportunities offered by the circular economy.

The paper tells how Intesa Sanpaolo concretely uses the results of academic research to guide its activities in the field of sustainability and circularity.

Over the years, Intesa Sanpaolo has enhanced the development of internal skills and distinctive capabilities in the market including the adoption of credit policies favouring companies that invest in the circular economy, such as the Circular Economy credit facility with which the Bank won the 2020 edition of the “Premio dei Premi”.

Intesa Sanpaolo and its reputation in the field of sustainability have recently been studied by the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation in the work entitled “How Intesa Sanpaolo bank embraced the circular economy”.

The research, carried out by Mark Hughes-Morgan and Dennis West, Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation - Saïd Business School, reconstructs the Bank’s progressive involvement in the circular economy, taking an in-depth look at the motivations behind it, the progress achieved and the reputational challenges faced along the way.