We talk more and more often about the green economy but what exactly is the green economy and why is it advantageous for businesses to invest in the so-called ecological economy?
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in the official report Towards a Green Economy – Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, defines the green economy as a «theoretical model of economic development based on an improvement in human well-being and social equity, capable of guaranteeing at the same time a significant reduction in environmental risks and ecological scarcity".
At the origin of green economy there is a bioeconomic analysis of the economic system where, in addition to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the benefits of a certain production regime, the environmental impact of the entire transformation cycle of raw materials is taken into consideration starting from their extraction, through their transport and transformation into energy and finished products up to the possible environmental damage caused by their definitive elimination or disposal.
Such damage has a negative impact on GDP which decreases due to the reduction in the productivity of economic activities, such as agriculture, fishing, tourism and public health, which benefit from a good quality of the environment.
The idea of a green economy was born in 2006 year in which the so-called Stern Report, a study commissioned by the English Government from Sir Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank, proposes an economic analysis that emphasizes the environmental and macroeconomic impact of climate change and its negative impact on global GDP. The analyzes on the exploitation of the Earth's renewable resources must also be added to the Stern investigation, which highlight an annual global consumption greater than the planet's ability to renew itself with a consequent and inevitable erosion of available supplies.
In the study Relaunching the economy and employment in Italy with measures and policies for 2025 for 5 strategic green economy objectives, Foundation for Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the economists of Cles Srl, calculated that - by addressing some environmental problems with adequate measures, in order to achieve the 5 green objectives - 190 billion in investments would be activated in Italy alone in a few years which would lead to the creation of approximately 800 thousand new jobs.
Here is a summary of the 5 green economy objectives to be achieved between now and 2025:
- A more effective reduction in energy consumption in homes, schools and offices;
- A sharp increase in renewable energy sources;
- A rapid shift towards the circular economy;
- Better quality of cities with an urban regeneration programme;
- More sustainable urban mobility to reduce pollution and traffic congestion.
Green economy and companies: the advantages for businesses
From the eleventh report GreenItaly elaborated by Symbola Foundation e Unioncamere, it emerges that in the period 2015-2019, over 432 thousand Italian companies invested in green products and technologies, particularly in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable sources.
Among the companies that have made investments for sustainability, 16% managed to increase their turnover in 2020 compared to 9% of non-green companies. An advantage that is also confirmed in terms of employment (9% of eco-investing companies are hired compared to 7% of others) and exports (which increases by 16% for green companies compared to 12% of non-green competitors).
Green companies are therefore more resilient and, according to the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere, they are also those that innovate the most (73% versus 46%), invest the most in Research and Development (33% versus 12%) and use or plan to use 4.0 technologies to a greater extent ( 25% versus 14%). Furthermore, despite the uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, companies demonstrate that they believe in environmental sustainability: in fact, almost a quarter of the total confirms eco-investments for the period 2021-2023.
Another very interesting fact is the relationship between eco-investing companies and institutions: companies that have invested or will invest in green have declared that they have established or strengthened collaborations with Regions, Municipalities and Chambers of Commerce in 17% of cases compared to a 5% relevato for all the others.
Green economy and mobility: electric car sharing E-VAI
In Italy, according to data from the GreenItaly report, Lombardy is leading the transition from the traditional economic model, called Brown Economy, to the Green economy with almost 78 thousand companies that have made eco-investments in the period 2015-2019.
And it is precisely in Lombardy that the union between e-mobility e sharing mobility is born E-VAI, the first electric car sharing active at a regional level with fleets made up exclusively of electric and hybrid cars that allow you to easily move from the city center or the province to the main transit hubs.
The widespread presence of E-VAI in the Lombardy region it makes intermodality between electric cars and public transport possible. In this way E-VAI improves regional mobility with the aim of simplifying travel from one place to another in the Region using both train and car, significantly saving on car sharing costs linked to mileage and avoiding having to encounter urban traffic on a daily basis.
Silent, light, easy to drive and above all ecological, thanks to C02 emissions reduced to a minimum, the cars of E-VAI they have free access to Limited Traffic Zones and Area C and it is possible to park them in the spaces delimited by blue and yellow lines.
Rent a car E-VAI is simple: just connect to the official website of E-VAI or download the App available for iOS and Android. There are no registration fees for the service and once you have registered you simply need to identify theE-VAI Nearest point, book your car and collect it conveniently at the indicated time. The vehicle can then be returned to any of over 140 locations E-VAI Points distributed throughout the regional territory.
