FARETE 2024: HOW WILL WE WORK ON INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY?
Performant by SCOA took part in FARETE, a two-day networking event promoted and organized by Confindustria Emilia for companies looking to create or strengthen relationships and develop business opportunities nationally and internationally.
Scheduled for September 4th and 5th at halls 16 and 18 of BolognaFiere, FARETE is an excellent showcase for the productions, processes, subcontracting, and services offered by the Emilia region’s production system and beyond. It is a constantly evolving laboratory designed for a community that wants to meet, exchange experiences, and stay updated through workshops, events, and in-depth moments.
Performant by SCOA participated in FARETE, a meeting place for a business community that wants to grow together, share experiences, and stay updated on the latest market trends. A rich calendar of workshops, events, and in-depth moments completed the offer, creating opportunities for discussion on key topics such as innovation, sustainability, and digitalization.
For Performant, attending FARETE means coming into direct contact with other business entities, establishing new strategic partnerships, and opening up to unexplored horizons in a context that celebrates the excellence and creativity of Italian entrepreneurship.
Anja Puntari, Partner at SCOA and Executive Business Coach, explains Performant’s participation in the event: “The goals and spirit of FARETE perfectly align with our mission, which has always been oriented towards the future, trying to improve present actions through interventions that focus on collaboration and cooperation. Among the most requested skills by our clients are emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, conflict management, and listening. This can be summed up in two words: ‘doing together,’ because today doing business means building, creating, and moving toward a common goal.”
“I would like to emphasize how the FARETE event is perfectly in line with our operational philosophy in the field of sustainability reporting,” says Cesare Tomassetti, who was present at the Bologna event as an ESG Reporting Expert for LIITO. “FARETE embodies the concept of ‘doing’ (‘fare’ in Italian): our approach to communicating sustainability must be based on factual evidence. This is essential to provide a solid foundation for actions aimed at corporate sustainability. However a crucial aspect is networking (‘net’ means ‘rete in Italian) because today sustainability reporting cannot be a task carried out by a single professional; it requires cross-functional skills both within the company and externally, as consulting support.”
Towards a sustainable future
“Looking to tomorrow inevitably means planning a sustainable future that goes beyond the limits of the individual company,” adds Anja. “For this reason, the ecosystem of Performant by SCOA has been enriched with LIITO, a startup focused on sustainability, which allows us to provide better answers to our clients and the challenges they face daily. Today, innovation is impossible without focusing on sustainability: the interconnection between these two concepts is the future, and it’s what we will do.”
How can “networking” be done from the point of view of Cesare and LIITO? “There are many examples,” explains the ESG Reporting Expert. “Think of environmental management aspects which, in terms of measuring environmental impact, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions, require professional expertise such as that of environmental engineers and consultants specializing in eco-efficiency. Consider social aspects and all those issues that require evaluating a dimension of sustainability concerning workers’ rights, diversity, inclusion, training, and employee well-being. In this sense, the contributions of HR managers and experts who provide data and implement practices favoring social sustainability are certainly important. Think also of corporate governance aspects: all the organizational impacts that sustainability management requires overseeing within a company.”
Anja adds: “Innovation drives the company in developing new products, processes, and business models that not only meet current needs but also anticipate those of future generations.”
“This focus on innovation not only improves the company’s competitiveness but can also significantly help reduce the environmental and social impact of its activities, promoting greater corporate sustainability in a context increasingly attentive to ethical and environmental issues. The adoption of advanced technologies, energy efficiency, and the responsible use of resources are not just good practices but become strategic elements that allow companies to position themselves as leaders in their sector, leveraging an innovative approach that creates long-term value for both the company and the community in which it operates.”
Foresight, creativity, and constant commitment are the keys to driving this evolutionary process: “Ultimately,” continues the SCOA Partner, “innovation and sustainability strengthen each other within the company, as both require a significant amount of creativity, a forward-looking vision, and a continuous commitment to improvement. Integrating these two concepts not only enables companies to adapt quickly to the current challenges but also prepares them to respond proactively to those of the future, ensuring growth and resilience in an ever-evolving and increasingly competitive market.”
A face-to-face conversation
“Participating in the FARETE fair was an exciting experience for us at Performant,” explains Monica Bellucca, who attended the Bologna event as Senior Manager for the Key Partners Area at SCOA. In a constantly evolving corporate world, adaptability and the ability to innovate are key factors for the success of any organization, and these are precisely the aspects we focus on in every project.”
“FARETE,” Monica continues, “proved to be a valuable opportunity to explore new opportunities and expand our network with companies from various sectors. The fair offers a context where it is possible to meet directly with key players from the entrepreneurial world or corporate companies, creating a favorable environment for establishing constructive dialogues. The opportunity to interact face-to-face with entrepreneurs and corporate decision-makers allowed us to showcase our expertise in Change Management, highlighting the importance of effective and strategic change management to tackle future challenges.”
Feedback and perspectives between ethics and growth
An opportunity for dialogue, which allowed for collecting useful and interesting feedback: “We had the opportunity to speak with many exhibitors,” Monica concludes, “discovering that many companies share the same concerns and aspirations: improving performance, effectively managing change processes, and promoting the growth and development of their human resources. In these dialogues, it became clear that change also represents a great opportunity to innovate and continuously improve. Additionally, the fair provided an ideal platform for laying the groundwork for future partnerships. We initiated a first dialogue with several companies interested in collaborating with us, paving the way for potential synergies that could prove fruitful in the medium and long term.”
“In conclusion,” Tomassetti echoes, “FARETE, the dimension of doing and networking, is truly central for those like me involved in sustainability reporting. In this context, we found a concentrated climate of ideas and opportunities, which allowed us to approach our current and potential partners and clients in a fascinating context.”
Anja Puntari concludes with the main theme from the fair: “The topic I found most stimulating at FARETE 2024 is the concept of ethics as a foundational pillar of business. Ethics intertwines with technological development, with the regulatory transformations that companies are undergoing these years, and also with how human capital and work organization are changing in Industry 5.0. Every change brings new opportunities and threats. Ethics is the element that allows us to make choices that are not only right but also functional to the stability of organizations over time. I am truly glad that this was discussed in so many FARETE talks. We will bring these reflections to our clients at Performant and LIITO.”
