We are living in a time of profound, rapid change that poses challenges for governments, institutions and enterprises alike.
The recent financial crisis and its impact on the real economy, the drastic reduction in consumption, the unpredictable inflation and deflation processes, the economic downturn, and shrinking of investments generate a climate of great mistrust and rising concern.
These changes have made the enviroment we operate in extremely complex and variable.
To remain competitive, companies cannot afford the luxury of just standing by and looking on. Barilla understands that we must quickly embrace, understand, and play an active part in this change with a spirit of anticipation of events and take on the responsibility of becoming their drivers.
Barilla is following this route with courage, passion and confidence in our skills, aware of the heritage of values and competence that characterize our identity and history. We work to improve the health of consumers, support the development of all the communities we work in, and protect the environment.
Barilla has the strong reputation of a company that manages its supply chains well. Now, a long-term approach requires that we grow increasingly in parallel with civil society, bringing the company’s and general interests together.
This approach means expressing corporate responsibility in the context of the overall sustainability of the system, through strategies that are aimed at developing production processes, products and results that focus on people’s well-being and environmental protection. It also implies publicly undertaking responsibilities in full view of stakeholders and implementing the consequent actions. The path to sustainability must be viewed from this perspective.
We are not the first to commit to social responsibility. Many companies have already made efforts to improve the social and environmental impact of their activities, not always with positive outcomes. In certain cases, in fact, the approach selected failed to align the contrasting interests of business activities and the dynamics of civil society, underestimating their links and interdependence.
Sustainability policies should be part and parcel of corporate identity and strategies. Fragmented and random approaches result in simple philanthropic activities or merely defensive policies that carry no benefits for competitiveness and no significant impact
on society.
Companies have many opportunities to generate added value for themselves and for society if they succeed in combining socially innovative values and entrepreneurial choices. Barilla believes that companies and society need each other, and a temporary advantage for only one of them may jeopardize the long-term wealth of both.
To create social value, it is important to acknowledge the context in which we operate honestly and transparently and with the ability to analyze skills, as well as the issues and challenges to be faced, and to make specific commitments responsibly.
This is the first step towards sustainability. We will choose the target issues to allocate resources and take action in order to have a significant impact on society and business
competitiveness.
Barilla, our company, has always been aware of people’s basic needs, giving rise to great potential for contributing to the improvement of everyone’s life and well-being.
Massimo Potenza