OUR MISSION

The Sustainable Development Foundation is an authoritative point of reference for the main sectors and actors of the green economy: the economy for a sustainable development. We count on a set of experience, knowledge and credibility, acquired in years of thorough work, which we put at the service of a civil and environmental commitment, especially supporting businesses and organizations sharing a common vision path towards the ecological transition.

We are committed to a constant update, to the elaboration and dissemination of publications, studies, and research, to information and discussion events, to the involvement of institutions and stakeholders, as well as to the promotion of networks to advance strategic green economy themes: climate neutrality and energy transition, circular and regenerative economy, green cities and sustainable mobility, the natural capital.

Edo Ronchi

President

firma ronchi

ACTIVITIES

THE STATES GENERAL OF THE GREEN ECONOMY

The States General of the Green Economy is promoted by the National Council of the Green Economy – which gathers 67 business organizations – in collaboration with the Ministry for Ecological transition aimed at developing proposals and recommendations for policy makers in order to affirm a new Italian economy trend towards the development of a green economy.

The States General of the Green Economy is a multi-stakeholder participatory process based on a bottom-up consultation approach of the main Italian green economy actors, involving companies and associations of companies.

The process culminates every year with a large public two days event during Ecomondo Exhibition, with over 80 speakers and 3,000 participants. The preparatory process takes place over the entire year, through consultations of the members of the Council, experts, stakeholders, and public events.

Further information on www.statesgeneral.org


SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

The Sustainable Development Foundation promotes the National Platform for Shared Mobility (Osservatorio Nazionale sulla sharing mobility), launched in 2015 and supported by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Ministry of sustainable infrastructures and mobility. The Platform is the point of reference for shared mobility in Italy and is composed by over 120 members, including shared mobility providers, local authorities and research centers.

Every year, the Platform publishes the National Report on Shared Mobility and organizes the National Conference on Shared Mobility.

Further information on www.osservatoriosharingmobility.it


ENERGY AND CLIMATE   

The fight against climate change represents the major challenge, not only of environmental nature, of our age. The world of energy, in its broadest sense, is changing rapidly. It is necessary to accelerate such process in order to achieve full decarbonization of the economy by 2050. It is a challenge that we can overcome, thanks to the increase in renewable sources of energy and energy savings, and to the promotion of efficiency in all areas.

On these issues, the Foundation conducts studies and research, focusing on different subjects ranging from national energy scenarios to energy costs; supports planning activities by companies and administrations; organizes workshops on relevant issues; releases periodic focus studies.

Italy for Climate is an initiative from the Sustainable Development Foundation, promoted by companies particularly concerned about climate change. The aim is to support the transition towards a carbon neutral economy, and to promote a well-informed debate on the topics of climate and energy by means of a broad exchange with companies, institutions and the public.

Further information on www.italyforclimate.org


REPORTING, GREEN STRATEGIES, ECOINNOVATION

The Sustainable Development Foundation has been on the side of companies for over 10 years, especially on those focused on green activities, as the main drivers in the ongoing transition to the green economy. A green economy requires a shift in business models approach to environmental aspects, including the environmental quality of the output in the competitiveness evaluation.

In order to succeed, a green economy needs innovative instruments and approaches applying to the business world and beyond. New reporting tools are needed, in order to grasp and transparently communicate the real contribution made to the green transition.

The Foundation supports businesses and public administrations in the definition of advanced green strategies, in the search for new business models oriented towards sustainability, in environmental certification paths and in the assessment and reporting of their performance

Il Green Economy Report®

The Foundation, in order to guide companies in a transparent and innovative reporting process, has developed a specific methodology: the Green Economy Report (GER), designed for companies active in the transition to a green economy. While GER is compatible with the main international reporting standards, it also implements LCA methodologies and calculates environmental footprints of the entire life of the product, from manufacturing to end-of-life.

Download Green Economy Report Brochure (italian)


WASTE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Efficient use of materials is one of the pillars of sustainable development. The philosophy of the Foundation is to always look forward and stimulate, support, and facilitate a change in the current production and consumption patterns. The means chosen to achieve the green economy objectives and, with them, to accomplish circularity, are consensus-building, development of proposals and knowledge support.

To this end, the Foundation has established a structure for the development of studies and proposals on efficient use of materials within production, distribution, consumption and in the area of waste management. The activities target both private and public sector and include reports and assessments, prevention programs and waste management plans, evaluation and analysis of governance models, studies and legal/regulatory assistance,

The Circular Economy Network (CEN) is a project that aims, in the wake of the European strategy, to stimulate a profound change in our production system, moving from a linear economy to a circular model capable of supporting the social, ecological and climate challenges that arise from the green economy, while, at the same time, increasing the competitiveness of Italian companies within international markets.

The work of the Circular Economy Network is based on some fundamentals: promoting, collecting, and disseminating studies, research; defining key indicators and analyzing national performances; evaluating critical issues and identifying possible solutions; developing strategies, policies and measures and proposing them to decision makers; disseminating best practices and techniques.

Further information on www.circulareconomynetwork.org


NATURAL CAPITAL AND AGROECOLOGY

The need to develop new business models able to really take into account the services provided by natural systems, has been promoted with increasing commitment by the most important international organizations. In this context, companies will need to be able to play an active role in the enhancement of the Natural Capital, in order to seize the opportunities arising from a market that looks at these issues with growing interest.

The Foundation promotes activities aimed at the environmental rehabilitation of territories, the creation of green infrastructures, the recognition and assessment of ecosystem services, the involvement of companies in initiatives for natural capital conservation and enhancement of the Natural Capital, and the promotion of models and practices for environmental innovation in agriculture.

The Foundation is also committed to implement local studies and activities aimed at promoting green economy experiences in Protected Areas and territories with a high environmental quality.

European projects

PSLifestyle

Our lifestyle is responsible for 72% of global GHG emissions. The PSLifestyle project “Co-Creating Positive and Sustainable Lifestyle Tool with and for European Citizens”, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and development project, thus aims at contributing to combat this trend.

The project is coordinated by SITRA and gathers 13 partners from 8 EU countries. Those participating from Italy are the Sustainable Development Foundation and GreenApes.

PSLifestyle aims at raising awareness among citizens on issues related to climate change problems, as well as to stress the importance of individual actions, supporting a widespread of reduced environmental impact behaviors.

In order to meet this objective, a number of simple web and mobile tools will be developed – also thanks to the inputs from citizens in participatory activities – so to assess the impact of daily actions and to support the adoption of more safe and sustainable lifestyles, covering four main areas: housing, mobility, food, and consumption.

The project aims to involve four million EU citizens in the collection and sharing of data.

In order to meet the specificities of each of the 8 target regions (Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, and Turkey) a local version of the tools will be developed, also with contributions from citizens through living labs and other participatory events. This will allow to understand the capacities, opportunities and reasons for the local communities to commit in the implementation of daily responsible and green behaviors.

In addition, PSLifestyle will work with other social aggregators, such as administrations, companies, civil society organizations, and academia, in order to develop solutions based on data collected from citizens.

The Sustainable Development Foundation will contribute to the engagement of stakeholders – especially among companies – and will support the national customization of PSLifestyle services, by elaborating models and identifying technical tools aimed at measuring the effects on GHG emissions of some daily activities.

LIFE BEEadapt

The Foundation is a partner in the LIFE BEEadapt project, mainly aimed at the implementation of a climate change adaptation strategy for some territories, as well as to the safeguard of populations of bees and butterflies.

A number of scientific studies over the last decades recorded a significant reduction in the number of pollinators populations, especially apoidea. In Europe, the main causes of the reduction are related to the intensification of agricultural practices and the employment of pesticides, the removal of natural elements in rural areas (such as hedges and trees rows, that were once typical of our rural landscape), and climate change.

Improving the conservation status of pollinators is one of the targets of the European Green Deal, also in consideration of the importance that such insects have in the protection of some economic activities. Over 75% of food crops depend, to a certain extent, on pollinators. In Italy, it was estimated that the value of the pollination by pronubial-pollinating insects for some crops (including citruses, tomatoes, apples, pears and peaches) accounts for little over 150 mln euro per year.

The presence of healthy populations of bees and butterflies is thus essential to guarantee the conservation of our landscape, the diversity of agricultural crops, as well as food security itself.

Therefore, LIFE BEEadapt plans to test new growing techniques, to create new green infrastructures, to implement multilevel governance activities involving key actors, with competence in in various sectors, such as territorial planning, funds management, the environment, and agriculture.


GREEN CITY

The Green City Network is an initiative promoted by the Sustainable Development Foundation to enhance activities and initiatives for the greening of the Italian cities in accordance with the best European and international experiences. The Network promotes a Green City Approach: a multi-sectorial, integrated approach to the well-being, social inclusion and long-term development of cities, based on aspects that are now essential, such as the environmental quality, efficiency and circularity of resources and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Network aims at disseminating best practices, developing studies and research, promoting European and international studies, and promoting dialogue with public authorities in order to plan and implement green economy measures in cities. The network involves: Cities, Regions, and Government administrations; members of the Green City Network National Experts Consultation Group; companies and association of companies.

Further information on www.greencitynetwork.org


ADVANCED TRAINING ON ENVIRONMENT

Advanced training on environment and green economy is one of the scopes of the Sustainable Development Foundation, implemented through specific courses.

Courses aim at grasping law innovations that are expected to radically change the legislation on different issues, the entities involved, as well as procedures and timing. This is why courses are mainly targeted towards civil servants, supervisory bodies, and professionals. Participants are provided with all the knowledge needed to for the application of rules, with senior experts from relevant national authorities. Courses are available for a fee.

In addition to the courses open to the public, the Foundation also organizes courses in partnership with other entities, addressed to restricted invited groups of participants.

MEMBERS

Companies and Associations

Member Experts

Aspromonte Donatello
Analisi costi-benefici

Bailo Modesti Alessandra
Imprese green

Baldini Dario
Regolazione e finanza

Barbabella Andrea
Indicatori sostenibilità

Beccari Mario
Risanamento ambientale

Bienati Massimiliano
Strategie e reporting

Bologna Gianfranco
Sviluppo sostenibile

Bologna Paola
Legislazione ambientale

Borasi Francesco
Legislazione ambientale

Cagnoli Paolo*
Valutazione ambientale ed energetica

Carrubba Corrado
Legislazione ambientale

Cesaretti Claudio Massimo
Economia ambientale

Coizet Roberto
Comunicazione e formazione

D’angiulli Sonia
Legislazione ambientale

Degli Espinosa Paolo
Tecnologie ambientali

Di Martino Antimo
Economia circolare

Dionisi Mario
Tutela delle acque Green Manager

Federico Antonio
Sviluppo sostenibile

Ferrante Francesco
Politiche ambientali

Ferrari Elisabetta
Legislazione rifiuti

Ficco Paola
Legislazione ambientale

Fidanza Maria Rosaria
Biotecnologie ambientali

Leoni Stefano
Legislazione ambientale

Longhi Giancarlo
Riciclo e recupero

Magistretti Giuseppe
Urbanistica biomimetica

Maglia Stefano
Legislazione ambientale

Mazzola Rosario
Economia delle acque

Milotti Alberto*
Economia dei Trasporti e della Logistica

Miranda Giovanni
Tecnologie ambientali

Morigi Enrico
Legislazione ambientale

Nascetti Giuseppe
Ecologia e sviluppo sostenibile

Orsini Raimondo
Management ambientale

Pacilli Anna
Biologa e giornalista

Parasacchi Anna
Architetto

Perillo Giovanni
Economia circolare

Pettinao Emmanuela*
Ingegnere ambientale esperto in economia circolare

Pizzo Giovanni*
Economia e politica ambientale

Raggetti Nicola
Legislazione Ambientale

Roberto Edoardo
Ingegnere ambientale

Robortella Stacul Edoardo
Geologia ambientale

Rolle Enrico
Tutela e trattamento delle acque

Ronchi Edo
Green economy

Rosi Francesco
Legislazione ambientale

Rossi Silvia
Architetto

Rubino Franco
Imprese e Green Economy

Sanna Marco
Gestione rifiuti solidi urbani

Saracco Guido
Tecnologie ambientali

Sarasino Flavio
Fonti rinnovabili

Soprano Paolo
Sviluppo sostenibile

Squitieri Giovanni
Legislazione ambientale

Toscano Attilio
Idraulica agraria

Trezzini Fabio
Difesa del suolo e delle acque

Zerunian Francesco
Comunicazione ambientale

PARTNERSHIP AND INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Since its creation, the Foundation is part of European and international networks of organizations and institutions active in the promotion of sustainable development.

In particular, the Foundation is member of the Global Compact Network Italy, Transport & Environment, the Institute for European Environmental Policy, Regeneration 20|30, and the Global Reporting Initiative – a stakeholders association. Moreover, it has supported several initiatives with the Institute of Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Dual Citizen, and the International Union of Railways (UIC).

Edo Ronchi had a long parliamentary experience, initially from 1983 to 1994 in the Chamber of Deputies, then from 1994 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2008 in the Senate. As a member of the Committee on Environment, Territory and Public Works of the Chamber of Deputies, he guided the parliamentary process leading to the first major environmental reforms such as: the law establishing the Ministry for the Environment (Law n. 349 of 1986); the law for the protection of soil (Law n. 183 of 1989); the framework law on natural protected areas (Law n.394 of 1991); the law establishing the National Environmental Protection Agency (ANPA, today APAT) and the regional agencies (Law n. 61 of 1994).

From 1994 to 1996, he was Chairman of the parliamentary group “Progressisti – Verdi – La Rete” and he was particularly involved in the process that initiated the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (which led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997) and its energy-related themes.

From 2006 to 2008, as a member of the Committee on Territory, Environment and Environmental Assets of the Senate, he was rapporteur for the amendments to the Environmental Code (Law n.152 of 2006) on waste, water, land reclamation, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. He promoted the renewable energies reform proposal (DDL 786 of 2006) which was included in the 2008 Budget Act. Furthermore, he presented a draft bill of both the urban reform and of the government of the territory (draft bill n. 1691 of 2007). However, the early end of the legislature interrupted the process.

He was one of the spokespersons of the environmentalist commitment. He participated in the 1968 movements – in particular students anti-war and anti-nuclear ones. After joining “Proletarian Democracy” (DP), where he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1983 and again in 1989, he was among the founders of the “Verdi Arcobaleno”, in whose list he was elected to the European Parliament. He resigned from his seat to prevent a double appointment and to fully devote himself to building a unified green political movement. In the light of that, in the early 90s, the so-called “Federation of the Greens” was established, merging “Liste Verdi” and “Verdi Arcobaleno”.

In 2000, since he firmly believed in the urgency of influencing the political guidelines of a major party with a green approach, together with a group of environmentalists, he left the Federation of the Greens and participated in the constituting process of the Democratic Party (PD). Even today, the policy of the environmental vision is recognized as one of the founding pillars of the Democratic Party policies.

Throughout this path, he was first one of the founders of the Left Ecology Party that managed environmentalists both internal and external to the Democrats of the Left Party. The Left Party, appointed Edo Ronchi in its National Secretariat for one year. In 2006, he was one of the founders of the Association of Democratic Ecologists and he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Party in 2007. After concluding the constituent commitment of the Democratic Party, from 2008 he has no longer sought office, nor he has taken over the party offices. Instead, he devoted himself fully to the work of the Foundation for Sustainable Development.

Scholar and expert of environmental issues, sustainable development and green economy, he published the following books:

Publications

Edo Ronchi -Le sfide della transizione ecologica – Piemme – Mondadori Libri spa, Milano 2021, pagine 299

Edo Ronchi – La transizione alla green economy – Ed. Ambiente, Milano 2018, pagine 215

Edo Ronchi, Roberto Morabito, Toni Federico, Grazia Barberio – Le imprese della green economy – Ed. Ambiente, Milano 2014, pagine 196.

Edo Ronchi, Roberto Morabito, Toni Federico, Grazia Barberio – Un green New Deal per l’Italia – Ed. Ambiente, Milano 2013, pagine 240.

Edo Ronchi e Roberto Morabito – Green economy per uscire dalla due crisi – Ed. Ambiente, Milano 2012, pagine 290.

Edo Ronchi, Pietro Colucci – Vento a favore – Verso una proposta condivisa per l’ambiente, oltre gli schieramenti politici, Ed. Ambiente, Milano, 2011, pagine 219.

Edo Ronchi – Uno sviluppo capace di futuro – Le nuove politiche ambientali, Ed. Il Mulino, Bologna, 2000, pagine 260.

Edo Ronchi, Maurizio Santoloci – Inquinamento idrico: adempimenti e responsabilità, Ed. Buffetti, Collana Ambiente, Roma, 2001, pagine 247.

Edo Ronchi, Fausto Giovannelli, Stefano Maglia, Elettrosmog – Dalle origini alla legge quadro, Casa Ed. La Tribuna, Piacenza, 2001, pagine 631.

Edo Ronchi, a cura di, Un futuro sostenibile per l’Italia, Rapporto ISSI 2002, Editori Riuniti, 2002, pagine 326.

Edo Ronchi, Ecologia come seconda modernità, Ed. ISSI, Roma, 2003, pagine 217.

Edo Ronchi, Maurizio Santoloci – La riforma dei rifiuti, I nodi critici, Ed. Buffetti, Collana Ambiente, Roma, 2004, pag. 350.

Edo Ronchi, a cura di, Il territorio italiano ed il suo governo, indirizzi per la sostenibilità, Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, 2005, pagine 116.

Edo Ronchi, a cura di, Lo sviluppo sostenibile in Italia e la crisi climatica, Rapporto ISSI 2007, Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, 2007, pagine 312.

Other Publications

Edo Ronchi, Cinque anni dopo Rio, in Relazione sullo stato dell’Ambiente, Ministero dell’Ambiente, Ed. Ist. Poligrafico e zecca dello Stato, 1997.

Edo Ronchi, Le politiche ambientali, in AA.VV. Italia 97′, Rapporto di primavera, Centro studi Euroitalia, Ed. Sermitel, Roma, 1998.

Edo Ronchi, Introduzione, in Politiche ambientali in Italia, Bilancio 1998, Ed. Ministero dell’Ambiente, Roma, 1998.

Edo Ronchi, Le politiche ambientali, in AA. VV.,  Italia ‘98, Rapporto di primavera, Centro studi Euroitalia, Ed. Sermitel, Roma 1998.

Edo Ronchi, Le aree naturali protette (relazione introduttiva alla Prima Conferenza nazionale delle aree naturali protette, Roma 25-28 settembre 1977), in L’ambiente informa, bimestrale di informazione del Ministero dell’Ambiente, anno 1 n. 2, 1998.

Edo Ronchi, Prefazione, in AA.VV., La nuova tutela delle acque, Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, 1999.

Edo Ronchi, Energia e ambiente, in AA.VV., Atti della conferenza nazionale energia e ambiente 1998, Vol. I, a cura dell’ENEA, Fabiano Editore, 1999.

Edo Ronchi, Introduzione, in Politiche ambientali in Italia, Bilancio 1999, Ed. Ministero dell’Ambiente, Roma, 2000.

Edo Ronchi, Le politiche ambientali, in AA.VV., Italia 2000, Rapporto di primavera, Centro studi Euroitalia, Ed. Sermitel, Roma, 2000.

Edo Ronchi, Presentazione, in Peter Hoffman, L’era dell’idrogeno – Energia per un pianeta più pulito, Franco Muzzio Editore, Roma, 2002.

Edo Ronchi, Il rilancio del Protocollo di Kyoto in Italia, in AA.VV., Il Protocollo di Kyoto in Italia, Ed. ISSI, 2004.

Edo Ronchi, Prefazione, in Francesco La Camera, Sviluppo sostenibile, origini, teorie e pratica, Editori Riuniti, 2005.

Edo Ronchi, Fiscalità ed economia ecologica, in AA.VV., Sostenibilità dello sviluppo e riforma fiscale, ed. Gruppo Parlamentare DS Camera dei Deputati, 2005.

Edo Ronchi, Introduzione, in Paolo Degli Espinosa, Italia 2020, Energia e ambiente dopo Kyoto, Edizioni Ambiente, 2006.

Edo Ronchi, Progettare l’uso sostenibile del territorio, in AA.VV., Complessità del territorio e progetti ambientali, Ed. Franco Angeli, 2006.

Edo Ronchi, L’Italia, l’ambiente e lo sviluppo, in Italianieuropei, rivista del riformismo italiano, Editrice Solaris, Roma, 2007.

TEAM

HOW TO JOIN

In order to seize the opportunities of the new challenges deriving from sustainability that affect all productive sectors, passion, skills, good standards and good technology are required.

Joining the Foundation for Sustainable Development means choosing to come together in a network sharing  common difficulties and ambitions, in order to strongly influence a system that needs to address environmental issues with special attention, being able to guarantee an economy capable of sustaining itself in the future.

The Foundation’s activities include conferences and seminars, discussions with the PA, ad hoc researches by our network of experts, information campaigns – website, mail and editorial – design and technical support.

Membership is open to experts, companies and associations sharing the same purposes and ideals of the Foundation, through grants, direct donations and annual membership fees.

To see the members of the Foundation to date, click the following link ….

For more information, please send an email to the Secretariat (Francesca Pucci – pucci@susdef.it) or contact the Director of the Foundation, Raimondo Orsini (orsini@susdef.it – Tel. 06-8414815).