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This paper moves from the relevance that greenwashing has assumed in recent years and aims to investigate whether the environmental claims made by companies truly reflect their actions. Specifically, it analyzes the relationship between environmental claims and strategic intentionality toward environmental sustainability, proxied by the use and weight of incentives linked to environmental targets in executive compensation plans. By adopting this approach, the study offers a more nuanced perspective on greenwashing, addressing the limitations of the prevalent performance-based view. Based on the analysis of the companies listed on the FTSE Italia All-share index 2021, the paper highlights that companies that draft sustainability plans and declare carbon neutrality goals tend to include environmental targets in their executive compensation plans more frequently and with greater weights compared to other companies. Conversely, merely reporting environmental performance in sustainability (or integrated) reports is not associated with the use of environmental targets in executive compensation plans, suggesting the potential existence of greenwashing practices. The study emphasizes the relevance of considering the executive compensation structure when examining potential signs of greenwashing. It also provides evidence of the need for standardized and transparent corporate compensation disclosure as a significant implication. [Display omitted] • Greenwashing is measured comparing corporate intentionality and environmental claims. • Intentionality is proxied by executive compensation linked to environmental targets. • The diffusion of environmental targets in executive compensation is still limited. • Sustainability plans and carbon neutrality goals signal corporate intentionality. • Nonfinancial reporting alone is not associated with corporate intentionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between environmental concern and household separate waste collection, controlling for social capital, in Italy in the year 1998 when policy makers started to raise awareness of the importance of waste prevention, disposal and recycling. At the time, the public's sensitivity and attitude to waste issues were mainly influenced by their own lifestyles. We consider five separate waste collections, namely paper, plastic, glass, aluminium and food waste, to be taken to the relevant roadside containers. It focuses on three types of environmental concerns, classified as egoistic, altruistic and biospheric, and identifies five measures of general environmental issues able to match the different types of concerns considered. It also controls for three types of social relations: bonding, bridging and linking social capital. We use the dataset from the Multipurpose Household Survey, conducted by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), and five probit models to shape the number of separate waste collections. The results show that greater concern for waste production and disposal, pollution, climate change, resource depletion and alteration of environmental heritage is related to a higher likelihood of doing household waste recycling. Nonetheless, for the highest number of separate waste collections, the magnitude of the marginal effect of environmental concern variables decreases, showing the relevance of marginal costs in recycling behaviour. Finally, bridging social capital is the only social capital positively correlated with all five separate waste collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of the eco-efficiency measurement. It also analyses whether environmental planning, business strategies, operational practices, environmental management system certification and environmental management accounting influence eco-efficiency. The five organisational factors express formal elements of the organisational structure. The research design consists of a mixed method approach with a set of information composed of a survey of 65 companies plus 14 interviews. The results show a poor use of eco-efficiency measurement and the positive influence of just environmental planning and environmental management accounting. What stands out is the urgency to encourage companies to have more articulated measurement and evaluation tools for analyse the interplay between environmental and economic performance (i.e. eco-efficiency). The paper extends empirical studies on environment-related management accounting tools. This study also underlines the importance of analysing the organisational dimension which is fundamental for promoting the integration of environmental issues into management control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union, which is increasingly oriented towards environmentally sustainable development, separate waste collection plays a crucial role. Over the years, the EU has produced several guidelines, programmes and directives aimed to build a green society and tone down the differences between, as well as within, Member States. In Italy, the waste management system is currently regulated by Legislative Decree 152/2006, through which European directives have been incorporated into the Italian law. The existing literature has focused on the effects of L.D. 152/2006 on Separate Waste Collection (SWC) rates; however, there are not previous studies on the effects of this decree on growth rates and on convergence process among regions in terms of SWC and its items (i.e., organic, plastic, paper, and glass). This paper aims to fill these gaps. For this purpose, we implement β- and σ- convergence analysis based on Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) on official Italian regional data over the period 2001–2018. Results show that Legislative Decree 152/2006 has two contrasting effects: on the one hand, it helped increase separate waste collection; on the other hand, it slowed down the convergence process in terms of separate waste collection among the Italian regions. However, the convergence process is characterised by different speeds across Italian macro-areas (Northern, Central, and Southern Italy), highlighting a three-speed country. To foster convergence, the national legislation should consider regional differences in terms of economic, infrastructural, institutional, social, and demographic characteristics. Image 1 • We implement β- and σ-convergence analysis on Italian regional data through GMM estimations. • Legislative Decree 152/2006 promoted the growth of SWC rates. • Legislative Decree 152/2006 reduced β - and σ-convergence among Italian regions in terms of SWC. • Regional convergence in SWC is conditioned by regional socio-economic drivers. • Results show a three-speed Italy in terms of SWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We contribute to the social innovation debate, integrating the social entrepreneurship and cooperative-network innovation fields, by investigating the effect of product, technological, and process innovation investments of social enterprises on social and environmental outcomes. Relying on a willingness-ability paradigm, we discuss under which circumstances social innovation unfolds. Drawing on unique survey data collected from a sample of 164 social cooperatives in Italy, we find that investments in product/service and process innovation are positively related to social innovation outcomes. Moreover, the contingent effect of proactiveness and risk-taking suggests that willingness plays a controversial effect on the relationship between innovation input and outcome. Interestingly, the contingent role of low barriers to accessing distribution channels and funding on the one hand and competitor aggressiveness on the other shows the role of ability in unfolding social innovation. Overall, these findings contribute the debate on social innovation and pave the way for future research. • The paper highlights the importance of innovation inputs on social and environmental outcomes of a social enterprise. • A willingness-ability framework helps consider levers and challenges playing as contingencies to achieve social innovation. • The paper integrates social entrepreneurship and cooperative/network innovation to advance the social innovation debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate the extent to which current Italian legislation has been able to achieve the goals set for separate waste collection within the context of the ongoing revision of European Union (EU) policy. In Italy waste management is regulated by Legislative Decree 152/2006, which has set the main regulatory pillars: the responsibilities among the actors at different territorial levels (regions, provinces and municipalities); the waste tariff structure; penalties and incentives, such as the “landfill tax” and “green certificates” to promote energy recovery. Focussing on separate collection of municipal waste, the Italian law set three targets to achieve: 35% by 2006; 45% 2008, and 65% by 2012. We propose a two-step analysis focussing on 103 Italian provinces, using the longitudinal data provided by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) for the period 1999–2011. First, using the transition probability matrix, we analyse the transition probabilities among three different separate waste collection states (low, medium and high). Second, by using a generalised ordered probit model, we verify the magnitude and significance of the parameter associated to the Legislative Decree 152/2006 and of some other selected variables in allowing provinces to move from a low separate collection state to a higher one. Our results show that the Legislative Decree has had the positive effect of driving Italy's provinces towards higher separate waste collection rates, but has not proved effective in lowering the gap among provinces: those in southern Italy remain the least dynamic. Finally, we show that citizen participation in ecological associations and voluntary activities has a positive effect on separate collection rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1994 the Galli Law started an in-depth transformation of the Italian urban water industry in search for a better performance. However, after more than two decades, there is still much debate about the appropriateness of the regulatory framework. This paper contributes to this debate carrying out an efficiency analysis of the Italian urban water industry, employing data for fiscal years 2011 and 2017 and an extended parallel network DEA model that allows have a more comprehensive overview of the industry performance. The proposed DEA model addresses the inadequacies in the conventional DEA models because it takes into account the different nature of the three basic services provided by the urban water service utility (drinking water, sewerage, and wastewater treatment), and computes both the efficiencies of such individual basic services, and the global efficiency of the utility. Thus, it provides a more detailed picture and shed new light on the real performance of the Italian water industry. The efficiency analysis indicates that the average global efficiency of the water utilities is still low, although it slightly increased from 2011 to 2017. Efficiency scores calculated using the proposed DEA model result reduced by about 32.6% in 2011 and 15.9% in 2017 in comparison to conventional DEA models. Additionally, the study shows that the efficiency measurements relative to the three basic water services differ largely for several utilities. Findings also suggest that size may support efficiency improvement. • An efficiency analysis of the Italian water industry is performed using data for year 2011 and 2017. • a parallel network DEA model is used to have a comprehensive overview of the industry performance. • Drinking water, sewerage and wastewater treatment are considered as basic water services. • The efficiencies of individual basic services and global efficiency of the utility are computed. • The study sheds new light on the real performance of the sector and the operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the role of sustainability in the business models (BMs) of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are operating in the wine sector in Italy, thus addressing recent calls in the literature on BMs. Consequently, this empirical paper offers a contextualized two-step analysis of the BMs of those firms, with a focus on their economic, environmental, and societal indicators. First, a study of a large set of firms all over the country points out the better profitability of some companies, in particular, family-owned companies. Second, a questionnaire survey identifies the key elements that contribute to that higher performance. The companies in this set are small and medium in size, as the Italian wine sector is mostly composed of these kinds of firms. Our data cast new light on the role of sustainability in BMs and its relationship to economic performance. Furthermore, our results point to the difference in performance between family and non-family firms. This latter focus leads us to propose two different BMs for SMEs in the wine sector in Italy, based on their type of governance, i.e., family or non-family. Our findings also suggest that sustainability can create value by achieving innovation in BMs in the long run. However, we found that the studied firms have not yet fully integrated sustainability into their own BMs. • We study the role of sustainability in Business Model innovation. • There is a difference in performance between family and non-family firms. • We propose two different Business Models for SMEs in the wine sector in Italy. • Sustainability can create value by achieving innovation in Business Models. • Studied firms have yet to fully integrate sustainability in their Business Models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]