The first national pilot of the SDG Impact Standards in Italy has concluded, led by Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and supported by the Bank of Italy. The pilot brought together financial institutions and enterprises to explore how the private sector can better align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through improved strategy, governance and impact management.
The pilot ran from 6 May to 6 June and included participants from investment funds, asset managers, banks, an insurance company and several enterprises. It formed part of the broader programme “Agenda 2030. Mind the Investment Gap!” and received technical support from the Human Foundation, a longstanding member of the Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia network.
Following the selection of applications, professionals from the following organizations took part in the initial pilot program: Alternative Capital Partners SGR S.p.A., Archangel Adventure, Arpinge S.p.A., BancoPosta Fondi SGR, BPER Banca, Fondazione Generali - The Human Safety Net, FRED Engineering, MedioCredito Centrale, Olivetti Spa Società Benefit, Panakes Partners SGR S.p.A., SellaLab - Sella Group, and Three Hills.
Participants joined two workshops delivered by a certified SDG Impact trainer, attended a live question-and-answer session and completed a structured self-assessment to evaluate their current level of SDG alignment and identify opportunities for improvement.
Şebnem Şener, Head of Private Finance at UNDP, said: “The SDG Impact Standards offer organizations a practical path to embed sustainability in how they make decisions. This pilot shows how the private sector can take meaningful steps toward long-term value creation for people and planet.”
Developed by UNDP and translated into Italian through this collaboration, the SDG Impact Standards help enterprises and investors integrate the SDGs into decision-making processes. They are voluntary and designed to complement existing sustainability frameworks and regulatory requirements.
Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia considers this pilot an important step in advancing Italy’s impact finance ecosystem. It provided participants with a clear structure to assess their sustainability performance and begin integrating the SDGs more systematically.
Participants expressed strong interest in applying what they learned to their ongoing planning and operations.
Carla Bertuzzi, Head of SellaLab, Sella Group, said: “We were already working on impact measurement, and the pilot helped us connect the dots between different parts of our activities. We successfully leveraged the framework developed by Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia in collaboration with UNDP to create a dedicated space for dialogue—with colleagues and with esteemed organizations—enabling companies like ours, deeply committed to impact, to enhance our credibility both internally and externally.”
Valentina Zadra, Chair of the Board of Directors at Alternative Capital Partners SGR, noted: “The Standards supported us in interpreting our impact vision in a more transformative and profound way, guided by the SDGs as a shared and universal language.”
Antonino Tripodi, Technical Director of Mobility Safety and Infrastructure at Fred Engineering, added: “We found the structured approach of the SDG Impact Standards particularly useful for integrating sustainability into governance and decision-making processes. It would be valuable to further explore the practical application of the Standards in impact assessment systems and operational metrics.”
The outcomes of the pilot will inform future capacity-building efforts and contribute to the growing momentum in Italy to close the global SDG financing gap and increase the role of private capital in sustainable development.
