A wave of innovation, the latest edition of the national research on benefit corporations 2025
01.12.2025
On December 1st in Milan, the event "A Wave of Innovation" took place, during which the new edition of the National Research on Benefit Corporations 2025 was presented. The research, conducted by partners NATIVA, Intesa Sanpaolo, InfoCamere, University of Padua, Chamber of Commerce of Brindisi-Taranto, and Assobenefit, analyzed over 300 Benefit Corporations and more than 550 non-benefit companies.
A Benefit Corporation is a legal status adopted by companies that, in addition to aiming to distribute profits, pursue one or more purposes of common benefit and operate responsibly, sustainably, and transparently towards people, the environment, and stakeholders, committing to transparently assess their impact. The founding principles of Benefit Corporations are defined in Law No. 208 of December 28, 2015. In 2016, Italy became the first country, after the United States, to introduce the possibility for companies to adopt the qualification of Benefit Corporation into its legislation. According to the law, Benefit Corporations present some substantial innovations:
- One or more purposes of common benefit indicated in the corporate purpose. The realization of a common benefit thus configures as a statutory legal obligation.
- The obligation in management to balance the interest of shareholders with the pursuit of common benefit purposes and the interests of stakeholders.
- The obligation to transparently communicate the pursuit of the common benefit with an annual report that also includes the measurement of the impact generated—according to external evaluation standards—on governance, workers, local stakeholders, and the environment.
- The need to identify a person within the company responsible for pursuing the common benefit.
The research shows that 20% of Benefit Corporations allocate more than 5% of their turnover to social and environmental purposes, compared to 6% of non-benefit companies. Almost 50% of BCs integrate the evaluation of impacts on the environment and community into the decision-making process, compared to 23% of non-benefit companies. The choice to become a BC improves market positioning, relationships with the local community, and corporate climate, with positive reactions from employees (76%) and other stakeholders.
BCs show particular attention to the supply chain, with 22% evaluating the sustainability performance of suppliers, compared to 10% of non-benefit companies. However, involving the supply chain is a significant barrier (29%). Companies suggest the introduction of tax advantages (81%) and incentives in public tenders (64%) to spread the model.
As of September 30, 2025, the number of BCs has grown to 5,309 (+22% compared to the previous year), with an annual production value of 67.8 billion euros. The research analyzed 4,110 statutes, identifying 23,990 specific purposes, with a strong orientation towards social purposes (55%), followed by environmental (29%) and governance (16%) purposes. 77% of companies adopted at least one material purpose.
The analysis of the coherence between the declared purposes and the activities carried out shows that 85% of the actions surveyed achieved the set objectives, indicating an effective translation of statutory commitments into concrete initiatives. The research also produced the first Dictionary of the Impact of Benefit Corporations, useful for translating common benefit purposes into operational plans.
You can download the Research: National Research on Benefit Corporations
