At the sixth edition of the Sustainability Award in Milan, Generation Impact Global contributed its technology to an initiative recognising Italian companies for measurable sustainability performance, while introducing new opportunities to simplify ESG data management through artificial intelligence.
On 15 October 2026, Palazzo Mezzanotte, home of the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan, hosted the sixth edition of the Sustainability Award, bringing together more than 300 companies to celebrate business excellence, responsible innovation and measurable progress in sustainability.
Created by Kon Group, with the support of Banca Patrimoni Sella and ELITE – Euronext Group, and Forbes Italia as media partner, the Sustainability Award has established itself as an initiative recognising companies that integrate environmental, social and governance considerations into their business strategies.
This year’s edition marked an important milestone for Generation Impact Global (GIG), which contributed as a technology partner to the development of a digital solution designed to make ESG information more accessible, reusable and efficient to manage.
Recognising Sustainability Through Measurable Performance
One of the distinctive characteristics of the Sustainability Award is its assessment methodology.
Unlike traditional awards determined by a jury, the Sustainability Award relies on mathematical scoring models to evaluate participating companies.
The assessment draws on the expertise of ALTIS Advisory, the Politecnico di Milano through its TIRESIA and TRIADI research centres, and RepRisk.
This approach places measurable performance at the centre of recognition, rewarding companies for their demonstrated achievements rather than their visibility or reputation alone.
Across its first five editions, the initiative generated more than 800 ESG ratings, reflecting growing engagement among Italian businesses in structured sustainability assessment.
The 2026 edition also expanded its recognition categories, introducing dedicated awards for supply chain sustainability and occupational health and safety.
These additions reflect an increasingly important reality: sustainability performance extends beyond an organisation’s direct operations to encompass its value chain, workforce, governance and long-term resilience.
Generation Impact Global: Turning ESG Data into Reusable Intelligence
A significant technological development highlighted during this year’s Sustainability Award was the introduction of a platform developed in collaboration with Generation Impact Global.
As reported by Forbes Italia, the solution uses artificial intelligence to transform information collected through the Award’s questionnaires into a structured data lake, enabling information to be reused to populate other questionnaires automatically.
The objective is straightforward but important: reduce repetitive ESG data collection, improve operational efficiency and allow companies to extract greater value from information they have already provided.
For many organisations, sustainability data management remains fragmented. Similar information is frequently requested by customers, financial institutions, investors, business partners and sustainability assessment initiatives, often through different questionnaires and reporting formats.
This creates duplicated work, additional administrative costs and potential inconsistencies.
At Generation Impact Global, we believe ESG information should not remain confined to individual questionnaires or reporting exercises.
Instead, organisations should be able to collect information, structure it, validate it and reuse it across different business and reporting requirements.
Our technology strategy focuses on three interconnected capabilities:
- AI-powered data processing: supporting the extraction, organisation and transformation of ESG information from documents and questionnaires.
- Data interoperability: enabling sustainability information to be mapped and reused across different frameworks, assessments and reporting requirements.
- Centralised ESG data management: helping organisations maintain structured sustainability information that can support reporting, analysis and business decisions.
The Sustainability Award collaboration illustrates how these capabilities can be applied to a practical business challenge: making sustainability assessments more efficient without requiring companies to repeatedly recreate the same information.
From ESG Reporting to Business Value
Another important development in the 2026 edition was the integration of financial, strategic and enterprise-value considerations into the ESG assessment reports.
This reflects a broader evolution in how businesses approach sustainability.
ESG performance is increasingly connected to financial resilience, operational efficiency, access to capital, supply chain relationships and long-term competitiveness.
The value of sustainability information therefore extends beyond regulatory reporting.
When structured and analysed effectively, ESG data can help organisations understand risks, identify improvement opportunities, monitor progress and support better-informed decisions.
For Generation Impact Global, this is central to our vision: transforming sustainability data from a reporting obligation into actionable business intelligence.
Technology can support that transition by connecting information that would otherwise remain distributed across documents, departments, systems and reporting processes.
Celebrating the Companies Leading Sustainable Transformation
The Sustainability Award 2026 recognised companies demonstrating progress across environmental, social, governance, innovation and strategic performance. In total, 16 companies received awards across the main categories. The full Top 100 and Top 75 rankings are published on the Sustainability Award website.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Sustainability Award Leader ESGFI | ITALCER S.p.A. Società Benefit |
| ESG Excellence: Environmental (under 250) | Palm S.p.A. Società Benefit |
| ESG Excellence: Social (under 250) | PAC S.p.A. |
| ESG Excellence: Governance (under 250) | FILA Solutions S.p.A. Società Benefit |
| ESG Excellence: Vision and Strategy | ROEN EST S.p.A. |
| ESG Excellence: Performance and Management | ICM S.p.A. |
| ESG Excellence: Environmental (over 250) | Nidec Conversion S.p.A. |
| ESG Excellence: Social (over 250) | Tesmec S.p.A. |
| ESG Excellence: Governance (over 250) | Jakala S.p.A. Società Benefit |
| ESG Performances: Environmental | Sapio Produzione Idrogeno Ossigeno S.r.l. |
| ESG Performances: Social | Industrie Celtex S.p.A. |
| ESG Performances: Governance | Markas S.r.l. |
| ESG Integrated Finance | Cartiere Carrara S.p.A. |
| ESG Supply Chain (new in 2026) | Molino Peila S.p.A. |
| ESG Health and Safety (new in 2026) | Smape S.r.l. |
| Innovation for Sustainability | Vastarredo S.r.l. |
Their achievements demonstrate the diversity of approaches through which sustainability can create business value, from decarbonisation and circular design to workforce wellbeing, responsible supply chains and stronger corporate governance.
We congratulate all the recognised companies, as well as every organisation that participated in the assessment process.
Their commitment demonstrates that sustainability is not simply about meeting expectations. It is about investing in stronger, more resilient and forward-looking businesses.
Building the Next Generation of ESG Data Management
Our collaboration with the Sustainability Award reflects Generation Impact Global’s commitment to making sustainability management more accessible, intelligent and scalable.
As ESG information becomes increasingly important across financial markets, supply chains and corporate decision-making, businesses need technology that reduces complexity rather than adding to it.
We see the future of sustainability management in connected data, interoperable systems and AI-assisted workflows that enable organisations to use their information more effectively.
We are proud to have contributed to the sixth edition of the Sustainability Award and grateful to Kon Group and the wider partner ecosystem for the opportunity to support this initiative.
Most importantly, we congratulate the participating companies whose work demonstrates that measurable sustainability progress and business excellence can advance together.
At Generation Impact Global, our mission remains simple: We make it easy to do better.
Source: Alice Iadecola, “Sustainability Award: il merito non ha giuria,” Forbes Italia, 20 October 2026.
