La rendicontazione di sostenibilità nell’era dell’Industria 4.0. Un caso di studio

ABSTRACT: (SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN THE ERA OF INDUSTRY 4.0. A CASE STUDY). A commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability is no longer sufficient. In order to best achieve strategic objectives, including improving relations with stakeholders, companies must necessarily be able to report and communicate this commitment. From this perspective, acquiring skills and training in new techniques, methods and tools for effective sustainability reporting and communication becomes essential. This study aimed to advance research into corporate sustainability reporting and communication by considering the potential use of Industry 4.0 technologies for this purpose. A case study was conducted to verify the use of such technologies in sustainability reporting and disclosure and to identify the specific technologies employed for these activities. A semi-structured interview was conducted with representatives of an Italian company operating in the information technology sector using the focus group methodology. In addition, administering a questionnaire to employees of the sampled company, information was obtained regarding the level of use of enabling technologies in sustainability reporting and disclosure, the most widely used technologies, the potential of I4.0 technologies in sustainability reporting, and possible drivers and barriers to their use for these purpose. The results reveal that the sample company has widely adopted Industry 4.0 technologies, as they are considered useful for supporting sustainability engagement and suitable for implementing sustainability reporting and disclosure processes. The results also revealed that artificial intelligence and blockchain were the most widely used technologies. While this remains an exploratory study, it could inform further research into the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies in corporate sustainability reporting and disclosure.