The study Competitive because sustainable, carried out jointly by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere, in collaboration with Dintec and the Guglielmo Tagliacarne Study Center, while not reflecting the full wealth of Italian eco-innovation, through the analysis of green patents, offers valuable insights into the sectors and territories where innovation is concentrated and allows for a deeper understanding of the link between green innovation and competitiveness. It was presented at the Ministry of Made in Italy by Ermete Realacci, President of the Symbola Foundation; Giuseppe Tripoli, Secretary General of Unioncamere; Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy; and Antonio Romeo, Director of Innovation and Digital at Unioncamere. Participants included Alessandra Barocci, Head of Environment at the Arvedi Group; Michele Bugliesi, CEO of Rara Factory; Giancarlo Ghidesi, co-founder and partner of REM TEC; Diego Mingarelli, CEO of Diasen; and Paola Sclafani, Energy Transition Portfolio Manager at Nextchem.
Italy ranks among the top three European countries in terms of the number of green patents and is also third in terms of the share of companies with patents out of the total number of companies (16.5 per 1,000 companies), after Germany (21.6) and Austria (18.9). This is an important figure that underestimates the dynamism of the production system, in which investments in sustainability are constantly growing, with 578,450 companies making eco-investments between 2019 and 2024 (38.7% of the total). This widespread innovation is not always translated into intellectual property rights, partly due to an industrial culture that is still not very oriented towards the systematic exploitation of research and development results.
Our country holds important patents in key sectors: sustainable mobility, where Italian patents account for 31% of the total number of patents relating to climate change mitigation; energy efficiency in construction, where we exceed the EU average; waste and wastewater management, a sector in which we have traditionally been among the most dynamic countries; and ICT technologies for climate mitigation, with a record increase of +270% over the last ten years.
The northern regions – Lombardia , Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Piemonte – are driving this trend, thanks to their manufacturing tradition and ability to transform research and industrial know-how into concrete solutions. Businesses are the main players, accounting for 81.9% of published applications, followed by individuals (12.9%), while institutions account for 5.2%.
Italy knows how to innovate and compete in environmental sectors – says Ermete Realacci, president of the Symbola Foundation – but it needs to scale up: it is necessary to invest more in research, support patenting capacity, strengthen technology transfer, and replicate the successful model of the circular economy in the areas of efficiency, electrification, and renewables. Only in this way can the country aspire to be a leader in European green innovation. The report ‘Competitive because sustainable’ by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere also highlights the link between green innovation and competitiveness. In fact, Italian companies that file patents in green technologies stand out for their significantly higher competitiveness compared to those that patent in other areas. Moreover, the inspiration for the title of this work comes from Article 9 of the Constitution, which Carlo Azeglio Ciampi described as the most original part of our constitutional system: a unique article because it brings together culture, historical and artistic heritage, scientific and technical research, and, more recently, environmental protection. The greatest source of renewable and non-polluting energy is human intelligence.
Italy has made great strides in green patenting (+44.4% between 2012 and 2022) but still lags significantly behind Germany and France – points out Unioncamere Secretary General Giuseppe Tripoli. Behind every patent is an investment in research and innovation by companies, universities, and research centers, but investment is not enough if intellectual property is not protected by patents. Increasingly, the credit and finance system also values patent ownership as an asset of companies’ capital for the granting of loans.
Analyzing the sectoral distribution of Italian applications for European patents in the green sector, manufacturing remains the main driver of innovation (59.0%), followed by sectors related to scientific research (18.8%), telecommunications and IT (6.6%), wholesale trade (3.5%), and construction (3.5%).
In terms of technological areas, there is a strong presence of solutions related to the digitization of production processes and the efficient management of energy and environmental resources (12.0%). These are a set of innovations that contribute to sustainability by improving the efficiency of internal processes and reducing consumption, waste, and emissions. This is followed by technologies for measuring and testing electrical and magnetic variables (7.3%), which are crucial solutions for ensuring high energy performance and accurate control of electrical infrastructure. The third most important area is technologies for the treatment of wastewater, sewage, and sludge (6.5%). This sector confirms the centrality of sustainable water management policies, which are increasingly strategic in a context of growing attention to environmental protection. This is followed by technologies related to bicycles and micro-mobility vehicles, concerning frames, steering systems, suspensions, and various devices that make these vehicles increasingly efficient and competitive. The fifth area is energy, which includes solutions for alternating or direct current distribution networks, battery management and charging systems, multi-source power supply, and even technologies for wireless energy transmission.
The study also highlights the link between green innovation and competitiveness: Italian companies that file patents in green technologies stand out for their significantly higher competitiveness compared to those that patent in other (non-green) areas. They generate much higher turnover per company (€382 million per company compared to €41 million for non-green companies) and record higher productivity (€144,000 of added value per employee compared to €92,000). In terms of exports, more than half (57.8%) export, generating over €63 billion, with a strong diversification of reference markets. In addition, human capital is more qualified, with a higher proportion of graduates (29.7%, of which 16.7% in STEMplus disciplines). Finally, these companies attract more foreign capital: 41.9% have foreign shareholdings, compared to 31.7% of non-green companies.
The full report can be found at www.symbola.net and www.unioncamere.gov.it
