Some young students of economics, as well as some graying entrepreneurs and managers, will remember Peccei for having founded, along with other prominent figures, the Club of Rome, which was in fact the first international forum to address the issues of development on a global scale. The Limits to Growth caused quite a stir in 1972, the first visionary report issued by the Club of Rome, pointing out to the world that humanity should become aware, as soon as possible, of the fact that we live on a planet with very specific physical limits. That pioneering study had the merit of questioning what we now, half a century later, call the linear economy and its impacts on natural capital, highlighting the connections between environmental protection, energy use, the industrial model and population development. (To learn more about the figure and role of Aurelio Peccei, I recommend reading Eleonora Barbieri Masini's essay entitled "The Legacy of Aurelio Peccei and the Continuing Relevance of his Anticipatory Vision", available on the Club of Rome website).

In fact, in 2018, on the 50th anniversary of its founding, the Club of Rome once again brought together researchers from around the world for three days, emphasizing the need to move away from the linear economic model, one based on "take-make-dispose", and move on to a circular model. «As with consumer goods – the study states – the way we manage the Earth's resources is also very inefficient and is responsible for the production of huge amounts of waste. This leads to rapidly increasing levels of pollution, resource scarcity, loss of ecosystems as well as the economic value of every item we discard. Governments and businesses must work together to develop strategies in the use of resources: according to the new business logic, circular business models must replace linear ones».

On the back of a debate that has now become central to the daily life of every business, the energy transition is precisely what is now guiding the strategies and growth of our new MAIRE, which as early as 2018 – with the founding of NextChem – began its evolutionary journey with the goal of positioning itself as a global technology leader. In a scenario where companies play a key role in the concrete implementation of necessary changes (think, for example, of the allocation of NRRP funds), in 2023 our Group emerges as an integral agent for development, with a completely transformed organization. Capitalizing on what it has done so far, MAIRE has launched "Unbox the Future", to announce its 10-year growth plan and new two-business units reorganization to the market, focusing on new technologies on the one hand and its historic ability to build large energy infrastructure on the other. Capital Markets Day was an opportunity for MAIRE to portray its new identity, a rebranding journey that was necessary to support our new position, following our purpose of committing to a future «in which humanity, industry and the planet can all thrive».

In the words of Fabrizio Di Amato, «We are entering the second life of our Group and it is a new beginning, both for us and for me. We have established ourselves as a leading player in engineering, bringing together expertise and technology with more than 100 years of history». The great energy of the founder and his strong entrepreneurial sense of social responsibility are both apparent.

In a market that demands a new integrated approach, we need to demonstrate the ability to lead a broader ecosystem, one that is able to engage a wider range of stakeholders on a daily basis in order to accelerate the path to decarbonization. «MAIRE – said our CEO Alessandro Bernini – will need to be able to navigate the ecosystems of our target audiences, supporting them in their decision making. All while understanding their differences based on geographic area, regulatory agenda, available resources or technological focus». In the new organization, the area related to the heritage of technological solutions merges into Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS), while the major executive skills into the Integrated Engineering & Construction Solutions (IE&CS) division. In parallel, we need to accelerate the implementation of our sustainability strategy, which must penetrate every aspect of the company. Social sustainability continues to put people at the center of an inclusive and meritocratic path, but also the communities in which we operate, according to the Global Compact Manifesto on Social Dimension that we have recently committed to. In the area of environment, MAIRE's compass is MET ZERO 2030, which is the company's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality through a major rethinking of its production and organizational processes. We are also working with unwavering commitment on the issues of transparency, accountability and effectiveness of governance processes, upon which, moreover, more stringent parameters are being defined by regulatory authorities and supervisory bodies.

In addition to strategic and organizational change, it also includes aspects of language and storytelling. Each one of our people knows that MAIRE is in a phase of change, and their contribution is indispensable to achieving it. This is ultimately why this magazine was created in 2017, on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of the Group's public listing on the Milan stock exchange. We believed then, as we still believe today, that the magazine is a way for the whole "family" of our professionals to more fully share our vision toward the common goal of change. We have experienced firsthand the results that can be achieved by pooling everyone's energies. We have also realized that a business magazine can shape a culture, contributing to the debate on the new economy and our new society, its opportunities and its risks, opening itself up to some of the most original reflections which from time to time we intercept from the outside.