Sustainable Finestra+ Project: SME Identity and Communication

Sustainable Finestra+ Project: SME Identity and Communication 15 June 2023, H-Farm of Roncade: Consorzio LegnoLegno presents Finestra +, the first national project dedicated to sustainable windows and doors.

How difficult is it to answer the question “Who are you?”. It is a dilemma already on a personal level, even more so on a company level, understood as an organism of different people who work every day on the production of something that meets the needs of a certain market. Often the answer, so difficult because it involves identity, involuntarily satisfies another type of request, a "What do you do?": "I am x and I do x within a company x that does x".

Becoming aware of oneself within a complex organism such as a company and feeling an active part in achieving a common goal is the first step towards personal and consequently corporate growth. Without identity it is difficult to build something positive, long-lasting and constantly evolving.

SMEs, often family-run, carry forward an identity that is handed down from generation to generation and which is expressed in a succession of actions, but which is often invisible to the eyes of those who work there internally and even more so to those who have an external vision (buyers, suppliers, financiers, etc...). It is an invisible identity because it is taken for granted.

Recognizing one's identity and characteristic traits, which translate into a competitive advantage in the market, is the first step to embracing sustainability in its complexity and multidimensionality (environmental, social and governance). Investing in sustainability means becoming aware of your identity, from which comes respect for yourself, the environment, society, the future of the company and the people who allow its existence every day. A company can be like a family, where everyone works together carefully so that the house doesn't collapse.

Once this starting point has been metabolised, the challenge is to communicate, both internally and externally. Few SMEs declare that they have an internal figure who specifically deals with communication. Often the issue is delegated to agencies, which use more or less standardized methods. And even more often communication is relegated to one's "green" commitment, which manifests itself in the choice of the color green within one's channels. Nature has thousands of shades of color that can be used to communicate not only one's green commitment but also the cohesion and passion of those who work in a company. And many other things.

The advantages of good external communication are mostly known, but it is internal communication that is often underestimated. Transmitting corporate culture allows the company to become a self-sufficient and responsible organism, less tied to the figure of the owner/manager and increasingly fluid in its operations and ability to introduce innovations.

Speaking in metaphors is important for understanding each other. For this reason, LegnoLegno has decided to involve, within the event of 15 June in H-Farm, Alessia Caroni - AIS Sommelier, juror in International Competitions, Export manager of various wine companies - to talk about the future of sustainable wine. An opportunity to combine business with pleasure but above all to create interesting and non-trivial parallels between two sectors that are apparently very distant but which in reality have many aspects in common: from the raw materials used in the production process, to the mostly family-run management, to the rootedness in the territory.

Through the story of three wineries projected towards the future - which in the wine sector is organic - and the tasting of as many bottles, a wonderful moment of sharing was created between all the participants and a pleasant duet between Alessandro Mora and Alessia Caroni, which brought out connections between wineries and companies in the wooden window and door industry.

The long production process using advanced technologies of a Maso Martis sparkling wine - classic method Blanc de Blanc, 100% Chardonnay - a process lasting years before disgorgement of the yeasts - has opened a reflection on the capacity for innovation of some companies in the wooden window and door industry : CloudFabric and DDX, which optimize the processing of pieces in the plant, in order to limit machine movements, Fantacci and Finiture, which introduce process and product innovations to save electrical and thermal energy, Working Process, which uses detection systems and optimization of the energy consumption of the systems.

The strong and particular character - with mineral hints and fruity notes of peaches in syrup and plum - of a Vernaccia di San Gimignano from the Il Palagione winery and the experiments on the recycling of materials (dark bottles in recycled glass, caps made from cane waste sugar, recycled cardboard for packaging) offered an opportunity to talk about the relevance of recycled materials in some companies in the wood supply chain, such as the experiments on recycled glass produced from renewable sources by Saint - Gobain.

The particular treatment of the Sangiovese di Monteriggioni raw material, with fruity hints of ripe plum and barrel wood, from the Assunta farm - consisting of a first waste harvest to allow the remaining bunches a greater concentration and therefore a greater body, in the cultivation of sapling vineyards, according to the maps of 200 years before, in the use of leguminous plants and flowers to provide the soil with the necessary elements, in the leavening in the open barrel field and in the subsequent leavening in wooden barrels - he called in question Gilardi Legnami, which supplies wood which naturally stores CO2 for its entire life cycle, coming from certified forests, Cherry Williams, which uses renewable raw materials for its water-based paints which allow a cut in CO2 emissions of approximately 45%, Mungo Italia which carefully respects legislation and sustainability protocols.

Opening your mind and welcoming change is fundamental for the growth of SMEs and taking inspiration from realities even distant from your own is an excellent starting point.