In its Europe 2020 Strategy, the European Commission gives a precise definition of what it means by "sustainable growth", one of its priorities: "Sustainable growth means building a more competitive low-carbon economy that makes efficient, sustainable use of resources, protecting the environment, reducing emissions and preventing biodiversity loss, capitalising on Europe's leadership in developing new green technologies and production methods, introducing efficient smart electricity grids harnessing EU-scale networks to give our businesses (especially small manufacturing firms) an additional competitive advantage, improving the business environment, in particular for SMEs, helping consumers make well-informed choices" (Note 1).
Two concepts that were apparently incompatible up until some decades ago-competitiveness and sustainability-now build off each other's strengths. In the definitions provided by glossaries for macroeconomics, an enterprise's competitiveness was once upon a time considered to be synonymous with maximising profits: "the ability to sell favourable quantities whilst making favourable profits", and for businesses the concept was linked to the idea of competition and rivalries. The concept is now being re-examined, going back to the word's Latin roots cum-petere. The verb petere contains the idea of action, not necessarily hostile action; it is the idea of asking for something, aspiring to something, reaching out and also hitting; the preposition cum mainly has the meaning of joining as opposed to contrasting, although when it indicates union in particular, it can mean at the same time either joining or separating, agreement or disagreement (Cellini, Soci, 2008). The European Commission intends to take the collaborative sense of the word onboard; no longer should there be competition at all costs with irresponsible exploitation of resources, but the conditions should be created to permit European businesses to prosper, giving them the help they need to maximise their contribution towards sustainable growth.
For an enterprise, sustainable growth means reconciling quality of life with economic development and with making profits. The company has to guarantee the resources used are renewable, the environment respected and that world social dynamics are kept in balance.
For businesses, profits and ethics can come together if ethics serve to guide choices.
It is from here that the new, organic view of the relationship between business and society comes forth. It is a view that focuses on the social integration of the role of the enterprise, using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tools to plan and account for actions. It is clear that no one business is able to solve all of society's problems, nor to deal with the costs involved in doing so, but all of them should choose and deal with the questions which are most relevant to their specific area of business with a sense of social responsibility. In this way a relationship can be developed through which an enterprise's success and a community's success, in the widest sense of the term, boost each other (Conti, 2011).
Traditionally considered the prerogative of large enterprises, Corporate Social Responsibility is now also fundamental for SMEs and constitutes an essential objective towards the improvement of the Italian and European economic systems (Note 2).
If responsible behaviour by companies is essential in order to inspire confidence in the market economy, then identifying specific investment and employment strategies is also necessary. What is the solution? Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, writes that "the answer is to find common solutions to the grave challenges facing us. And when it comes to two of the most serious - the financial crisis and climate change - that answer is the green economy".
The green economy is, as a matter of fact, a development model which focuses on the creation of jobs, the promotion of sustainable economic growth, and the prevention of environmental pollution and of global warming through efficient use of the available natural and other types of resources. An integral part of the green economy are those components of the traditional economic sectors which aim to reduce their use of traditional energy sources in order to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases into the biosphere.
The following pages aim to provide some statistical information which, as well as analysing the economic situation of Veneto enterprises, will gauge the situation with regards Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)-the subject of the Europe 2020 Strategy-and will provide an overview of data regarding the environmental awareness of enterprises and the green economy.

The number of active enterprises in Italy in 2010 was essentially stable. The year saw more than 410,000 new businesses and 389,000 failures. The number of failures was significantly lower than in 2009 (18,000 fewer). In 2010 the business population (Note 3) increased overall for the first time since 2006, with the birth rate (Note 4) higher than the death rate (Note 5) (7.8% and 7.4% respectively). Once again it was corporations that contributed the most to this increase in population as they increased by 2.8% in the last year; other forms of companies, such as cooperatives and consortiums, also increased by 2.6% between 2009 and 2010. The drop in sole traders also slowed down; in the last year these decreased by only 0.6% compared to a 1.6% decrease in 2009. Partnerships saw the biggest decrease in 2010, down 1.2% in the year.
The traditional sectors, industry and agriculture, have continued to shrink in favour of the services sector which was, once again, the only sector to have ended the year with an increase in the number of active enterprises. The tertiary sector shows its vitality in particular in business services (Note 6) and in accommodation and catering services, each of which increased by 2.6% per year, and in personal services (health +4.3%, education +3.7%, other social and personal services +2.1%).
The craft sector did not pick itself up as other Italian enterprises did recently: the trend for craft-type enterprises continued to be negative throughout 2010, with a difference of -0.5% in the business population, and a 0.5% decrease in the number of active craft-type enterprises as well.
In 2010, more than half of the Italian regions managed to counteract the economic problems of the previous year, finishing the year with a positive variation on the number of active enterprises. In first place were Lazio, Umbria and Puglia, which had an average annual percentage variation in active enterprises equal to or higher than 0.5%. Sicilia, Sardegna and Marche saw the largest negative variations (-1.4%, -0.6% and -0.5% respectively). (Figure 3.1.1).
Veneto has embarked on the long road to recovery that will restore its business population to pre-crisis levels. In 2010, the number of Veneto's active enterprises stayed more or less the same, -0.2% compared to the previous year. If we exclude the primary sector then the variation of active enterprises from 2009 to 2010 was positive at +0.3%.
The main indicators on business population show that Veneto is picking itself up: the ratio between new businesses and failures was finally positive again in 2010 as, after 3 years, the birth rate of enterprises (7.01%) was again higher than the death rate (6.95%).
Veneto enterprises also made up 8.7% of enterprises in Italy in 2010; Veneto sits in third place with Lazio, after Lombardia and Campania, for the share of active enterprises out of the national total.
The slow decrease in sole traders (-0.9% per year) and in partnerships (-0.6%) continued in 2010. These types of enterprises still make up an important share of Veneto businesses however: 59.6% of Veneto enterprises are sole traders and 21.1% partnerships. Corporations showed a good increase in the last year at +2.1% (making up a share of 17.8% of Veneto enterprises), as did enterprises in the minor kinds of ownership, +1.6% per year (making up 1.5% of enterprises). (Figure 3.1.2).
The two sectors which shrank the most in 2009 due to the problems with the market-agriculture and industry-were not able to make up for lost ground in 2010 either: the primary sector lost 2.8% of its active enterprises in the last year, industry in the narrow sense lost 1.5% and construction 0.9%. At the same time, the services sector proved particularly healthy. Enterprises in this sector grew by 1.3% in 2010, continuing towards consolidating the position of services in Veneto; in 2010 services made up 53.3% of Veneto's total enterprises. In the last ten years, services increased both in terms of the share of enterprises and in the share of value added in the regional aggregate; industry on the other hand, even though it gained a few more percentage points in the distribution per sector of active enterprises, lost out on the share of value added. The primary sector decreased in both of those areas.
The biggest increases in 2010 were in business services and accommodation and catering services, which grew by +2.6% and +2.5% per year respectively; the increase in personal services was also quite significant at +2.5% for education, +5.3% for health and social care, and +2.1% for other personal services. The financial and trade sectors increased slightly (+1.3% and +0.5% respectively compared to 2009), while the transport sector is still not showing any signs of improvement, ending 2010 with a 1.7% annual decrease. (Figure 3.1.3) and (Figure 3.1.4)
Within the manufacturing industry, the only two sectors which increased in 2009, the mechanicalindustry and the food industry, also showed signs of difficulty in 2010: during the year they lost 1.7% and 0.5% of their active enterprises in Veneto respectively. The situation is also negative for two sectors which make up a large share of production in Veneto: the metal industry ended 2010 with a 2.4% reduction in the number of active enterprises, and enterprises in the fashion industry decreased by 2.3% in the year. The wood, printing and paper, optics and electronics, and the chemical-pharmaceutical industries have also seen a one to two percentage point reduction in the number of active enterprises: the wood, paper and printing industry lost 1.9% of its active enterprises, optics and electronics lost 1.6%, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry 1.1%. Vehicle construction, which makes up no more than 2% of Veneto industry, was the only one to keep the same number of active enterprises in 2010 as in the previous year. (Figure 3.1.5).
If we look at enterprises within the provinces we can see that production is doing well in Vicenza, drawing its strength from its active enterprises' predisposition towards international trade, as these enterprises provide almost 30% of total exports from Veneto, despite constituting just 16.8% of the region's enterprises. Production is fairly stable in Belluno and Padova, whereas the biggest decreases are to be seen in Verona, Treviso and Venezia; enterprises in Venezia in particular underwent a 0.9% decrease in 2010, which is mainly down to the agricultural sector and partly to the industrial sector. (Figure 3.1.6)
In 2010 the craft sector managed to put the brakes on the strong decreases it had seen during the previous two years, as it ended the year with a 0.4% decrease in the number of craft-type enterprises. The sectors that kept craft-type enterprises afloat in Veneto were, once again, business services and accommodation and catering services (+5.6% and +5.3% per year respectively), followed by social and personal services, excluding education and health (+1.2%). The main sectors covered by craft-type enterprises in Veneto are still showing signs of the financial crisis however: the year ended with -1.4% for the manufacturing industry and -0.7% for construction, sectors which together make up more than 70% of craft-type enterprises in the region. Financial strain also persisted throughout 2010 for transport (-2.9% per year) and for agriculture (-1.7%). In contrast with previous years the craft sector in Veneto closed 2010 in a better state than at a national level (-0.5%). Data at a regional level show that, of the regions with a high share of craft-type enterprises out of the national total, Emilia Romagna saw the largest decrease, while Lombardia, Veneto, Piemonte, Toscana and Lazio all ended the year with variations that were better than or in line with the national trend. (Table 3.1.1)

Back in 2008 the European Commission published the Small Business Act (SBA), which came into being from the desire to recognise the central role played by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European economy, a role which has now been confirmed by the Europe 2020 Strategy. The European production system counted more than 20 million SMEs in 2008, providing employment for 67% of private sector employees. This means that policies need to be introduced to support the growth and the consolidation of small and medium-sized enterprises, making the most of their potential for growth, for innovation and for the creation of job opportunities, in line with the priorities set out by Europe 2020. Some of the guidelines for Member States include working towards objectives such as smart regulations enabling SMEs to concentrate on their main business activities, as well as easier access to credit and support in order to make the most of the opportunities provided by the single market.
Small and medium-sized enterprises, i.e. enterprises with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover which does not exceed 50 million euro, or an annual balance sheet total of no more than 43 million euro (Note 7), have formed the backbone of economic development in most European countries, providing an extremely important source of employment and economic growth in each area. In 2008 small and medium-sized enterprises made up 99.8% of total production in the non-financial sectors in EU27, employing two thirds of total workers. Nine small and medium-sized enterprises out of ten have fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of 2 million euro, thus placing them within the category of micro-enterprises. As micro-enterprises are so important in Europe, the acronym SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) is having to be modified to MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).
European Commission data show that between 2002 and 2008 SMEs were the main driving force behind European business development: growth in the number of SMEs from 2002 to 2008 was consistently faster than that of larger enterprises. Number of employees provides an even clearer comparison; it increased by more than twice as much in SMEs than in large firms for the same time period (+1.9% in SMEs, +0.8% in large firms).
Value added at factor cost increased in European SMEs by 4.2% per year on average from 2002 to 2008, compared to a slightly lower increase in value added in large firms at 3.9% per year on average. (Table 3.2.1)
The faster growth in value added compared to employment caused labour productivity to increase greatly during the period in question; this time the greater difference is in large firms: average annual growth in labour productivity from 2002-2008 was 2.3% for small and medium-sized enterprises and 3.1% for large firms.
The sectors with the highest share of SMEs are construction, trade, hotels and restaurants, business services and transport. These are the same sectors which registered a greater increase in employment from 2002 to 2008.
The effects of the recent economic crisis can be seen from the Eurostat estimates, reported by the European Commission (Note 8), which calculate that the number of employees of SMEs will decrease, but that this decrease will slowly peter out, from -1.9% in 2009 to -0.5% for the current year, 2011. Value added of SMEs, which dropped by 5.5% in 2009, will pick up by 0.9% in 2010 and by 1.9% in 2011.
Italy, like some other Mediterranean and Scandinavian countries such as France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Finland, by tradition has a lot of micro-enterprises spread throughout the country. Italy and France also both have a lot of craft-type enterprises, making up 27% and 23% of European craft-type enterprises respectively (Ministry for Economic Development, 2010). We will now take a look at the size and characteristics of SMEs in Veneto.
Italy was one of the first European countries to put into practice the European Commission's indications, setting out in 2010 its Directive on the Small Business Act, which introduces production policy for MSMEs to complement the industrial policy aimed above all at large firms. The Directive regards in particular support for innovation and internationalisation, the facilitation of access to credit, the simplifying of relationships between enterprises and the public administration, the spread of business networks, and support for participation in state and regional incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises. Particular attention will be paid to female entrepreneurs, craft-type and foreign entrepreneurs.
Some of the initiatives taken on by the regional government in Veneto for SMEs have to do with helping with investments in new SMEs run by young people and in those run mainly by women, instituting revolving funds to support SMEs, and making contributions towards consultation services which aim to provide SMEs with certifications.
In Veneto in 2008 there were 406,011 small and medium-sized enterprises, excluding the agricultural sector. They make up 99.8% of the whole business system: large firms, despite the fact there are no more than 800, nevertheless constitute 18.7% of private employment in Veneto.
More than 92% of SMEs have fewer than 10 employees and less than 2 million in turnover per year, putting them into the category of micro-enterprises. Micro-enterprises provide employment for 42.4% of all workers in Veneto.
There are 26,793 small enterprises in Veneto, 6.6% of the SMEs. Half of these have a turnover of less than 2 million euro a year, but they do have more than 10 employees; 23.5% of employed persons in Veneto work for a small enterprise.
Medium-sized enterprises count for just 1%, with a share of 15.3% of total Veneto employees. More than 1,000 of the 4,224 medium-sized enterprises in Veneto have a turnover of less than 10 million euro per year, although they do have up to 250 employees. (Table 3.2.2) and (Table 3.2.3)
In comparison with 2000, the share of SMEs in Veneto has stayed fairly stable (it has lost one tenth of a percentage point), whereas the distribution of employees has seen more significant changes: from 2000 to 2008 the share of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises dropped by 4 percentage points, from 85.3% to 81.3% in the last year. The share of medium-sized enterprises proved stable throughout the time period in question (15.3% of total enterprises), whereas the categories of small and micro-enterprises each lost 2 percentage points in the last 8 years.
In 2008 the SMEs in the services and construction sectors were almost exclusively micro-enterprises (95%); two thirds of the SMEs in the manufacturing industry were micro-enterprises, 21.2% were small enterprises and the remaining 4% were medium-sized enterprises. (Table 3.2.4)
Given that there are many sole traders with one employee or at least with a very limited number of employees, it is useful to provide some information on the enterprises which have a minimum of 3 employees. They are probably the ones which are not able to be completely flexible when dealing with difficult situations and are more sensitive to industrial policy actions. Overall there are 115,561 SMEs with at least 3 employees: 26.5% of these are in manufacturing, 14.2% in construction and 59.3% in services. Excluding therefore the enterprises with fewer than 3 employees, the small and medium-sized enterprises take on more importance: the 30,577 SMEs belonging to the industry in a narrow sense sector are fairly well distributed between micro-enterprises (57.1%) and small enterprises (36.1%), with an increase in the share of medium-sized enterprises (6.8%). In the construction sector (16,379 SMEs) and the services sector (68,605 SMEs) the share of micro-enterprises lowers to around 80%; small enterprises now make up more than one sixth of SMEs and the share of medium-sized enterprises is also increasing: 1.4% in construction and 2.6% for services.

SMEs in the manufacturing sector

The manufacturing sectors with the highest share overall of SMEs in Veneto are the wood, paper and printing industry, the jewellery, furniture and sports goods industries, the metal industry and the fashion sector, in all of which more than 99% are small or medium-sized enterprises.
Let us now limit our analysis to SMEs and look into the size class of enterprises. We find the highest shares of micro-enterprises in the wood, paper and printing industry, as well as in the jewellery, furniture and sports goods industries and in the food industry; in each of these sectors, as a matter of fact, micro-enterprises make up more than 80% of total enterprises. The metal, optics and electronics, chemicals, rubber, plastic and vehicles industries contain a lower share of micro-enterprises, with more small enterprises (more than one enterprise out of four) and more medium-sized enterprises (more than 6% of enterprises). (Figure 3.2.2)

Kinds of ownership

A look at distribution by kind of ownership of the total Veneto enterprises by size class shows that there are many structural differences. Micro-enterprises, which make up more than 90% of the total, can be broken down further: 64.7% sole traders, 21.6% partnerships, and 13.1% corporations. When we look at small enterprises, the share of corporations already shoots up to 60%, 25.3% are partnerships and just 10% are sole traders. Medium-sized enterprises are very similar to large firms as far as kind of ownership is concerned; in both of these size classes the share of corporations is over 85% and the other forms of ownership make up over 9%.
In the industrial sector, micro-enterprises differ slightly from the situation that has just been described: corporations and partnerships cover a higher share of total enterprises with 17.8% and 30% respectively, and there are fewer sole traders, just 51.7%. In contrast, in the construction sector, micro-enterprises are divided into 71% sole traders, 15.7% partnerships and 12.3% corporations. (Figure 3.2.3)

Craft-type enterprises

Craft-type SMEs make up 32.9% of SMEs in Veneto and 33.5% of micro-enterprises.
There is a high share of craft-type enterprises in the SMEs of the industry sector (70.4%) and of the construction sector (81.9%); if we focus only on micro-enterprises then the share of craft-type enterprises is even higher in these sectors (81.3% and 84.4% respectively).
In the tertiary sector the situation is very different: less than one enterprise in six out of SMEs in services is a craft-type. (Table 3.2.5)

In the last few years, the awareness of the important role played by environmental issues within an integrated strategy of area management and economic development has continued to increase greatly, both amongst operators working in the industrial sector and amongst the general public.
Many enterprises, from 1991 on, have adhered to the "Business Charter for Sustainable Development" (Note 9) promoted by the International Chamber of Commerce. In terms of management, adhering to this charter means including environmental practices as a priority for the company. It entails continually improving environmental behaviour and performance, training and motivating employees to conduct their activities in an environmentally responsible manner, assessing and limiting the environmental impact of activities, promoting environmentally sound technological innovations and research, fostering dialogue with employees and the public to address environmental concerns together, and guiding clients, suppliers and contractors in the correct management of products and services.
These commitments do not automatically lead to sustainability, but they certainly encourage it.
Enterprises which contribute towards eco-friendliness guarantee their own survival and development in the long term and can take advantage of eco-efficiency to increase their competitiveness. For large-scale multinationals the need for sustainability can be clearly understood, for other enterprises, taken on an individual basis, an incentive towards eco-friendliness can only come from public policies or from the market. Furthermore, being in possession of a quality management system for a broad spectrum and having it certified by a licensed organisation is a necessary requirement for participatation in tender bids.

The EMAS certificate

In order to raise awareness of environmental themes within industry and to foster clear and credible communication with all interested parties, on 29th June 1993 the European Community established Regulation 1836 regarding the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Enterprises in the industrial sector choose voluntarily to adhere to the European scheme of eco-management. The idea behind EMAS (Note 10) is to create within enterprises an improvement in environmental quality, working to timeframes and criteria that depend more on pressure from competitors and social aspects than on external regulations. In fact, requirements for adherence to EMAS include conforming to relevant environmental legislation and a commitment by the parent company to continually work towards improving the enterprise's environmental performance. (Figure 3.3.1).
On 31st December 2010 there were 7,794 sites (Note 11) of 4,542 organisations in the European Union with EMAS certificates. This shows that companies are becoming much more sensitive to the issue as in 1998 the overall number of certificates (Note 12) was 2,140. In 2010 Italy had 1,460 production sites and 1,035 organisations with EMAS certificates. This makes it one of the scheme's more advanced countries, putting it in third place in Europe behind Germany with 1,906 certified sites and 1,402 organisations, and Spain with 1,542 sites and 1,228 organisations. (Figure 3.3.2).
ISPRA (Note 13) registered 82 sites and 60 organisations in Veneto with EMAS certifications on 31st December 2010. Public administration is the main sector involved, followed by the tourism, chemicals, energy, waste collection and management, and mechanical sectors. The increase in the number of certifications in public administration shows that there is a cultural change in process: institutions publicly demonstrate their commitment to the environment and become spokespersons for environmental awareness.

ISO certificates and other quality standards

ISO 14000 is another important environmental certification tool for enterprises and it refers to a series of international standards regarding environmental performance.
In 1996 the ISO 14001 European standard on environmental management systems was issued; it contributed towards helping businesses understand the importance of adhering to voluntary agreements geared towards environmental certification. ISO 14001 sets out the requirements for an "environmental management system" in any organisation. ISO 14001 certificates (in Italy - UNI EN ISO 14001:2004) are awarded by certification agencies; these agencies must be accredited by ACCREDIA (Note 14) to vouch for their quality.
An ISO 14001 certificate does not certify any one particular environmental performance, nor does it attest to a particularly low environmental impact, but it ascertains that the organisation being certified has a suitable management system that will keep its environmental impact under control and that it is attempting to improve this aspect in a coherent, efficient and most of all, sustainable way.
EMAS and ISO 14001 have similar aims and requirements; both of them provide potential advantages such as improving the company's image on the market and in the eyes of the local authorities, increasing the company's value, optimising use of energy and resources, and enabling companies to become suppliers to foreign enterprises, especially in Germany where companies require certificates from their suppliers. Adhering to EMAS standards requires more commitment and is more binding than the ISO 14001 certification however. The environmental declaration implies a commitment towards the public which must be respected both in terms of times and of content. This is why companies tend to prefer to stop at the ISO 14001 certification.
In 2010 (Note 15) 12,371 sites in Italy and 1,032 sites in Veneto were certified under the ISO 14001 standard. (Figure 3.3.3) and (Figure 3.3.4)
If we look at the data in terms of economic sectors (Note 16), Veneto is on a level with the best of the rest of Italy: the public services sector has 12% of certified regional production sites, followed by trade with 11.4%, the metal industry with 10%, and transport and logistics with 6.3%.
Respect for sustainable development is shown by an enterprise not only through environmental questions, but also by guaranteeing ever-improving quality in production. The implementation of a quality management system is a strategic choice for an enterprise; the main aim is to meet client needs and expectations with more efficient organisation, which will earn advantages in terms of competitiveness and product quality, while protecting the local area. This can be demonstrated by the expanding quality certifications under the ISO standards guaranteed by ACCREDIA. Besides ISO 14001, Accredia provides the certification of quality management systems according to certain generic or sector-specific regulations (Note 17); the certification of occupational health and safety management systems (OHSAS 18001); the certification of information security management systems (BS 7799 - ISO 27001); and the certification of food safety management systems (ISO 22000).
Available data on business quality management systems showed Veneto to be in second place in terms of quality certificates, after Lombardia: in 2010 13,357 production sites in Veneto (Note 18) had quality certificates, 10.6% of the total certified sites in Italy and around 3% of the total local units in the region. (Figure 3.3.5)
Both at a national and regional level, the economic sector with the most certified sites is construction, and the building and installation of facilities sector. In Veneto the manufacturing sectors with most certifications are the metalworking, car and electrical and mechanical equipment manufacturing, rubber and plastic production sectors and the food industry. In the services sector, trade, professional business services, logistics and health stand out.

The green economy has led to the creation of a global market for environmentally-friendly goods and services. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines this sector as the ensemble of activities geared towards "producing goods and services that are used, or can potentially be used to measure, prevent, limit or correct environmental damage to water, air, soil as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems. This includes technologies, products and services that reduce environmental risk and minimise pollution and the use of resources."
The term green economy therefore integrates all the green policies set out by institutions, the green management carried out by businesses, the development of green technology within the research world, green-oriented consumers and green jobs.
The development of a green economy can contribute significantly towards regional growth through the creation of jobs and through encouraging enterprises in the region to export.  It can serve to improve the enterprise's competitive standing through the adoption of innovative products and services to increase industrial productivity while keeping the environmental impact low. The global market for environmental goods and services is enormous and is growing rapidly.
(Note 19) There are not any precise indications as yet as to how to classify an enterprise as "green", making it impossible to quantify the phenomenon. It seemed useful, however, to be able to determine the potential for the development of a green economy in Veneto in the short and medium term. For this reason the Bak Basel economics research institute analysed the growth performance of the sectors linked to the green economy and compared Veneto with other regions that have long been considered its competitors, ones with very similar economies or which stood out for their awareness of environmental matters: Rhône-Alpes, Manchester, Munich, Baden-Württemberg, Central Finland, Sweden, Catalonia, Lombardia, Piemonte, Emilia Romagna, Puglia (Note 20), and Toscana.
A close analysis of the literature on the subject makes it possible to identify the nine most important sectors: the primary sector; chemicals; mechanical; manufacturing of electrical appliances, radio and television and communications equipment; production and distribution of electrical energy, gas, steam and warm water; construction; Research and Development; professional activities and business consultancy; and disposal of solid waste, water-purification and the like. The Bak institute used information on these sectors as a whole in order to be able to compare different regions, but elsewhere in this report, in the chapter on work (number 11) we will take a more in-depth look at certain, more specific subsectors, which can be defined as "green" with regards employment.
Leadership and a high quality performance in these sectors can form the basis for a green market, where a territory can become the main producer of machinery for renewable energy and can set its sights on exports. This role is currently held by German regions, where just two companies (Note 21) hold 26% of the world market in the production of solar panels.
The sectors above were also identified through an analysis of the bioenergy market. It is more difficult to determine a world leader in the biomass market because there are many technologies used to transform biomass into energy; in fact, this is the only source which can be used to produce heat, electricity and fuel. Producing this type of energy involves various production chains: the agricultural sector, industrial production, waste management, transport, planning and installation. The sectors mentioned are analysed as a whole, looking at the relative dynamics with regards employment and value added. The basic assumption is that a higher performance in the sectors taken into account equals a stronger pull factor for future investments.
The value added of the sectors taken as a whole equals over one quarter of overall economic production for the German regions, the French Rhône-Alpes and Central Finland. Apart from Sweden, Manchester and Toscana, the employment share ranges from 26% to 30%. The sectors linked to the green economy cover a little over 20% of total GDP in Veneto and almost 27% of the total workforce.
Average annual growth in value added is fairly dynamic for Central Finland and Sweden, which are amongst the most active areas in terms of the green economy. 
An analysis of average annual growth in employment gives different results: Sweden, Central Finland and the German regions have a more limited employment growth in these sectors than Veneto and than the Italian regions in general. The difference between effects on employment and on value added is a figure that pops up fairly often. The reason for this reflects the nature of the Italian production structure, which is limited by low productivity and which tries not to fall out of step with other European countries in terms of GDP through policies which aim to increase the availability of jobs. However, a high level of employment growth in sectors related to the green economy may well prove very useful for future development as, once the green economy gets underway, enterprises working in these sectors will already have an available workforce to help satisfy market demand in as little time as possible. Under these conditions it is also easier for enterprises working in a sector to expand their supply to include green products.
Of the areas looked at, performance in Veneto was very high in the construction sector. A good level of development in this field could lead to savings in energy and to sustainable housing throughout the region. Despite the fact that housing has been experiencing a decline in the last two years, in Veneto in 2009 it contributed 6.1% to regional wealth and it is a sector with higher potential than in other regions.  Furthermore, the housing market is heading towards a more all-encompassing view of environmental impact, which includes criteria on liveability, respect for the surrounding area and reducing energy wastage by making use of the most modern green building techniques. (Figure 3.4.1).
The waste disposal sector in Italy has also been growing steadily over the last few years with growth rates ranging between 2% and 4%. Obviously its contribution to GDP compared to the main sectors of Italy's traditional manufactured goods and traditional services is practically negligible but it has shown a fair amount of growth in Veneto, 3.3% from 2000 to 2009. All of the Italian regions analysed, except for Lombardia, perform well in this sector, an indication that investments have already been put in place that could certainly have a positive impact on the biomass sector.
Italy's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) has shown that overall spending on environmental investments (Note 22) in 2008 on a national scale by enterprises in industry in a narrow sense equalled 1,853 million euro, of which 1,464 million was on investments in end-of-pipe plants and equipment (Note 23) and 389 million euro was on integrated technology plants and equipment (Note 24). The share of investments in environmental protection out of total fixed gross investments carried out by enterprises equalled 3.8%.
Data from 2008 confirm that 79% of investments made by industrial enterprises in environmental protection are investments that work to remove pollution after it has been produced, whereas 21% of investments are in integrating "cleaner" technologies into plants which help to remove pollution generated by the production process at the source. If we look closely at overall expenditure in the manufacturing sector, the most consistent economic activities in 2008 were the manufacturing of coke and of petrol refinery derivatives (28.6%), the metal sector (15.3%) and the manufacturing of chemical products (15.1%); overall, these three sectors make almost 60% of total manufacturing investments. The contribution towards total environmental investments by enterprises manufacturing metal products is also consistent (6.4%), as is that of enterprises manufacturing products deriving from non-metal minerals (5.6%) and basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (5.1%).
The information above represents just one aspect of the eco-efficiency of companies. In its booklet "Green Italy", the Symbola Foundation analysed the relationship between enterprises and the environment in Italy in terms of the input and output phases in the production process, within the manufacturing sector. In terms of respect for the environment, input is represented by energy consumption. Output includes emissions into the atmosphere and waste production and the share of these that is reused in the production process. By cross-referencing (Note 25) these elements for the various activities in the Italian manufacturing sector it was possible to evaluate the degree of environmental impact in each sector. 
It should be pointed out that the manufacturing industry's overall contribution to pollution is fairly contained: CO2 emissions from the manufacturing industry make up 30% of total emissions; this share is only slightly higher than the share of emissions generated by families (around 20%). (Figure 3.4.2).
The sectors which overall have a higher environmental impact are those related to the petrochemical industry, i.e. the manufacturing of coke, refineries and the chemical industry, as well as the processing of non-metal minerals and the metal sector. In Veneto these make up 27.5% of total manufacturing. They take in around 56% of manufacturing consumption and contribute towards producing 75% of atmospheric emissions. On a more positive note, for all four of these activities the share of waste recovery is low impact. Enterprises in these sectors produce 75% of overall manufacturing waste, but at the same time around 70% of recovered waste can also be ascribed to them.
The food industry is a high impact sector although it is less worrying on the whole than the sectors mentioned above insofar as it has lower shares of energy, polluting emissions and waste absorption. 
The traditional sectors linked to textiles, mechanical goods, publishing, rubber and plastic, vehicles and other manufacturing industries (jewellery and sports goods), which in Veneto make up 48.6% of manufacturing, have a medium level of environmental impact with different levels of intensity in terms of energy absorption, waste production and recovery, and atmospheric emissions.
The wood industry stands out on the other hand, involving 7.5% of Veneto enterprises, for its low environmental impact demonstrated by lower levels in three out of four of the areas under analysis.
The Symbola Foundation report also looks at enterprises' green tendencies. To do this it measures the effort made by the production system towards reorienting production processes, both in terms of input and of output, to reach a higher level of environmental sustainability. Analysis clearly shows that from 2003-2007 there was a higher tendency to reduce energy input, to increase waste recovery and to reduce overall waste emissions.
The textile and clothing sector is showing the best results: it had the highest reduction level per product unit of energy input, a significant reduction in atmospheric emissions and a fair increase in waste recovery.
The wood industry, the rubber and plastics sector and the manufacturing of chemical products and synthetic and artificial fibres stand out for their results from 2003-2007 in terms of reduction of energy input and positive trends in terms of output.
It was mainly the coke manufacturers, oil refineries and nuclear fuel reprocessing plants that had negative results in terms of "greenness" as the recovery of waste decreased, the emissions increased (+1.2% for CO2) as did waste production (+2.4%).
The paper, printing and publishing industry also had negative results: in recent years its energy input has increased per product unit, as have, above all, its atmospheric emissions.
If we combine scores on environmental impact with green trends in input and output flows in enterprises, the rubber and plastic industry, as well as the leather and tanning, electrical and optical machines and equipment, vehicles, other manufacturing industries (jewellery, sports goods), and textiles and clothing industries, all come out fairly favourably.  
Based on this national classification of manufacturing sectors, in general 62.1% of Veneto enterprises are fairly well placed both in terms of environmental impact and of sustainability (Note 26). (Figure 3.4.3).

(Note 27) Just as the theme of sustainable development is currently at the top of Europe's political agenda, so has Regione Veneto set up various measures in recent years, on the one hand to give its support to enterprises carrying out growth and innovation processes and on the other hand to make it easier for certain categories of disadvantaged people, such as women and young people, to gain entry into the world of work.
At the end of 2010, within the context of innovation, Regional Operational Plan POR 2007-2013 - Action 1.1.4 was approved. This consists in a competition for European and regional financial resources to the sum of 5,867,100 euro to provide contributions towards consultation services aimed at helping SMEs obtain various certifications. These include in particular certain certificates related to environmental sustainability:

• UNI EN CEI 16001:2009 - an energy management system (EMS), a European standard which defines actions to continually improve energy savings;
  
• ISO 14001:2004 - an international standard which defines the means through which to establish an efficient environmental management system, one which is designed to deal with the delicate equilibrium that exists between keeping profits up and reducing environmental impact. At a European level, EEC regulation no. 1221/2009 EMAS III is a certification that recognises excellent results in environmental improvements; 
  
• ECOLABEL - a European seal of ecological quality awarded to the most environmental products and services. 
  

Within the context of social responsibility, the above-mentioned competition also includes an SA 8000:2008 certification, recognised internationally, which acknowledges an enterprise's social and ethical commitment with regards respect for human rights, workers rights, safeguarding against exploitation of minors and guarantees of health and safety in the workplace.  
When talking about sustainability, the OHSAS 18001:2007 certification should also be included; this is an organisational tool which enables an enterprise to manage the safety of its workers organically and systematically without causing upheaval to the whole organisational structure of the enterprise.
Response to the competition from Veneto enterprises was extremely positive with 1,800 bids and an average presumed amount of awardable contribution of 6,500 euro, compared to an average spending of 13,000 for each project.
(Note 28) METAS, the Environment Metadistrict for Sustainable Development, is one of Veneto's metadistricts which complies with Regional Law LR no. 8 of 4th April 2003 (and subsequent amendments in accordance with Regional Law LR no. 5 of 16th March 2006). The idea to create an Environment Metadistrict for Sustainable Development came from the Interdepartmental Centre I.D.E.A.S. and from the VEGA Science and Technology Park in Venice. The Interdepartmental Centre for the analysis of Dynamic Interactions between Economics, Environment and Society (I.D.E.A.S.) was set up in 2002 by Ca' Foscari University in Venice, where the first degree course in Environmental Science was created in Italy in 1989, to promote, carry out and coordinate advanced training and interdisciplinary research. In truth, awareness of environmental issues with regards industrial development dates back to 1971 when Ca' Foscari University instituted the first course in Chemistry of Atmospheric Water Pollution, the predecessor to the current day course in Environmental Chemistry. VEGA, the biggest science park in Italy and one of the world's most important, has been promoting and developing scientific and technological research for businesses and territory for more than ten years. 
The aim of the metadistrict is to create a strong relationship between operators in the sector, who will make their specific experience and their abilities available to create an integrated policy which aims to safeguard environmental quality in the region and to work towards sustainability, both in production and in services. 
The Metadistrict Pact 2008 provides information from 2007 on the system of enterprises involved in the environment in some way. This includes almost 2,000 enterprises overall, employing around 40,000 people with an estimated turnover of 21 billion euro. There are 400 enterprises in the metadistrict employing almost 17,000 people with an estimated turnover of 4.5 billion euro.
The Metadistrict Pact states that the Veneto Environment Metadistrict for Sustainable Development is an atypical district compared to traditional production districts; it would have been very limiting and misleading to identify its supply chain, and the enterprises dealing with the environment, in a restrictive sense based on ISTAT identification codes without a concrete evaluation of the specific activities carried out and their impact on the environment.
"There are many examples to justify the above, encountered during the months of work and research leading up to the pact here proposed. We came across some excellent situations which would not have emerged from aseptic formal analysis: for example some enterprises linked to the cosmetics sector, rather than the paper products sector, which fit into the environmental sector completely seeing as they produce eco-compatible products which help to preserve the environment. A quantitative census of the supply chain, often limiting and inflexible, does however constitute an essential starting point when estimating the economic (turnover, value added etc.) and social (number of employees etc.) importance of the environmental sector." (Note 29)
The regional METAS supply chain includes enterprises spread throughout all the Veneto provinces, with a higher concentration in Venezia (23%) and Padova (16%) and with a higher number of enterprises (more than 50%) dealing with the production and processing of natural environmental resources (forestry, wood products, etc.) and of waste. Turnover has a higher concentration in Venezia (23%) and Verona (17%). As far as employees are concerned, they are mainly concentrated in the enterprises in the provinces of Venezia (36%) and Vicenza (33%).