Month: August 2026

DO Impact: the Italian Capacity-Building Pathway Comes to a Close

Posted on | by Bosnjakovic Jelena

On Wednesday, July 22, the local capacity-building pathway of the European project DO Impact — Digital and Data-Driven Opportunities to Strengthen the Social Economy Impact — came to a close. The project is funded by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) under the SMP-COSME-2023-SEED-01 call.

The collaboration between Fondazione Piemonte Innova as project coordinator, Torino Social Impact and Tiresia – Politecnico di Milano led to the creation of eight workshops dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises in the social economy. Between September 2025 and July 2026, the workshops involved 376 participants.

The Italian pathway was developed as a local extension of the transnational learning journey, jointly implemented by the European partnership of DO Impact and addressed to social economy support organisations.

The stated objective was twofold: on the one hand, to provide organisations with tools to understand the role of digitalisation, data strategies and ethical practices in data use, in order to drive positive change in the social sector; on the other, to offer practical and immediately applicable skills to measure social impact, adopt artificial intelligence responsibly and build collaborative data ecosystems. Each session addressed a different topic, with increasing levels of complexity, starting from essential basic skills and moving towards more advanced applications of artificial intelligence, data visualisation and data storytelling.

The first session, held on September 22, 2025 in Turin, laid the foundations for the entire pathway. The second workshop, held the following day, shifted the focus to data as a strategic asset for the development of organisations, moving beyond the view of data collection as a bureaucratic requirement and considering data as a strategic lever for everyday activities.

The third session, organised on March 26, 2026, provided an opportunity for networking between tech startups and social economy organisations, while the fourth workshop, held on April 17, 2026 as part of Biennale Tecnologia, allowed participants to reflect on and test themselves against social impact measurement.

The capacity-building pathway then moved to Milan, with two consecutive sessions on May 4 and 5, 2026, specifically dedicated to one of the most debated topics of recent months: artificial intelligence. The fifth workshop explored concrete applications and ethical risks of generative AI, while the sixth session focused on the role of the social economy within the digital revolution we are currently experiencing.

The Italian learning journey concluded with two online sessions designed to translate the full set of skills acquired into effective communication tools. On June 26, 2026, the seventh workshop addressed the topic of data visualisation, while the final workshop, held on July 22, closed the circle by presenting practical cases of effective social impact storytelling.

The pathway demonstrated the importance of providing concrete and practical tools, the value of direct testimonies and a growing interest — workshop after workshop — in artificial intelligence, which is increasingly present in the daily lives of participants. In the coming months, we will publish a summary document on the main themes, reflections and insights that emerged from the workshops, making the knowledge generated through the European project a shared resource for the entire ecosystem.

The Italian workshop cycle represented an important component not only of DO Impact, but also, more broadly, of Torino Social Impact’s Tech4Good strategy. As this experience comes to an end, we are already working on new projects to continue strengthening the skills of social economy organisations, making them better prepared to face the technological transformations of the current context.

For more information and updates on the project, please visit the DO Impact LinkedIn page.

Partners

Fondazione Piemonte Innova — lead partner (Italy)
Diesis Network (Europe)
Cluster Digital de Catalunya (Spain)
Taula d’entitats del Tercer Sector Social (Spain)
Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia (Latvia)
Lithuania Social Business Association (Lithuania)
Politecnico di Milano – Tiresia (Italy)
Coompanion Gothenburg (Sweden)
Torino per la Finanza e l’Innovazione Sociale – Torino Social Impact (Italy)

COTES Launched at the Chambers of Commerce of Monte Rosa Laghi Alto Piemonte and Alessandria–Asti

Posted on | by Bosnjakovic Jelena

As part of the project for the establishment of Territorial Observatories and Territorial Committees for the Social Economy — COTES — supported by Fondazione CRT and promoted by Fondazione Terzjus with Unioncamere Piemonte, the Piedmontese Chambers of Commerce and the Camera Valdostana/Chambre Valdôtaine, two new COTES have just been established at the Chambers of Commerce of Monte Rosa Laghi Alto Piemonte and Alessandria–Asti.

The two COTES, which will soon be officially launched and enter their operational phase, join two centres of excellence that have been active for years in Piedmont: at the Torino Chamber of Commerce, since 2017, the social impact ecosystem Torino Social Impact, an expression of the Social Entrepreneurship Committee; and, at the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, the Committee for Social Entrepreneurship and Microcredit.

The Valle d’Aosta Committee is expected to be finalised after the summer, in line with the specific characteristics of the Aosta Valley territory.

The work carried out in recent months in Piedmont aims to become a national reference model, just a few days after the information note brought to the attention of the Council of Ministers on the National Plan for the Social Economy. The Plan effectively marks the launch of an organic strategy for a sector that is increasingly relevant within the economic and social system, and is the result of the work carried out over the past two years, including through the public consultation on the Plan, by the Ministry of Economy and Finance under the guidance of MEF Undersecretary Lucia Albano.

The social economy is confirmed as a decisive lever to strengthen cohesion, inclusion and local development.

Thanks to the joint work of institutions, the chamber system, Fondazione Terzjus and Fondazione CRT, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta are positioning themselves as an advanced territorial laboratory for the implementation of national and European policies dedicated to the sector: an infrastructure capable of transforming local good practices into long-term development policies and promoting actions aligned with national objectives, in a context of growing institutional attention. This attention is also confirmed by the recent submission to the Regional Council of Piedmont of two bills dedicated to the social economy.

The COTES were created with the aim of building permanent tools for knowledge, dialogue and territorial planning, capable of supporting the development of the social economy, strengthening innovation and generating quality employment. They also aim to provide the social economy with stable instruments for planning and dialogue with institutions, creating, through the chamber system, a bridge between profit and non-profit, between companies and Third Sector organisations.

SHE7 SPT Cup Launches – The First Women’s 7-a-Side Football Tournament in Turin

Posted on | by Bosnjakovic Jelena

The SHE7 SPT Cup brings to Turin a new amateur women’s 7-a-side football championship, promoted by ASD San Paolo Torino and ConVoglio ODV to expand opportunities for sport participation and create a space where competition and participation can coexist.

The SHE7 SPT Cup was created with the aim of building a new ongoing opportunity for those who want to play women’s football in an organised and accessible amateur context. Alongside the sporting dimension, the project aims to create opportunities for teams and people who share the same passion to meet. The pitch thus also becomes a space for relationships, capable of strengthening the presence of women’s sport in the Turin area.

The competition maintains its own competitive identity, with a ranking and a final stage. Individual awards linked to sporting performance and fair play are also planned.

Zeus Sport supports the first edition as technical sponsor, offering a 30% discount to each registered participant.

Registrations for the first edition are open until 23 September 2026.

The championship will start in October 2026 at the Agostino Iocola sports facility, Via Tirreno 303, in District 2 of Turin. The format includes a group stage with home and away matches, followed by a knockout final stage.

For information and registration, it is possible to fill in the online form, contact the Instagram page @she7_spt_cup or write via WhatsApp to +39 351 431 5237.

Amapola Enters the Top 1% of EcoVadis with the Platinum Medal

Posted on | by Bosnjakovic Jelena

From Silver to the highest recognition in one year. The result accompanies a phase of team growth and expansion of expertise through new companies, networks and partnerships

Amapola Società Benefit has obtained the EcoVadis Platinum Medal, the highest recognition awarded by the international corporate sustainability rating. The assessment places the sustainability consulting company among the top 1% of companies analysed globally.

The recognition marks a double step forward in the path undertaken by Amapola: after receiving the Bronze medal in 2024 and the Silver medal in 2025, the company has reached the Platinum level directly, moving beyond the Gold tier. The Platinum medal comes at a time of consolidation and development: founded in 2009 and converted into a Benefit Company in 2021, the company has doubled its team over the past five years. In 2026, the group was further strengthened with the arrival of two new colleagues. Over the 2021–2024 period, turnover grew by 95%, with an average annual growth rate of 25%.

Policies, Processes and New Indicators

The transition to the Platinum medal is the result of the work carried out by Amapola over the past year to make its internal sustainability system more structured, measurable and verifiable. EcoVadis evaluates organisations across four areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The analysis takes into account the policies adopted, the measures concretely implemented and the tools used to monitor and report results.

Starting from the outcomes of the previous EcoVadis assessment, the company updated and expanded its corporate policies, defined processes, responsibilities and implementation methods more precisely, and introduced new KPIs linked to the different measures adopted.

“Moving from Silver to Platinum in just one year testifies to the value of work based on method, responsibility and continuous improvement,” comments Luca Valpreda, founder of Amapola. “We approached the EcoVadis assessment as a tool to test our internal system. Strengthening policies and processes and measuring results more precisely means aligning the way we operate with what we propose every day to the organisations we support. It is an experience that also enriches our consulting work, because it allows us to share with clients tools that we have applied and verified directly.”

A Path of Growth and Expansion of Expertise

Growth has also concerned the scope of expertise and collaborations. In 2025, Amapola established the A3i business network together with 3i Efficientamento Energetico: an integrated hub dedicated to sustainability, innovation, compliance, communication and stakeholder engagement.

In 2026, the company also became one of the founding members of Apiens, a new organisation specialised in environmental biomonitoring with bees, and launched a partnership with Sloweb dedicated to sustainable digital practices. These different and complementary experiences strengthen Amapola’s ability to address ESG issues and areas connected to the sustainable transition in an integrated way.

“The growth of recent years cannot be measured only through economic results or the expansion of the group,” continues Valpreda. “It is also expressed in the ability to build alliances and connect different skills. Sustainability today requires integrated perspectives: environmental data, innovation, compliance, digital transformation, social aspects, communication and stakeholder engagement must work together. The networks and new initiatives we are part of were created to offer organisations increasingly solid and comprehensive responses, without losing the specialisation and concreteness that have characterised our journey from the very beginning.”

The Platinum medal represents for Amapola a confirmation of the solidity of the work carried out and, at the same time, a new starting point. The assessment will allow the company to continue verifying the effectiveness of its policies, refine its monitoring tools and progressively translate objectives and commitments into measurable results.