Sustainable Goals within Corporate Governance: An Italian Model of Reputational Investment

The relation between corporate reputation and ethical behavior is easily understandable. Nevertheless, this simple statement hides a complex underlying problem: the critical connection between ethical rules and the assumption of responsibility. It almost seems a contradictio in terminis, to the extent that acting ethically does not always mean acting according to legally binding norms. This study analyses the important attempt observed in the Italian legal system to connect ethical behaviors to the assumption of responsibility with the introduction of the “legality rating for enterprises”: an instrument that gives an answer to the mentioned problem and other relevant issues obstructing the changing process towards sustainable development. The legality rating acts like a ‘special license’ issued and monitored by the Italian Antitrust Authority on the basis of the ethical behavior of companies; it is capable of integrating sustainability into business choices, creating shared value while improving economic performances. For the innovative approach used to connect ethical behavior and responsibility, as well as the costs of sustainability with secure economic benefits, it is overall believed that this model of reputational investment is an effective instrument of sustainable development and presents relevant profiles of interests for an international audience.