Green economy and social responsibility in the Italian agri-food sector : the focus on the wine sector

This paper aims at investigating the reasons why the environmental variable and issues - such as sustainability, social responsibility and all those behaviours that can be attributed to the general definition of Green Economy - , are generally covering a more and more marked and growing influence on the contemporary economy and, in particular, entrepreneurial behaviour. Our intention is to underline how the integration between business ethics and value creation has become inescapable for the business realities, not only to withstand the competition, but also to ensure the survival itself. After a general overview, it has been decided to focus the analysis on the impact that these issues have on a sector such as agri-food in general and wine in particular, which, paradoxically, are the ones that for long time have shown little sensitive towards the above-mentioned issues. The objective of this work was to highlight the importance for contemporary business realities, to pursue the integration of the social and corporate strategies, including environmental performance, economic results and competitive enterprise. The set of human activities, technological progress and the uncontrolled exploitation of resources has led to heavy imbalances in the terrestrial ecosystem, risking compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. One possible solution is, therefore, represented by the sustainable development and the desire to pursue economic growth compatible with social equity. In this context, sustainability, lived in the past as more ethical than economic, is gaining importance and a much more concrete profile, designed to produce economic returns as well as on image.peer-reviewe