The world of Italian cooperation has a new reference figure to face the challenges of sustainability: the Cooperative Sustainability Manager (CSM). A role born from the shared vision between ALTIS and Legacoop Nazionale, with the aim of supporting the world of cooperation with a training and managerial proposal in the ESG field.
The course comes to life as a custom course aimed at the realities of Legacoop, but its success and the impact generated have led, already from the second edition, to an evolution in an executive course open to the entire Italian cooperative ecosystem. As Andrea Benini, President of Finpro and Managing Director for sustainability at GranTerre, pointed out, "The course is a bridge between the cooperative tradition, its founding values and the new logic of sustainability in business management."
The CSM Executive Course has three fundamental objectives:
- Training and updating sustainability managers already active or aspiring in cooperatives;
- To equip participants with operational tools and knowledge to integrate ESG factors into business processes, maintaining a strong link with cooperative principles;
- To create a real professional community: a network of experts, managers and operators in the sector who share good practices, solutions and visions of a sustainable future.
Practical, up-to-date and cooperative training
The course has been built with a pragmatic and interdisciplinary approach, thanks to the presence of expert teachers and direct testimonies from professionals from the cooperative world. As stated by Giorgio Benassi, Head of Sustainability of Coop Alleanza 3.0 and participant in the first edition, "the comparison with colleagues from different cooperatives and with experts in the sector has allowed me to update and expand my skills, in a constantly evolving context".
The second edition of the Biennial of Cooperative Economy
The second edition of the course in 2025 was officially presented during the Biennial of Cooperative Economics, at Palazzo Re Enzo in Bologna, in a panel moderated by Francesca Ottolenghi (Legacoop). Alessia Coeli (General Manager ALTIS) illustrated the news of the program, while representatives of Legacoop, COOSS Marche, GranTerre and other alumni talked about their transformative journey thanks to the CSM.
A shared project to strengthen the cooperative identity
Simone Gamberini, President of Legacoop Nazionale, highlighted the importance of the Cooperative Sustainability Manager to "enhance the cooperative identity as a competitive lever, capable of addressing global social and economic challenges". Prepared, aware and sustainable cooperative leadership thus becomes a tool for transformation.
Sustainability as a lever for success
The director of ALTIS, Matteo Pedrini: "The success of a sustainability path depends on the skills of the people who govern change. The CSM is an agent of transformation capable of translating cooperative identity into competitive advantage."
ALTIS and Legacoop, with this path, do not only train managers: they build a new generation of cooperative leaders, ready to integrate sustainability into the corporate culture and make it a development engine for the entire sector.