Participation and common interest, the real added values of a benefit company

The decision to become a benefit company was made by the partners and formalised by a notary, but it must be cultivated and helped to grow by everyone every day by adhering to certain principles, values and objectives.

DVArea’s philosophy is based on the assumption that people, and the exchange of information between them, are fundamental to the functioning of companies which are part of that universe. For this reason, a liaison booth was set up to coordinate all cross-sectional areas of the companies and is manned by the relevant contact persons. It is an additional body to those already present, which at first glance may appear to be a burden, in reality it systematises a preparatory activity that helps to identify the various interconnections. In our opinion, continuous dialogue is essential for the quality and growth of all DVArea satellites, so that every decision is truly shared.

We began to consider the benefit company route in the autumn of 2021 and have been on this course for a year; the challenge, for us, is not only administrative fulfilment, but a clearly defined corporate reorganisation. We used a consultant to guide us along this path, resulting in an approach that focused on the stakeholders and gave value to the dialogue format. The choice of the first stakeholder group to start with was a foregone conclusion: the team of employees and collaborators. In September 2022 we organised an information day that we called “The Explainer”, to illustrate and tell everyone what a benefit company is, explaining that a benefit company was to be constructed together.

The decision to become a benefit company was made by the partners and formalised by a notary, but it must be cultivated and helped to grow by everyone every day by adhering to certain principles, values and objectives.

The first way to involve co-workers and employees was to share a questionnaire written according to the principles of the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) method with 13 questions; this was a particularly participative moment that had positive repercussions as it allowed us to make a series of reflections and gather important insights on how to set up the work for 2023 and the areas on which to improve.

The spin-offs in economic terms are not yet measurable, as the journey has only just begun. However, being labelled as a benefit company allowed us to make our approach and working method visible. People who interact with us must respect precise principles, and consider, in addition to profit goals, their positive impact on society. Benefit company does not equate to non-profit society, it is a working methodology that tends towards common benefit.

The mission for 2023 that I, as CFO, have been given is to consolidate the steady growth of DVArea and its satellites, whom we dealt with extremely carefully in 2022. It was a year dedicated to the organisation of these companies. The goal for 2023 is to ground more satellites moving organically in the DVArea universe.

In 2023 we want to publish our first impact plan and achieve our secret dream as a company: to develop a corporate welfare plan. What we care about is that every step that is taken considers the work teams and their well-being.

With the prospect of Bergamo Brescia as capital of culture 2023, we want to give further value to our territory. In recent years, there has been no lack of proposals to relocate and develop DVArea in Milan, but Brescia is in our hearts. It is a city that has given us so much and to which we want to give back social and economic value, spreading culture and employment.

This initiative will be an opportunity to be protagonists in the development of our territory. Architecture is connected with art and culture, so before being technicians we must be guarantors of the historical and cultural heritage of the city in which we operate.

DVArea’s growth over the years has never been an end in itself, it is always part of a path that starts with solid skills and arrives at product quality, thanks to constant research and development work.

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Tanya Dabellani:

CFO DVArea.

Follow her on Linkedin →