{"id":40284,"date":"2026-04-13T09:46:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/?post_type=cp_blog&p=40284"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:50:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:50:02","slug":"green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","status":"publish","type":"cp_blog","link":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","title":{"rendered":"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of “Made in Italy”: figures and challenges to become a european leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Italy ranks among the top three European countries for the number of green patents<\/strong>. It holds the third position for the number of companies with patents, following only Germany and Austria. The country possesses significant patents in key sectors, such as sustainable mobility<\/strong>, where Italian patents account for 31 percent of the total patents related to climate change mitigation. Another standout is energy efficiency in buildings<\/strong>, where Italy exceeds the European average. Furthermore, Italy remains traditionally one of the most dynamic countries in the waste and wastewater management<\/strong> sector. Not to be overlooked are ICT technologies for climate mitigation<\/strong>, which have seen a record increase of +270 percent over the last ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures\u2014demonstrating Italy’s capacity to innovate and compete in the environmental sector\u2014emerged from the study “Competitive because Sustainable”<\/em> (Competitivi perch\u00e9 sostenibili<\/em>). The report was produced by Fondazione Symbola<\/strong> in collaboration with the Centro Studi Guglielmo Tagliacarne<\/strong> and presented a few days ago at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy<\/strong>. It serves as a valuable tool for analyzing the sectors and territories where innovation is concentrated, while simultaneously clarifying the link between green innovation and competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis reveals that the innovative dynamism of the Italian production system is currently underestimated<\/strong>. This is due to a prevailing industrial culture that is not yet fully oriented toward the systematic valuation of Research and Development (R&D) results, which often results in inventions not being formally translated into intellectual property titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the geographical distribution<\/strong> of innovation, the four large regions of the North lead the way: Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Piedmont<\/strong>. These territories are bolstered by their strong manufacturing tradition and their ability to transform research and industrial know-how into concrete solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study also highlights the clear nexus between green innovation and competitiveness<\/strong>. Italian companies that file patents for green technologies distinguish themselves with significantly higher competitiveness compared to those patenting in non-green fields. In fact, they generate a much higher turnover per company\u2014\u20ac382 million<\/strong> compared to \u20ac41 million for non-green firms\u2014and record higher productivity, with \u20ac144,000 in value-added per employee<\/strong> versus \u20ac92,000. Regarding exports, 57.8 percent of these companies export, generating over \u20ac63 billion<\/strong> with strong market diversification. Finally, their human capital is more highly qualified, with a larger share of graduates (29.7 percent, of which 16.7 percent are in STEM plus disciplines).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the president of Fondazione Symbola, Ermete Realacci<\/strong>, Italy “needs a leap in scale.” This requires greater investment in research, support for patenting capabilities, technological strengthening, and the replication of the successful circular economy model across the sectors of efficiency, electrification, and renewables. “Only in this way,” he maintains, “can the country aim to be a leader in European green innovation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","ct_blog_category":[],"class_list":["post-40284","cp_blog","type-cp_blog","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreen Innovation, the hidden engine of "Made in Italy": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of "Made in Italy": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Italy ranks among the top three European countries for the number of green patents. It holds the third position for the number of companies with patents, following only Germany and Austria. The country possesses significant patents in key sectors, such as sustainable mobility, where Italian patents account for 31 percent of the total patents related […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Itlas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-13T07:50:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/social-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader\",\"name\":\"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of \\\"Made in Italy\\\": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-13T07:46:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-13T07:50:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of “Made in Italy”: figures and challenges to become a european leader\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Itlas\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of \"Made in Italy\": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of \"Made in Italy\": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas","og_description":"Italy ranks among the top three European countries for the number of green patents. It holds the third position for the number of companies with patents, following only Germany and Austria. The country possesses significant patents in key sectors, such as sustainable mobility, where Italian patents account for 31 percent of the total patents related […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","og_site_name":"Itlas","article_modified_time":"2026-04-13T07:50:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/social-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","url":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader","name":"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of \"Made in Italy\": figures and challenges to become a european leader - Itlas","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-13T07:46:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/blog\/green-innovation-the-hidden-engine-of-made-in-italy-figures-and-challenges-to-become-a-european-leader#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Green Innovation, the hidden engine of “Made in Italy”: figures and challenges to become a european leader"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/","name":"Itlas","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cp_blog\/40284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cp_blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cp_blog"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ct_blog_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itlas.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ct_blog_category?post=40284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}