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Corporate sustainable finance in recent years: insights from Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Valentina Nigro

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Sabrina Pastorelli

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

This paper investigates corporate sustainable finance in Italy between 2021 and 2024, using firm-level and bank-level data drawn respectively from Banca d'Italia's Survey of Industrial and Service Firms (INVIND) and the Regional Bank Lending Survey (RBLS). In the study, a green investment is defined as a project aimed at improving energy efficiency and/or increasing the use or production of renewable energy. Just over one quarter of firms reported having undertaken such investment over this period, with a strong positive correlation with firm size. Financing relies mainly on internal resources, while bank credit plays a more significant role for smaller firms; the use of market-based instruments remains marginal. The estimates confirm that larger companies are more likely to finance these investments from their own resources than both similarly sized non-green firms and smaller companies undertaking environmentally sustainable projects. The banks surveyed indicate that green loans still account for a limited share of bank credit to companies. This may reflect the difficulties faced by intermediaries in incorporating firms' environmental sustainability objectives into their credit risk assessment models.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentina Nigro & Sabrina Pastorelli, 2026. "Corporate sustainable finance in recent years: insights from Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 1021, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_1021_26
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    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2026-1021/QEF_1021_26.pdf
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D25 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice: Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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