After the interviews with Elena Corsi and Vittoria Monleale, our journey inside CISA continues with Giuseppe Lombardini, General Manager, who talks about the clear vision and innovative approach of the company, a strategic partner of local Administrations to build smarter and more resilient territories by combining environment, economy and social welfare.
1. The pivotal concept of CISA’s activity, whose vision is to be an Advisor to territories for a smarter future, is Sustainability: in the context of the municipal Administrations you intend to support, what makes a project ‘sustainable’?
Balance is the answer. A sustainable territory starts from a balanced vision where environment, economy, sociality, inclusion, culture and regeneration do not deny their roots but, through ‘smart’ methods, adopt a territorial strategy by planning in an integrated way and acting in a neural way. Through technology, innovation and planning, it is necessary to develop new impact assessment logics to make sustainability the true index with which monitor the resources and efforts of municipal Administrations and trigger granting bonuses in the future; CISA is committed to developing an impact assessment model for integrated territorial projects and intends to bring it to the attention of planning bodies as soon as possible.
2. Climate change, energy criticality, urban congestion, hydro-geological instability… these are just some of the components that are contributing to increasing people’s awareness of the environment. How does this trend affect municipal Administrations? What can be useful tools for integrating this issue in a practical way at local level?
This is an extremely topical issue that needs answers and planning without hesitation. Certainly, local governments do what they can to defend and improve their territories, but too often they find themselves intervening after the fact, managing emergencies and, unfortunately, tragedies. In this sense, local Administrators are often caught between a chronic lack of resources and the nightmare of responsibilities that are not always justified. There can be no Integrated Territorial Investment programme without one of the main themes being the environment in all its aspects, mentioned in the question; however, it is important to adopt practical, gradual solutions, in line with the Green Deal but sustainable in all social and economic aspects. The tools are there and they start with integrated territorial measures such as: the creation of a network of lamination basins to contain the devastating effects of extreme phenomena due to climate change; the networking of energy communities (RECs) in a single management system, the Integrated Territorial Energy District (I.T.E.D.); and lastly, the drafting of a territorial PUMS, a sustainable mobility plan that also embraces territories that are not strictly metropolitan. CISA in all its territorial projects proposes and promotes these models and continuously tests their effects.
3. In territorial development projects, collaboration between several actors in the area is essential, often involving the private sector. How do you manage these ‘meetings’ effectively and profitably for a territory?
In the meantime, it is necessary to clarify that the Public-Private Partnership is not limited to Project Financing but can take on different forms and profiles as well as being regulated by the Procurement Code. The close collaboration between public and private is a great opportunity and allows for a win-win strategy: local governments can count on capital, resources, skills, and planning capabilities, while private parties can find new sources of business and are finally able to take on a more integrated role in the new logic of social responsibility. CISA has always been committed to Public-Private Partnerships not only by supporting municipal Administrations in their activation but, first and foremost, has made them its main instrument of collaboration with territories and their Administrations.
4. Facilitated finance is another specific asset of CISA’s work because it is a crucial opportunity for many local governments. When helping Municipalities to find their way through the various available financing, what are the difficulties encountered before, during and after this process?
The a priori difficulties are always due to the lack of planning and resources for design, but in this sense both the european approach that often allows the design phase to be financed and the new instruments activated by the EIB and the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti bode well. The chronic complexity of the procedures for both appraisal and reporting are a critical barrier in the execution phase, just think of the difficulties of the Regis system with regard to the PNRR. It is also important to emphasise that the subsidised resources act to finance infrastructure and start-ups, but it is increasingly necessary to ensure that the medium-to long-term economic-financial and managerial balance is foreseen right from the planning stage to avoid ending up with structures and services without operating provisions. CISA is engaged in a constant training and support activity for public authorities, spreading its belief: it is increasingly necessary to plan and raise the need for subsidised finance ‘from below’ in an integrated manner in the territories; if integrated territorial planning is well structured, the attractiveness index and negotiating capacity will make it possible not to perpetually chase after outgoing calls.
5. Looking ahead to 2025, what challenges do you foresee and what prospects do you wish for CISA?
The challenge is and remains only one, to always live up to our role in dealing with municipal Administrations by preserving and enhancing the approach that has always distinguished us: a clear and functional strategic vision to contribute to the sustainable development of the territory. The prospects for growth point to the doubling of the current number of I.T.I. concessions from the current 5 to more than 10 by the end of the year; this means managing integrated territorial projects in more than 100 Italian Municipalities and administering, over an average period of 8 years, about 150 million per year in investments. But the real hope is to maintain the harmony that has always distinguished our team; skills, team membership, serenity of the environment that means solidarity among colleagues and not the result at any cost; it is our DNA, we care about it and we are looking for new resources who want to share our values and our desire to improve.
