Italian Welfare Observatory launches first scientific welfare certification

(Adnkronos) – The Italian Welfare Observatory has introduced “Italian Welfare Excellence”, the first scientific standard to certify corporate welfare programmes. The certification is built on a proprietary model developed after analysing more than 300 welfare models, representing roughly one million workers, to assess quality, completeness and effectiveness of company welfare systems.

The Observatory’s research shows that while 97% of firms offer work‑life integration initiatives and 91% invest in personal development, coverage of long‑term protection pillars remains low – health (49%), caregiving (48%), major risk (46%) and complementary pensions (21%). Only 13% of companies can effectively report the impact of their people‑care policies in sustainability reports. The new certification aims to provide objective tools to measure, value and disclose welfare contributions, supporting ESG goals and talent attraction. Stefano Castrignanò, president of the Observatory, said the standard will help turn welfare from a peripheral cost into a strategic development lever.