Sustainability Italian Style

Love & Passion, Supply Chain and Sustainability Aren’t Related. Or Are They?

A Story of Sustainability – Italian Style

By Maryanne Ross, CPIM-F, CIRM, CSCP-F, CLTD-F, CTSC

I did not realize it while growing up, but two sustainability masters raised me. Having little formal education, I seriously doubt either of my parents—an Italian immigrant and the child of an Italian immigrant—even knew the word or its meaning. But they practiced all the elements of sustainability every day in dozens of little ways. They also knew nothing of what we now know as the supply chain. But love and passion? They were experts, and they demonstrated it in everything they did. And it was emphasized in their sustainability habits.

Today, my parents might be described as peasants, and I say that with enormous pride. Italy, their homeland, has become my fascination and my passion. The more I discover about Italy, the greater my admiration for Sustainability Italian Style.

But sustainability practices in Italy is not new. The Italian Republican was formed in 1861. However, the Italian peninsula has been inhabited since approximately 1200 BC. It is only through love, passion, creation, and the preservation of their creativity that modern-day Italy and its tremendous history exist. I intend to weave what I am learning about my parents’ homeland into a series of sustainability love stories. I invite you to come along!