How Italpreziosi has remained successful after 40 years of operation
In early April, I had the opportunity to visit one of Arezzo’s most prominent companies with my Innovators in Journalism class at OU. From the outside facade of Italpreziosi, I never could have guessed what was waiting within. Just behind closed doors is a company that is truly golden and glowing. This is in part due to the innovative approach Italpreziosi demonstrates, but also due to what they manufacture. Italpreziosi is a leading player in the world of gold. Based in Arezzo, the company deals with many services, such as precious metals trading, metal banks, investment gold, and refining gold. The list goes on. Italpreziosi has been active since 1984, yet remains ahead of the game even after decades of being in operation. One of the ways they do this is by maintaining a future-forward attitude regarding business organization and management.
Throughout the entire inspection process, Italpreziosi uses expert-level precision. They start with gold from mines or recycled gold, then send it through analysis, a refining system, and finally produce it into gold bars. Following production, the varying types and weights of gold are distributed to individuals, banks, and companies. This attention to detail is a meticulous process; despite the tedium, Italpreziosi has remained committed to ethical and sustainable gold since 2007. This commitment is evident within seconds of opening their 2023 Impact Report and reading their business model, but it is also seen from the start of the production process itself, with the use of recycled gold products.
Two major factors allow Italpreziosi to stay ahead as a sustainable company in the fast-paced business world. Those two factors are SDGs and ESGs. In recent years, the company committed to contributing to the SDG, or Sustainable Development Goals, of Agenda 2030. This is an action program that was signed by the governments of UN member countries in September 2015. Each goal allows companies to measure their impact both at a current level and potential (or future) level. Out of the seventeen development goals outlined in the agenda, Italpreziosi has already adopted six of them: good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, peace, and partnerships. Each initiative promotes positive growth inside the company, allowing Italpreziosi to stand out in comparison to companies that have yet to adopt SDGs.
ESG is another pillar of Italpreziosi’s business model. ESG stands for Environment, Social, and Governance. These topics are aligned with Global Reporting Initiative Standards, a system that allows companies to track material themes based on stakeholder interest and impact on the organization. Technologies such as these help Italpreziosi to remain connected to the interests of their clients, prevent mistakes or miscommunications, and work towards their goals at a faster rate.
“Engaging with our stakeholders is a fundamental and constructive step for Italpreziosi, to understand its current and future performance, but also to seek solutions for all those challenges that our industry is facing.”
Failure is something that threatens to loom over any company and is something that any good business must consider. Italpreziosi approaches the idea of failure from a preventative point of view. By implementing the use of SDGs and ESG, they have created a clear structure that promotes success. The governance aspect is especially important for this. Under the ESG model, transparency and due diligence are the primary subtopics of governance, meaning that companies implementing governance keep a very close eye out for corruption, money laundering, economic value being generated, and raw material traceability. In addition to this, Italpreziosi conducts frequent risk-assessment, creating specific plans and procedures for each possible outcome they face.
“[Risk assessment] is important for a company for reputation and potential sanctions, and you have to consider that… if you have a strong governance, you have policies, you have a structure that demonstrates that you did everything you could do… failure can [still] happen. The thing is, if you demonstrate that you did everything transparently in the possibility you had, there is nothing you can be afraid of.”
This response shows just how high of a standard the ideas of governance, SDGs and ESGs are held to within the company, and rightfully so. These models have helped Italpreziosi transform over the past decade, from a small company to a booming business.
“Then, if failure happens, you have to have a mitigation action plan. You have actions to resolve and remedy. Remediation is crucial.”
The organized and highly structured approach to business, risk assessment, and potential failure is one of the many factors that keep this gold manufacturing on top.
After learning more about Italpreziosi’s innovative approach to business, the other students and I had the opportunity to tour the facility and see behind-the-scenes production on-site. As we toured the facility, the careful attention to detail was evident in every step of the process. Every person we spoke to seemed passionate about the work they were doing. From the smelting to the lab analysis, the manufacturing process truly seemed to be expertly done. It is one thing for a company to claim a business model, but seeing these words put into action is what truly sets Italpreziosi apart. Through the use of their innovative and forward-thinking methods, they have transformed the production process, and the company, for the better.
Leave a Reply