Case Study of ILVA, Italy: The Impact of Failing to Consider Sustainability as a Driver of Business Model Evolution

The case of ILVA steel works in Taranto, Italy demonstrates the potential impacts associated with failing to adequately consider environmental and social sustainability issues within the business model of the firm. This paper provides a review of the situation at ILVA today; the decisions and actions that contributed to the current situation since privatisation of the firm in 1995; and the choices now facing government, the local community, and the firm's owners going forward including a review of Best Available Techniques (BATs). The review is supported with relevant sustainability literature and explores how a more comprehensive assessment of sustainability considerations might be better integrated into business model evolution.