13ª 4sustainability by Ympact: how to turn complexity into industrial capability

The Beste Hub in Prato hosted the thirteenth edition of the annual 4sustainability by Ympact event, which focused on the strategic shift ‘From Resilience to Antifragility’ to integrate sustainability and digital technology into the fashion supply chain. In front of an audience of around 500 industry experts and professionals, both in person and online, the event promoted a vision in which ESG data and traceability are no longer merely regulatory obligations or downstream reporting requirements, but strategic assets integrated right from the product design stage. The proceedings were opened by the founders Francesca Rulli (Ympact), Claudio Rovere (Hind) and Giovanni Santi (Beste), who highlighted how the event – hosted on a rotating basis by organisations adopting this system – drives investment and greater process integration. The theoretical discussion was launched by a keynote speech from Alex Zanon (Digital Attitude), who, drawing inspiration from the thinking of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, invited the audience to build businesses capable of learning from uncertainty, by managing data and decentralising decision-making. Subsequently, Francesca Rulli and Massimo Brandellero (Ympact) elaborated on the group’s vision, explaining how the Ympact platform now involves 6,300 Italian suppliers (over 10 per cent of the supply chain), transforming data into a genuine raw material for generating trust and collaborative value.

The second part of the event focused on working groups addressing the practical challenges of the transition, starting with the introduction of the Digital Product Passport (DPP). In the panel discussion chaired by Martina Schiuma (Ympact), experts including Paolo Cibien (GS1 Italy), Kehua Hu (CNTAC), Claudia Gaudiello (NUO) and Giulio Lombardo (Brachi Testing Services) discussed interoperability and the quality of evidence required to prepare corporate information systems for the new European ESPR Regulation. Meanwhile, on the subject of due diligence, Francesca Rulli spoke with industry representatives Andrea Crespi (Confindustria Moda), Moreno Vignolini (Confartigianato), Paolo Pernici (CNA), Mickaël Maniez (Kering / Fashion Pact) and Valentino Durante (FVL) to address the critical issue of the proliferation of questionnaires and audits. This discussion led to the creation of the harmonised “4s ETHIC” system, comprising five key actions based on a common language, cooperation and the pooling of investments. After hearing accounts of experiences from the districts and Italian industry clusters (Cardato Riciclato Pratese, Consorzio Physis, Innovation for Luxury and MagnoLab), the proceedings concluded with a presentation of the “Behind the DPP” project by Rulli and Schiuma, reiterating that the digital passport is the final output of a complex, shared data infrastructure, essential for compliance and risk management.