Furia Award 2026 for Giovannini: sustainability at the center

Context

TL;DR

• Furia Award 2026 to Enrico Giovannini
• Economist and statistician, lecturer at Roma Tor Vergata
• He was Chief Statistician of the OECD and president of ISTAT
• ASviS founded in 2016

Key facts

• Award → Premio Ecologia Città di Varese – Salvatore Furia 2026
• Recipient → Enrico Giovannini
• Profile → economist and statistician
• Positions → two-time minister, Chief Statistician of the OECD, president of ISTAT
• Teaching → University of Rome Tor Vergata and National School of Administration
• Agenda → United Nations 2030 Agenda
• ASviS → founded in 2016
• Origin → Award founded by Salvatore Furia in 1973

The Premio Ecologia Città di Varese – Salvatore Furia 2026 is being awarded this year to Enrico Giovannini. The committee's decision concerns a figure who has transformed awareness of the environmental crisis into a reflection on the responsibilities of society, institutions and the economic system.

Giovannini is an economist and statistician. At the University of Rome Tor Vergata, he teaches Economic Statistics and Analysis and Policies for Sustainable Development as a full professor, in addition to teaching at the National School of Administration. Over the course of his career, he has been a two-time minister, Chief Statistician of the OECD and president of ISTAT.

He is co-founder and scientific director of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development, ASviS. The founding of the Alliance in 2016 represents a key milestone in a commitment to promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda and a vision of development capable of bringing together the environmental, economic and social dimensions.

The committee's rationale

The choice recognizes the scientific, institutional and public-outreach work through which Giovannini has placed sustainable development at the center of public debate. Well-being, in the perspective highlighted by the committee, does not coincide with economic growth alone: it includes quality of life, social cohesion, the protection of natural resources and the opportunities left to future generations.

Salvatore Furia's legacy

The award thus recalls the figure of its founder, the naturalist and science communicator Salvatore Furia, who in 1973 linked knowledge of nature with education and the growth of the community. According to Nicoletta San Martino, councillor of the Municipality of Varese with responsibility for Environmental Protection, Social Sustainability and the Circular Economy, Furia's teaching instilled in young people a tangible sense of responsibility toward their local area:

“To many young people, in addition to knowledge of nature, Furia passed on the ability to observe nature, learn about their own area and feel responsible for protecting it.”

The 2026 rationale therefore fits into his idea of environmental culture: understanding natural balances, recognizing human responsibility and turning awareness into responsible behavior. The choice links the recipient's profile to the tradition of the award: from knowledge of nature to collective responsibility, without separating the environment, society and the economy. The committee considers this transition consistent with Furia's cultural legacy.

Operational details

Sustainability as a lens

For the cross-border reader, the scope of the news is clear-cut. The source does not mention the G permit, AVS, LPP, LAMal, tax rebates, withholding tax or double taxation. It therefore provides no deadlines, amounts or procedures for those who work across the border: its subject is a cultural recognition and the way collective well-being is defined.

From growth to well-being

What makes Giovannini’s choice broad in scope is moving beyond the separation between environmental and social policies. Sustainability is not described solely as the protection of natural resources. It also requires understanding how opportunities are distributed, who bears the costs of transformations and whether people can live in dignified conditions.

| Dimension | Framing indicated by the source | | Development | Not just economic growth, but quality of life and social cohesion | | Environment | Protection of ecosystems and natural resources | | Society | Combating poverty and inequalities, with inclusive and resilient communities | | Future | Opportunities for future generations and shared responsibilities |

This approach is the core of the integral ecology referred to in the recognition. The environmental crisis and the social crisis are not treated as separate problems: the former concerns natural balances, the latter the dignity of people and the conditions of the most vulnerable communities. Sustainability, therefore, requires a vision capable of connecting economic choices, institutions, social behavior and the protection of nature.

ASviS translates this perspective into the dissemination of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Goals. The program combines the fight against poverty, the reduction of inequalities, the protection of ecosystems, the adoption of responsible practices in production and consumption, and the development of more inclusive and resilient societies. It is not a catalogue of separate topics: the source stresses their interdependence.

For those reading from a border region, the value of the news therefore lies in the lens it offers, not in a change to working life. The award invites us to ask whether a public decision considers the environment, economy and society together, and whether it distributes opportunities and costs fairly. These are the questions that connect Giovannini’s work to the institutional responsibility highlighted by the committee.

Key points

Four steps for reading the award

The source makes it possible to follow a simple sequence to understand why the 2026 award is presented as the culmination of a cultural journey. There is no need to add tax or employment data: the content revolves around the connections between knowledge, culture, health, the economy and institutions.

1. Follow the path of the awards

The first step is to observe the series of the last five years through the recognitions mentioned. In 2022, Barbara Gallavotti represented the role of science communication in making complex knowledge accessible. In 2023, Michelangelo Pistoletto brought the relationship between culture, creativity, society and the planet into the award. In 2025, Ilaria Capua, with the vision of Salute Circolare, connected human health, animal health and environmental health, together with the impact of social behavior, the economy, law and information.

2. Identify the next step

The second step consists of reading Giovannini as the institutional and economic culmination of the sequence. After scientific knowledge, culture and health, the recognition focuses on how states regulate collective life, distribute opportunities and plan for the future. This is why the profile of an economist and statistician is included in an award dedicated to ecology.

3. Use the 17 Goals as a map

The third step is to verify the presence of the dimensions indicated by Agenda 2030: poverty and inequalities, ecosystems, responsible production and consumption, inclusive and resilient societies. The map serves to avoid reducing ecology to the mere conservation of nature and to recognize that environmental policies have social consequences.

4. Bring knowledge back to the community

The final step returns to Salvatore Furia’s method. Knowledge of natural balances must become awareness, and awareness must translate into responsible behavior. This is why education is part of sustainability: it does not remain specialized knowledge, but becomes a common heritage and involves society.

Read in this sequence, the news offers the public of Varese and readers beyond the borders a criterion for following the environmental debate without separating it from social and economic issues. The 2026 Premio Furia is not presented solely as an individual recognition, but as a stage in a culture of care.

Source: varesenews.it