Towards B Corp Certification: Designing to Generate a Measurable, Transparent and Recognised Impact

What motivates a company to become a Benefit Corporation? How does this commitment translate into concrete actions, and how can it coexist with the need to achieve strong economic and financial results? 

After presenting the activities of our Tender Office, we continue our insights with Tanya Dabellani, General Manager and CFO of DVArea, to explore the company’s path towards becoming a B Corp and filing its first consolidated financial statement.

Hi Tanya. Can you tell us about your personal and professional journey that led you to this role?

I come from the AEC sector and, before joining DVArea, I gained significant experience in the construction industry, where I learned to fully understand project management – from contract negotiation to financial planning, from monitoring project progress to administrative closure and performance assessment.

This experience enabled me to bring to DVArea a practical and operational perspective on project financial management, integrating the financial and technical-productive dimensions – an essential aspect in a group whose strength lies in interdisciplinary integration.

I joined DVArea at the beginning of 2021, at a time recognised by everyone as a turning point: the year when DVA needed to evolve from a professional studio into an organised and structured company, capable of establishing itself as a reference in integrated design. It was a forward-looking choice by the board, which has always had the vision and courage to guide the organisation’s key transitions.

I initially joined as CFO with the goal of planning and managing financial activities and building a management control system aligned with our growth ambitions. 2021 was also the year DVS and DVMEP were founded – two companies that expanded the group’s internal value chain and marked the first step towards a true industrial structure.

Over time, my role evolved into that of General Manager and CFO of the DVArea Group. Today, I coordinate not only economic and financial management, but also organisational and strategic processes, with the goal of ensuring coherence, solidity, and a unified vision across all group companies.

As General Manager and CFO, you were at the forefront of the process that led the company to become a Benefit Corporation. What motivated this choice, and what tangible changes has it brought to your business approach?

Establishing the group’s holding company as a Benefit Corporation was not merely a formal step, but a way to give structure and continuity to a path that was already part of our culture. For DVArea, it means integrating profit with a concrete commitment to sustainability and the common good – guiding every operational and strategic choice towards generating economic, environmental, and social value.

Being a Benefit Corporation has first and foremost meant incorporating measurable impact goals into our planning and control processes, alongside economic and production targets. Every year, we publish an Impact Report based on the “Buona Impresa” model of the Buon Lavoro Foundation, which assesses five areas: governance, value creation through product, work, economic value, and sustainability. The analysis involves more than 200 stakeholders – employees, shareholders, clients, and suppliers – in line with GRI international standards, ensuring transparency and shared evaluation.

Since 2024, all group companies have also been present on Ecomate, the platform that enables public and traceable management and reporting of ESG performance across the entire value chain. Alongside this, we have implemented continuous internal initiatives: coaching programmes, workplace well-being projects, cultural and social initiatives, culminating in 2025 with the UNI/PdR 125:2022 gender equality certification and the Legality Rating.

In summary, becoming a Benefit Corporation has strengthened our ability to measure, manage, and improve the impact we generate. It has made every part of the organisation more aware, pushing us to combine economic performance and social value within a single sustainable growth strategy.

DVArea has recently embarked on the path towards B Corp certification. What does this mean for the company, and what steps are you already taking?

In a context where environmental and social responsibility often risks becoming a matter of image, our goal is not to declare it, but to practise it every day. We believe that the difference lies in actions, not in labels: a company is sustainable when it measures its impacts, makes them transparent, and accepts evaluation by independent entities.

That’s why we chose to begin the process towards B Corp certification. It’s not a symbolic milestone, but a way to undergo a rigorous, third-party, and ongoing assessment – one that helps us measure what truly matters: the effectiveness of our actions, the coherence of our processes, and our capacity to create real value for our people and the communities in which we operate.

The challenge is not to claim we are sustainable, but to prove that our industrial model stands up to the facts – that every economic, managerial, and design choice meets measurable standards of quality, impact, and responsibility.

Inclusion, responsibility, and care for people are recurring themes in your Impact Report. How are these values reflected in your governance and company culture?

These values are at the core of our governance and define its direction. They are translated into concrete policies and tools: the Code of Values shared across the team, the ESG Policy that integrates environmental, social, and governance objectives into the Board’s decisions, and the Anti-Corruption Policy, ensuring transparency and integrity in every relationship.

The system is overseen by the ESG Committee, which monitors impact goals, gender equality, well-being, and business ethics. This structure makes inclusion and responsibility an integral part of our processes – not just statements of intent.

In our culture, these values translate into participation and tangible action: we support initiatives such as Race for the Cure, Brescia Pride, projects for people with disabilities aimed at removing architectural barriers, the School of Architecture for Kids, and collaborations with Emergency. These are actions that reflect our idea of enterprise: a place where economic growth and social growth advance together.

Speaking of values, you represent a key example of female leadership in a role traditionally held by men. From your perspective, how can a company actively promote inclusion and gender equality – not only in junior positions? Which corporate policies are most essential in this regard?

I believe true inclusion is measured by the quality of opportunities, not by numbers. To promote gender equality at leadership levels, we must create conditions that allow people to express competence and responsibility without sacrificing other aspects of life.

Equality is not achieved through quotas, but through concrete and measurable organisational policies: merit-based growth paths, pay equity, flexibility, and trust.

At DVArea, this approach has enabled shared female leadership. Three of the group’s key roles are currently held by women with whom I share daily responsibilities and vision. This is a concrete example of how collaboration and mutual trust – traits I consider typically feminine – can become drivers of organisational strength. Working together and supporting each other allows us to face leadership challenges while keeping a constant focus on people and the quality of relationships.

I am aware that, unfortunately, too many women still find themselves forced to choose between career and family. To truly change this dynamic, institutions must do their part alongside companies – providing services and social infrastructure that enable men and women to share time and caregiving responsibilities equally. The goal is to reach a context where we no longer need to talk about female leadership, but simply about leadership.

As CFO, you have a privileged view of the numbers. How do you integrate the economic and financial dimension with the social and environmental one?

The economic and financial dimension is the foundation for ensuring solidity and continuity, but at DVArea it has never been separate from the social and environmental one.

Today, managing numbers also means measuring the impact of choices, integrating economic indicators with ESG ones, and transforming data into tools for awareness. The financial statement is no longer just an accounting document, but a cross-sectional view of our ability to generate shared value.

This year you presented your first consolidated financial statement. What does this milestone represent for the company?

The presentation of our first consolidated financial statement marks an important step in this direction: it demonstrates our organisational maturity and the unified vision among the group’s companies. Consolidation means not only aggregating financial results, but also aligning management models, standardising reporting processes, and strengthening strategic planning capabilities.

The filing of the consolidated statement coincides with that of the Impact Report – a tangible sign of how, for us, the economic and social dimensions go hand in hand. They represent two sides of the same path: measuring the group’s overall performance – both financial and value-based – with the same transparency and rigour.

Which achievements make you most proud, and which challenges remain open?

Reflecting on recent years, the result of which we are most proud is becoming a solid industrial entity with an integrated vision that combines design, digital, consulting, and investment. We have consolidated our corporate structure, introduced advanced planning and control tools, and strengthened a company culture based on collaboration, responsibility, and positive impact.

The economic results are equally tangible: between 2022 and 2024, production value increased by nearly 50%, with a steady increase in profit and stable, sustainable financial management. At the same time, we have expanded our project portfolio in strategic sectors – healthcare, logistics, residential, and advanced tertiary – often managing construction supervision and the entire technical coordination process. Among our flagship projects are complex interventions requiring a high level of interdisciplinary integration, confirming DVArea as a single, trusted partner for both public and private clients.

We are also proud of achievements that combine economic performance and social value: becoming a Benefit Corporation, publishing our first consolidated financial statement, obtaining gender equality certification, and beginning the B Corp journey. These are all signs of growth that blend industrial rigour with responsibility.

Looking ahead, how do you see the company evolving in the coming years? What goals have you set?

Future goals include completing the Organisational Model 231 to further strengthen governance and process transparency, expanding into new international markets to export our integrated and sustainable design model, and consolidating new high-tech business lines. All this while maintaining a close connection with our people and a strong sense of belonging within the group – because it is from this cohesion that our ability to grow solidly, innovatively, and responsibly truly arises.