The majority of Italian schools (70%) were built in the absence of any legislation related to energy efficiency, and therefore have very low energy performance due to aging or poor quality of construction. An energy retrofit of this building stock is needed to meet the current European goals on greenhouse gas emission reduction. The retrofit is also needed in order to guarantee adequate comfort levels in indoor spaces and good conditions for learning and educational activities, that are often not reached in poor quality constructions. This work presents the results of an interdisciplinary study related to the energy requalification of a school located in Ostia, near Rome in Italy, built in the 1960s with a steel structure and Eternit infill. The scope of the analysis is to verify the economic and environmental effectiveness of four proposed retrofit interventions concerning the replacement of fixtures and the installation of an insulating coat. The current thermal transmittance of the walls was evaluated through thermofluximetric measurements conducted in situ; dynamic simulations were performed to determine the current energy performance and the energy performances following the four proposed retrofit scenarios. Energy and carbon payback times were evaluated (by means of the life cycle analysis (LCA) approach) and the economic value was determined for each of the four proposed retrofits, using a probabilistic approach. The results show that the replacement of windows is the most convenient intervention from all points of view. The study provides evidence that an assessment of schools’ energy retrofits should include both economic and life cycle aspects.

Cooperative banks perform a strong role in the EU economies and the banking sectors. In 2015, an Italian reform forced the Italian cooperative banks with assets higher than 8 billion euros to leave their mutual nature (one head one vote) and to transform into limited companies. The rationale underlying this law would support the idea that corporation is a superior banking model than the cooperative one, at least for larger banks. However, in many European countries (France, Germany, The Netherlands, Finland, etc.), large cooperative banks still operate and represent leading banks in national and international economies. Using a sample of 253 European commercial banks, of which 68 cooperatives, from 8 European countries, where the cooperative model is important (as it was in Italy, before the reform), we found that in 2019 larger cooperative banks (i.e., with assets higher than 8 billion euros) have lower systematic and business risk, better asset quality, are more oriented to finance the local real economy as well as to satisfy their customers (borrowers and depositors) rather than their shareholders, in comparison with comparable non-cooperatives. In addition, they are more homogeneous among themselves and adopt a stable and recognizable business model, no matter if they differ in size. Therefore, more than 10 years after the 2008 crisis, they still represent a good model of financial sustainability.

Among the super insulating materials, aerogel has interesting properties: very low thermal conductivity and density, resistance to high temperatures and transparency. It is a rather expensive material, but incentives in the field can improve its economic attractiveness. Starting from this, the thermal behavior of a test building entirely insulated with aerogel panels was investigated through an extended experimental campaign. A dynamic simulation model of a case study building was generated to better comprehend the energy savings obtained through aerogel in terms of energy demand over a whole year. The investigation was completed by computing the carbon and energy payback times of various retrofit strategies through a life cycle assessment approach, as well as by a cost-benefit analysis through a probabilistic financial framework. Compared to conventional insulation materials, aerogel is characterized by a higher energy and carbon payback time, but it guarantees better environmental performance in the whole life cycle. From an economic-financial perspective, the aerogel retrofit is the best in the current tax incentive scenario. However, due to its higher lump-sum investment, aerogel’s net present value is very sensitive to tax deductions, and it is riskier than the best comparable materials in less favorable tax scenarios.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: i) to point out the determinants of a firm orientation to stakeholders' interests; ii) to analyze the relationship between shareholder value and stakeholder value as firm goals. Both issues are empirically verified on a sample of European listed companies. Empirical evidence shows that time, nationality, industry, size and level of growth of a firm determine its stakeholder ratings. Although the empirical evidence presented concerning the link between the creation of shareholder value and stakeholder value is neither unequivocal nor statistically significant, it can be inferred that a firm pursues stakeholders satisfaction to achieve a better value performance.

Recent international financial research finds that not only firm- and industry-specific determinants, but also country-specific factors influence a firm’s capital structure. The paper’s aim is twofold. Firstly, it proposes a systematic view of the international studies on country effect since 2000, by highlighting both similarities and differences in terms of tested hypotheses, country-level determinants, expected relationships. The main outcome is a complete framework of the country characteristics, which mostly affect the capital structure choice as well as their respective theoretical rationale. Secondly, based on the above review, some areas of potential development in empirical testing will be identified, regarding test design, sample selection, dependent variable measurement, statistical methodology: the paper’s objective is to critically discuss the state of the art in this field, to hopefully improve the empirical testing of country effect on leverage in further research.