Abundance and shared value: Studio SHIFT’s 2024 Integrated Report

For Studio SHIFT, 2024 was a year of choices and actions guided by the idea of abundance in all its forms. This concept, explored by our founder Elena Giunta during the Abundance Fellowship, has become the lens through which we’ve interpreted our work and outlined our future directions.

That’s why, in addition to the account of our activities, the 2024 Integrated Report – inspired by the Six Capitals framework – also tells the story of our commitment to generating shared value for stakeholders and in the territories we engage with.

From scarcity to abundance

The Abundance Fellowship challenged prevailing economic paradigms by focusing on reciprocity, sharing, and a holistic view of prosperity.

Through this experience, we came to realize that financial capital is only one of the many forms of wealth we can access. Our impact is also measured by our ability to nurture the relational, intellectual, experiential, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital of our work.

These reflections led to the launch of our new business eco-social regeneration program: the Abundance Club. With this initiative, we aim to support small organizations with “abundant ideas” — those capable of generating significant impact but often lacking the resources to make it happen.

A year of abundant values

In 2024, Studio SHIFT generated and received “abundant value” in various forms:

• High-impact projects: We continued to work on initiatives close to our hearts, focusing on inclusive places, rural areas, mental well-being, and organizational design for digital and green innovation in the Third Sector. Our European projects gave us “abundant experiences” in networking and learning within international contexts.
  
  
• Human Capital growth: We firmly believe in the value of the team we work with. In 2024, our team expanded, confirming the Studio as a gender-balanced workplace that supports individual growth, with transparent pay policies and flexible working arrangements. We also invested in continuous training for our Shifters and welcomed new talent through internships aimed at professional development.
  
  
• Commitment to sustainability (Productive and Natural Capital): We continued to implement our green policy, reducing our Studio’s environmental impact through conscious choices in energy use, the selection of eco-social suppliers, and the promotion of sustainable mobility. We also prioritized online sessions and adopted paperless practices. Additionally, we committed 1% of our annual revenue to organizations working in environmental protection and social inclusion.
  
  
• Knowledge generation (Intellectual Capital): We strengthened our positioning in the areas of social change and co-creation.
  We launched new communication tools such as the “Shift-IN” Newsletter and the digital magazine “MakeAShift”. Our team members also contributed actively to knowledge dissemination through lectures, conferences, and publications on topics like adolescent mental health (see the “Mi sento” project), educational spaces, and regenerative urbanism.
  We were proud to host the EIT Community Ignite NEB event, which culminated in the Design Sprint 4 Planet Festival, documented in our latest publication. Participation in the NEB Gathering in Barcelona also provided further opportunities for learning and international exchange.
  
  
• Network building (Social and Relational Capital): We continued to invest in strengthening and expanding our network at local, national, and international levels. We collaborated with for-profit and non-profit organizations, using design as a lever for improving work quality, innovating services, and caring for the Planet. Our team is active in several professional networks and serves on scientific committees and evaluation boards.
  
  
• Collaborative projects: Our commitment took shape in community-led initiatives such as Participative Futures 4Planet, EMPOWERmental, MC8Y @LaStanza, Greening Italy 2024, and Alpha Skills. These projects demonstrate our ability to work across different social change domains – from environmental sustainability to social inclusion – using participatory and co-design approaches.

Our commitment to shared value

We reaffirmed our strong commitment to donating 1% for the Planet and offering around 6% of our work pro-bono for Social Impact.
We are proud to have reached new, fragile, and underrepresented groups in 2024, expanding our projects in the fields of culture and green transition.
We also strengthened our offering in true co-creation and focused our interventions on HR and organizational design, leveraging innovative methodologies such as Lego Serious Play© and game design (see projects TAG35 and Design Playfully).

Looking ahead to 2025

As we look to the future, we’re ready to continue this journey with renewed energy — building on our achievements, exploring new networks in Italy and across Europe, launching fresh learning formats, and listening closely to those we work with to better measure satisfaction and impact.To all Studio SHIFT clients and funders: thank you. Your support allows us to turn ideas into tangible change and contribute to a more abundant and sustainable world.

Download an excerpt of the report