“Bridging Tomorrow: How Mentorship Fuels Sustainability by Bringing Generations Closer. The case study of Gruppo Acqua Minerale San Benedetto S.p.A."

This thesis presents and discusses the results of research conducted during my curricular internship at Gruppo Acqua Minerale San Benedetto S.p.A. (hereafter San Benedetto) headquartered in Scorzè, in the province of Venice. The internship experience was divided between the Eco-Sustainability and Human Resources departments, providing a multi-angle perspective from which to observe the dialogue between environmental objectives and organizational culture. Within this context, the present work offers a critical and interdisciplinary analysis of a corporate mentoring project, introduced as a strategy to nurture sustainability efforts within the company. The thesis analyses the mentoring initiative from a blended socio-cultural and environmental humanist standpoint. Mentoring is interpreted here as a strategic move towards the implementation of social sustainability, dialogue among different age groups, and the transference of organizational values. It serves as a bridge between different conceptions and meanings attributed to work across diverse generations. Mentoring becomes, therefore, a tool that allows distinct working generations to interact and learn from each other, thereby fostering harmony between individuals and their environment, which is precisely what environmental humanities are about. Yet, I interpreted “environment” as the workplace, the social context where people invest their time, rather than the ecological environment. Such an interpretation is shown to be particularly significant in the Veneto regional context, where San Benedetto S.p.A. is located, and which is characterized by a strong working culture, thus putting work and consequently the working environment at the forefront. The research elucidates both the strengths and weaknesses regarding the implementation of the project within San Benedetto, to provide an objective portrayal of it and identify eventual aspects to improve or elevate. The method adopted is a mix of direct interviews, in-field observation, direct participation to company’s internal events related to the project, and theoretical analysis of sociological sources. What emerges is that mentoring can be transformative in terms of organizational culture and, consequently, the working environment: mentoring is a sustainable tool that, if performed effectively, brings harmony among workers and between them and their environment. As the thesis outlines, younger generations have different necessities concerning work compared to senior ones, an aspect that mentoring has been introduced to address, by proving each age group that they can blend their values, complement each other, working on the way paved by tradition, but with an innovative attitude.