Una grande impresa di fronte a nuove sensibilità : Montedison e la questione ecologica nei primi anni Settanta

The present paper reconstructs how Italy's largest chemical company, Montedison, began to address the problem of the impact of its industrial activities on environmental resources and people's lives in the early 1970s, when new ecological concerns were emerging in the public debate. Its aim is to verify whether environmental criticism towards the chemical company has led to a rethinking of its production structure and a greater focus on ecological issues. To achieve this goal the author resorted to the analysis of a long memorandum sent by the company to the Italian government's Economic Planning authorities in 1972, as well as a series of environmental studies edited by the company itself and consisting of eight issues published between 1973 and 1974. [Publisher's text].