The eco-industry indicator measures the economic and employment contribution of production sectors engaged in environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources. In recent years, the eco-industry sector has experienced strong growth, highlighting the dynamism of the green economy in Italy. Between 2016 and 2022, employment in the sector increased by 99.5%, while value added grew by 120.9%, with particularly marked expansion in the last two years. In 2022, the value added of environmental activities rose by 40.6%, a pace significantly higher than that of overall GDP (+8.4%). As a result, the share of eco-industries in the national economy increased from 3.1% of GDP in 2021 to 4% in 2022, confirming the growing role of sustainability-oriented production in the country.

In 2022, total expenditure by the Italian economy on environmental protection amounted to €51.4 billion, corresponding to 2.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This latter value remained broadly stable over the period 2016–2022, indicating continuity in investments devoted to environmental protection. Resources are mainly allocated to waste management and wastewater management, which represent the two most significant expenditure items (46% and 25%, respectively).

Alongside these, with a smaller but still significant share, are expenditures for the protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface waters, the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, air and climate protection, as well as noise and vibration abatement activities (excluding workplaces). The picture is completed by expenditure on environmental research and development and other supporting activities, which contribute to the diffusion of innovative and sustainable solutions.

From 2005 to 2023, in Italy, the circular economy sector showed signs of economic strengthening, with an increase in value added (+0.4 percentage points on GDP) and investments (+0.2 points), but a decrease in relative employment (-0.2 points), highlighting the need for policies that accompany the transition with greater attention to inclusion and the social dimension of circular work.

The circular material use rate measures the share of material resources reused by an economy. In the period 2004–2023, Italy's circular material use rate increased from 5.8% to 20.8%.

In 2024 Italy confirms itself among the EU leader countries in terms of eco-innovation, with performances above the European average in resource efficiency, energy productivity, and emissions. Between 2014 and 2024, the Italian index grew by +39.2 percentage points (pp), exceeding the EU average increase (+27.5 pp), with a particularly marked improvement in resource efficiency (+64.4 pp compared to +62 pp EU).

Statistical information on environmental taxes can be broken down by tax category, the units that pay the taxes, the class of environmental activity, and the destination of the revenue. In Italy, environmental taxes amount to €60.8 billion in 2024 (+11.6% compared to the previous year). In 2024, environmental tax revenue represents about 6.1% of total taxes and social contributions (2023) and about 3% of Gross Domestic Product.

In 2022, the sixth edition of the Catalogue of Environmentally Relevant Subsidies identified a total of 183 measures, resulting in €24.2 billion in Environmentally Harmful Subsidies (EHS) and €20.2 billion in Environmentally Beneficial Subsidies (EBS), representing a year-on-year increase of 15.1% and a decrease of 2.5%, respectively. Subsidies amounting to €13.8 billion were classified as having uncertain environmental impact, marking a 7.5% increase compared to 2021. Among the Environmentally Harmful Subsidies, those related to fossil fuels accounted for €17 billion in 2022 (compared to €13 billion in 2020 and €14.8 billion in 2021).

In 2024, Domestic Material Consumption in Italy stood at 486 million tonnes (-0.7% compared to 2023), while Resource Productivity grew to 3.76 euro/kg (+1.4%), confirming an improvement in the efficiency of the use of natural resources.

Italy has structurally reduced its material footprint, going from 17.9 to 10.3 tonnes per capita between 2008 and 2024, reaching values lower than the EU average. This result reflects significant progress in terms of efficiency and circularity, but it requires consolidating the decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption in order to make the competitive advantage durable.

In 2021, in Italy, consumption and investments caused 439.5 Mt of CO2 (carbon footprint), equivalent to about 1.2% of global CO2 emissions, marking a 15% increase compared to the previous year. Of these, about 52 Mt come from the EU (excluding Italy) through imports, and 126 Mt from the rest of the world. Household activities, primarily from transport and heating, which are solely of Italian origin, account for about a quarter of the carbon footprint. The category of final demand that accounts for the largest share of the carbon footprint is final consumption expenditure (28%). About 12% of Italy's carbon footprint originates from the EU (excluding Italy), 7% from China, 4% from Russia, and 17% from the rest of the world.

An economic system operates through energy inputs. The total energy consumption of resident units indicates the amount of energy used by economic activities and households for production and consumption activities, distinguishing energy uses from non-energy uses.

In 2021, the total energy consumption in Italy amounted to 7.05 exajoules, a 17.1% reduction compared to 2008. The total consumption is almost entirely for energy uses. In 2021, over two-thirds of the total energy use is attributable to productive activities. Among these, the top six activities for energy use (slightly more than half of total use) contribute to nearly 7% of Italy's Gross Domestic Product. 31% of the total energy use is due to household consumption (mainly heating/cooling and transport).

ISPRA also estimates the internal energy footprint, which allows the analysis of energy uses from the perspective of final domestic demand, highlighting the direct and indirect energy amounts embedded in the goods and services offered on the domestic market by Italian production chains.