Abstract

In recent years, the challenges posed by climate change and its effects on the planet’s health and on people’s well-being have questioned the current model of economic development and contemporary welfare systems as incompatible with ecological limits. At the same time, social policies can play an important role in the ecological transition, in particular in mitigating the effects on the most disadvantaged social groups and in «accompanying» society towards a model of sustainable development. Within this framework, the article investigates the role of social work in contributing to the shift towards a sustainable welfare paradigm by exploring – through a qualitative investigation – the point of view of social workers involved in the fight against poverty. The empirical results show that, despite a widespread sensitivity among the interviewed social workers, policies to combat poverty are still far from being able to implement interventions that integrate environmental justice and social justice. Among the factors that could facilitate the role of social workers in the path towards sustainable welfare is the need for specific training on environmental risks and sustainability and a more active role of policymakers in designing guidelines that could support and orient eco-social work