The Brazil of 2050 will be well-educated, people will have access to healthcare, housing, food, clean water, sanitation, security and leisure. Cities offer different forms of interconnected transportation, buildings produce their own energy. Materials are reused and there is almost no waste in construction or food production. Consumers will prefer products and services with a lower socio-environmental impact, and Brazilian companies will become more competitive on the global stage. This optimism – detailed in the document “Visão Brasil 2050”, launched at Rio+20 in 2012 – stems from the fact that it expresses the ideal of a country built with technologies that already exist today, and not based on scenarios projected based on economic expectations. This is the country that is desired and possible to build, but it is still light years away from the current picture. For transformation to happen, it is necessary to act now and in an orchestrated manner, in a long-term plan, with a systemic vision, that brings together the investment plans of companies and governments to meet the demands of society, which must follow this planning in a transparent and organized manner. With this in mind, more than 20 presidents of large companies from different sectors came together around the project “Agenda CEBDS for a Sustainable Country”. Formatted over the last ten months, the document is launched by CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development) with these leaders. The text brings together 22 proposals divided into five main objectives: adding value to Brazilian industry products; valuing and protecting Brazilian natural assets and resources; expanding access to infrastructure and basic, quality services for the population; promoting efficiency and quality of life in Brazilian urban centers; and lead the transition to a low-carbon economy. The document contains proposals that can make the country a leader in the green economy, such as the creation of a Brazil seal that can differentiate Brazilian products with a lower environmental impact on the international market, the adoption of sustainability criteria in public procurement based on a life cycle approach, the expansion of the supply of quality public transportation, the construction of a more balanced energy matrix, among other actions. In view of the water crisis that we are currently experiencing, it is important to think of solutions such as establishing a tariff bonus policy for the adoption of efficient and smart consumption technologies in the use of water in industry, commerce and in residential and rural environments, which encourages more rational use of the resource, for example. In order to expand the supply of quality public transportation, the “Agenda CEBDS for a Sustainable Country” proposes the diversification of transportation options and the computerization of operations, in addition to monitoring. The shameful sanitation rates in the country could improve, for example, with the establishment of goals, via the Sanitary Responsibility Law, with penalties or rewards for public and private managers, according to their performance. These are some of the proposals that the document brings together.
The “Agenda” transcends this year’s electoral process. It seeks to initiate the construction of a structured dialogue between leaders of large companies and the future government, with sustainability as its guiding principle. The alliance between these two sectors is the only way to create a new development model capable of valuing our assets and improving the quality of life of Brazilians.
Article published in Folha de São Paulo on August 6, 2014
