Throughout 2014, CEBDS worked on major themes and through Action Platform 2020, the first action plan of Visão Brasil 2050, sought to identify society's goals for the end of the decade by engaging companies in a clear agenda capable of meeting the country's needs and urgencies for the coming years through dozens of workshops with groups of experts, formed by members of academia as well as government institutions, in addition to other social actors and companies associated with CEBDS. More than a platform of solutions that relates companies' actions to a greater purpose, the Ação 2020 platform also facilitates the identification of partnerships for common businesses in the same sector, area of activity, value chain and even for new businesses.
“We want to show that large Brazilian companies with a vision for the future are committed to researching, informing, training, forming partnerships and defending sustainable actions on a large scale, which we understand are capable of promoting transformation, combining business and society for a better future,” explains Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS.
Another great initiative of the year was the launch of CEBDS Agenda – For a Sustainable Country, a document created on the initiative of CEOs of around 30 business groups associated with CEBDS, with the aim of presenting the main candidates in the upcoming elections with proposals for public policies capable of leading our country to a new level of development. The 22 proposals were designed to overcome our greatest challenges in vital areas such as mobility, sanitation, education, and health; create legal mechanisms to promote sustainable initiatives; and encourage the rational use of water and energy, always prioritizing the reduction of carbon emissions.
“We understand that in order to make these proposals viable, government action is essential, as it is up to the government to implement public policies to scale up sustainable activities and make our country an international leader in the green economy,” points out the president of CEBDS.
Despite the turbulent economic scenario, we reached the end of 2014 with a positive balance. Particularly for CEBDS and its associated companies, it was a very productive year. We had the maturity and discipline to implement, on different work fronts, platforms that could lead us to fundamental changes for the construction of a more just and sustainable country. We produced documents and discussion forums focused on expanding and deepening the training of our associated companies and their value chains for the new business model. These were important steps in making the transition from knowing what to do to knowing how to do it.
Two new Chambers at CEBDS
CEBDS launched two more discussion topics: ACV Network and the Social CT. The Life Cycle Assessment Network was founded with the aim of advancing the theoretical and practical dissemination of the life cycle assessment tool in the business sector. The Social Impact Thematic Chamber's main challenge in 2015 will be to define the best tools, methodologies and actions for measuring the social impact of businesses, their financing and the legislation regarding relations with the communities impacted by the company.
Trainings
During 2014, CEBDS promoted 23 training sessions, reaching an average of 300 people. Among them: seven workshops on WEIGHT (Business Partnership for Ecosystem Services) with the aim of improving impact management and knowledge about companies’ dependence on ecosystem services; six training courses Carbon Management in the Value Chain to train company suppliers to manage, measure and prepare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories using the tool GHG Protocol; Sustainability Reporting Training for suppliers of associated companies; Workshop for Journalists focusing on water and energy in the period leading up to the presidential elections; Training on Ecosystem Services Ecosystem Services Training for Banks; the Course in partnership with the University of Cambridge; Workshop with more than 30 companies to Life Cycle Assessment; Workshop on Natural Capital and how to integrate it into the reality of companies; Application of Sustainability Guides Inspired by success stories from leading companies in the country, the guides seek to encourage and guide professionals from different departments to apply sustainability in the day-to-day activities of organizations. Training for SASB standards, how standards are developed and materiality analysis is carried out for the extractive and financial sectors.
Events in 2014
During the year, CEBDS held 10 events in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus, reaching around 900 people. We held events to launch publications on Payment for Environmental Services, for the translation of GEO5 for the Business Sector; you Sustainability Guides for Companies, The CEBDS Agenda and the Purchasing Manual. In addition to publications, we organize the Seminar of the Economic value, which preceded discussions on how we should act by 2020, with the presence of Paul Gilding and a qualified discussion on the role of companies marked the launch of the Action 2020 Platform; the “Powering Progress Together” event organized by Shell in partnership with CEBDS; the Water Forum: which discussed, on World Water Day, how to better manage this resource, and on the same day the publication on Sanitation was also launched; and the Shared Value Seminar that took place in Manaus addressed how partnerships are vital to scale up initiatives.
Participation in Global Discussions
CEBDS was present at five international events, as in previous years. Council representatives participated in the two annual events of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Network, in Montreux (Switzerland), which took place in May, and in Atlanta (USA) in November. Fernanda Gimenes, (Coordinator of Technical and Relationship Advisory with the WBCSD) was invited to speak at the CSI Forum in Catagenha de Indias (Colombia), in September, which sought to promote interaction between global experts in the area of biodiversity and guide the effective and sustainable management of ecosystems. We also participated in two UN Conference of the Parties, the COP12 on Biodiversity in Pyeongchang (South Korea), where we launched the publication on the contribution of companies to the Goals of Aichi and the Climate COP20, in Lima (Peru) with the launch of the publication Unlocking financing for energy efficiency in Brazil, in addition to following global negotiations on biodiversity and climate and posting all the news on Blog from CEBDS .
Publications
CEBDS prepared a series of studies, research, and positions based on the projects developed in the Thematic Chambers. These contents were recorded in publications, eleven of which were launched in 2014. Meet us!
