CEBDS President Marina Grossi participated in a roundtable discussion with the Norwegian ambassador to Brazil, Aud Marit Wiig, and 20 other women at the Climate and Society Institute last Wednesday (12) in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting was promoted by the International Relations Committee of the Network of Brazilian Women Leaders for Sustainability.
During the meeting, the ambassador spoke about relations between Norway and Brazil, highlighting climate issues. Norway manages natural resources and its business in Brazil in a sustainable manner. One of its focuses is the recovery and preservation of the landscape and vegetation through partnerships with Amazon Forest University (Oslo) and the University of Pará. It also develops joint work with the Amazon Fund — which foresees the transfer of US$1.4 billion over five years — which is in its fourth phase and is now focused on how to deal with deforestation issues, especially in relation to soybean crops.
Marina, who is also a member of the Network's board, along with the other board members Adriana Moreira, Ana Toni, Consuelo Yoshida, Margaret Groff, Marianne Lachmann, Thais Corral and Vania Somavilla, presented a summary of the activities and partnerships developed over the last five years and the ongoing mission to promote a strong development agenda that takes into account women and sustainability. One of the testimonies was that of Margaret Groff, executive financial director of Itaipu. She is the only Brazilian to receive the Oslo Business for Peace Award, from Norwegian Business for Peace Foundation, for her work at Itaipu Binacional in favor of the professional development of women, increasing participation at the management level from 10 to 21% in 9 years.
Regarding the Network's mission, the ambassador said that there are similar projects in Norway, but none in exactly this format. For Aud Marit, women in the private sector are still “behind”; and said that in her country the process of women’s empowerment already occurs naturally, because the government and companies have established goals and quotas.
The Network of Brazilian Women Leaders for Sustainability is an initiative of the Ministry of the Environment. Created in 2011, its objective is to encourage sustainability actions by women who work in leadership positions in public and private institutions, whether for-profit or not.
