Interview published on September 3rd on the website Plural
By Sônia Araripe, Editor of Plurale
Don't be fooled by her fragile appearance and soft voice. Marina Grossi is, without a doubt, a true “lioness” in the defense of Sustainability. As president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) since 2010, the economist has made a difference in recent years by articulating and seeking to bring more and more companies to the agenda of the transition to the long-awaited low-carbon economy.
Always active in the main negotiations for the Climate Agreement, Marina Grossi is currently involved in the dissemination of the “CEBDS Agenda for a Sustainable Country”, a platform with priority agendas for the Brazilian business sector regarding sustainable development. Meetings with candidates for President of the Republic are taking place to share this Agenda. “For this moment, CEBDS sought to discuss with its members what vision of the future we want for Brazil, and what actions and policies need to be adopted so that we can achieve this ideal”, she explains. Work is also intense in the final preparations for the launch of another event “Sustentável 2018” – to be held in São Paulo on September 11 – with several important international and national experts. “As international guests, we have Pablo Cardinale, senior environmental specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), who will speak about how climate change affects access to capital, and Gabriela Wurcel, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Latin America and Canada at Philip Morris International (PMI), who will speak about the company's innovations in favor of sustainable development”, he reveals.
– What is the Cebds Agenda for a Sustainable Country?
The CEBDS Agenda for a Sustainable Country, developed by CEBDS in partnership with the CEOs of its member companies, brings together the priority issues of the Brazilian business sector regarding sustainable development. For this moment, CEBDS sought to discuss with its members what vision of the future we want for Brazil, and what actions and policies need to be adopted to achieve this ideal. We used the experiences and bottlenecks of our companies to organize suggestions for public policies capable of leveraging the country's growth on more sustainable bases over the next four years. There are ten proposals that range from energy efficiency, emissions reduction, sanitation, water reuse, to even greater transparency in gender and racial equality in the workplace.
– What are the expectations for holding another Sustainable event?
For this edition, we chose to work with the “CEBDS Agenda for a Sustainable Country” as a compass for the panels, and as a central axis to guide the debates the question: what is the society that our businesses are building?
It is essential that we are able to reflect and demonstrate to the public that the future of our businesses is linked to the future of society, and to the preservation and efficient use of natural resources. That is why it is so necessary that we can collectively debate what we want and how to make it possible.
– Who are the main guests? What topics will they talk about?
The 2018 Sustainable Congress will bring together several CEOs from our member companies, representatives from organizations that work in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, and experts on the proposed topics. As international guests, we have Pablo Cardinale, senior environmental specialist from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), who will speak about how climate change affects access to capital, and Gabriela Wurcel, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Latin America and Canada at Philip Morris International (PMI), who will speak about the company's innovations in favor of sustainable development. We will also have high-level panels with the CEOs of Shell, Vestas, Siemens, BRK, Ambev, Santander, and the main executives of Natura, UBS, IDB, and Itaú. We will also talk about carbon pricing in companies and the creation of a carbon market in the country, and we will discuss the influence of Climate Change on access to capital.)
– Is it possible to believe in the long-awaited migration to a low-carbon economy? What have companies done? What is still missing?
It is no longer a question of believing or not believing. There is no turning back, and companies that do not understand this in time run the risk of disappearing. Today, more than 1,500 national and subnational governments have already adopted carbon pricing, whether through taxation or by adopting a carbon market. Companies around the world are also preparing for this reality. In Brazil, we have 50 companies already doing their internal pricing and deciding on investments, considering that we are in transition to a low-carbon economy and that this variable must be computed now so that companies' investments can remain viable in the future. Brazil is the country that has grown the most in relation to this issue and is an important player in climate discussions worldwide. We have enormous global advantages in a possible global carbon market, and the Brazilian private sector has been a protagonist in this issue in Brazil. In July, CEBDS submitted a study to the Ministry of Finance that points out the advantages of adopting a carbon market in Brazil, and we were very well received by Minister Eduardo Guardia. We believe that this is the best path for the energy transition: adopting a market, with transparency and flexibility between sectors, and valuing our forests. We need to use the old fossil fuel-based economy to finance the new low-carbon economy. This is the necessary and urgent transition.
– The issue of renewable energy will also be addressed. In what way?
The issue of energy is present in five of the ten proposals in our CEBDS Agenda for a Sustainable Country and will be a cross-cutting issue in our panels. Our member companies include multinational companies that are committed to a low-carbon economy and will address examples, difficulties and opportunities of this new economy. One example is Shell, which invested in Raízen, or Total, which joined forces with Petrobras to jointly seek investment opportunities in solar energy. Or Siemens, with whom we produced an important study on electrified railways. These companies are at the forefront of global discussions on the topic, which allows CEBDS to lead business discussions focused on sustainable development and propose that cutting-edge practical solutions gain scale in the country. The event will be an opportunity for the public to discuss with high-level executives the experiences they have implemented and learn about their vision of the future as businesspeople and citizens.
– Regarding carbon pricing, many companies are committed, but many small and medium-sized companies are still “feeling their way”. How can we really encourage everyone – regardless of size – to embrace this urgent cause?
One of the main roles of CEBDS is to bring together the experiences of the largest companies in the country so that they can serve as a beacon to guide others on a path guided by sustainability. In the case of water, for example, we created a guide on the circular economy of water, translated and adapted it from our partner World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) a guide for CEOs to consider the efficient use of water in their decision-making, we created a Business Commitment to Water Security, signed by 20 of our associates, and we are now developing a hub that will concentrate information from our companies on water use and monitor compliance with the goals established in the commitment signed by them, in a transparent manner, providing visibility on what they are doing, not only for society, but also to serve as an example and engagement for other companies. In the case of carbon pricing, we are on the same path. In partnership with iCS (Instituto Clima e Sociedade), CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) or CPLC (Carbon Price Leadership Coalition),I joined this year, along with seven other global representatives, and we are taking this debate to companies and authorities. We have already written an open letter signed by 26 companies in favor of carbon pricing in Brazil. We have developed a study that we took to the Ministry of Finance defending the creation of a carbon market. We are always seeking to expand the reach of our messages to a larger audience, whether through workshops, such as the ones we are organizing to be held in other states in partnership with the Ministry of Industrial Development and Commerce (MDIC) to discuss this topic, or through new publications. According to CDP, a strategic partner of CEBDS on the topic of carbon pricing, 51 companies currently practice or intend to practice internal carbon pricing mechanisms in the near future. Companies need to understand that moving towards a low-carbon economy ensures competitiveness in the international market, in addition to guaranteeing access to financing in the future. The World Bank recently announced that it will no longer finance fossil fuel projects, and this is a trend that will make it harder for companies that are not concerned about climate issues to access capital. In all the topics we have developed, concern for small and medium-sized companies is also present through the actions of large companies in promoting and encouraging their supply chain with best practices.
– This year we have elections and transparency/fighting corruption has been a CEBDS focus for years. Many companies have been involved in recent corruption scandals. Has CEBDS worked towards greater transparency and fighting corruption?
Transparency is one of the pillars of sustainability and is made explicit in several areas in which we operate. We have discussed how to improve control mechanisms and supported movements and initiatives that also have this focus.
