Sustainable development business councils from 25 countries participate in the Montreux Liaison Delegate Meeting, held by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). During the first day of the event, the President and CEO of the World Council, Peter Bakker, highlighted the need for immediate action against climate change. The transition to a low-carbon economy, with a focus on renewable energy, is crucial to curbing global warming, reducing the severity of the impacts caused by climate change on our natural and human systems.
Bakker stressed the need to use global understandings as a compass to navigate the turbulence. “Businesses have a critical role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. The current situation has important implications for business that it is important for us to understand. The cost of doing nothing is too high,” he said.
Other business initiatives developed by the Council and partners around the world were also highlighted by the CEO, such as the Alliance to combat plastic waste, a movement between 30 companies with the objective of investing US$1.5 billion over the next five years to end the irregular disposal of plastic, and urban mobility programs, an opportunity to move the economy and ensure improvements in the population's quality of life.
Bakker WBCSD also highlighted the fact that the world is changing rapidly, in part because of technology, socioeconomic polarization and rising social expectations. According to Bakker, businesses must embrace the opportunities and guide society towards reality 5.0, with technology and sustainability as the driving forces of change.
The statement is echoed by the president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Marina Grossi. “The transition to a new economy, based on innovative solutions, has the potential to promote significant changes in society and in how it relates to the world. We see an effort by companies to understand how this new reality is taking shape and how to take advantage of opportunities,” she said.
