BRK Ambiental, Eletrobras, Natura and Suzano are the first four Brazilian companies to join the Call to Action (CTA), an initiative launched this Monday (15) by Business For Nature, a global coalition focused on business integration and nature preservation. The announcement was made during the virtual event “Building Resilience in Business: How Collective Leadership Will Reverse Natural Losses”.
The CTA aims to bring together companies from around the world to take action to reverse natural losses by 2030, through economic and financial transformations. The first four Brazilian companies to join the initiative are members of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), which is also part of the global network of partners of Business for Nature.
Hosted by Paul Polman, founder of the non-profit organization Imagine, and journalist and anchor Tian Wei, the event also featured the participation of business leaders and representatives of multilateral organizations and sustainability experts.
“We need to put nature-based solutions at the top of the agenda. We need to make it a priority for businesses to be part of a broader voice. I invite all businesses listening to this broadcast today to sign up to this Call to Action,” Polman said during the online event, announcing that a total of 38 companies have already signed the document.
The announcement of the launch of the CTA marked the beginning of the period for broader participation by companies interested in taking part in the initiative, regardless of their size or area of activity. The goal is to bring together as many business leaders as possible around actions that seek to formulate public policies, in addition to joint commitments to collective actions around the integration of business, natural resources and climate change.
“What we really want to do is partner with others to find innovative and regenerative solutions. With systemic change, we need to engage with society as a whole. This includes consumers, governments and civil society. That’s why this action is so important. We need companies to join this effort, collaborating and committing as leaders and companies,” said Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Natura & Co, who announced the company’s vision for 2030 during the event. “We want to reduce our carbon emissions to zero. Because we are present in Brazil and Latin America, we will not rest until we make a difference in the Amazon. We can make a change in society and we can do more for inclusion and diversity. We are committed to ensuring gender equality by 2023.”
Companies interested in joining the CTA can apply until July 31. Once the participating companies have gathered, a broad publicity campaign will be carried out, the theme of which will be to demand the union of efforts between governments and companies to recover the loss of natural resources.
For more information about joining the CTA, companies should visit the link
First participants
During the event, the Covid-19 pandemic was addressed as a factor that has forced companies and governments to seek more sustainable practices for economic development.
“I agree that Covid-19 has accelerated and made many trends clear. It is forcing all of us to reassess values. We have an opportunity to address things like inequality in society. I think we all agree that Covid-19 is hitting the poorest, like developing countries, the hardest. The good news is that investors are increasingly saying that we have responsible investments,” said former Finance Minister and former BNDES president Joaquim Levy. “Increasingly, it is about understanding the fact that these changes will have on business. This is a two-way street. Exposure to social and physical transition risks and the ability of companies to manage them. Governments must have a role in ensuring that financial products are real.”
The virtual meeting followed up on the launch of public policy recommendations, carried out by Business for Nature during the World Economic Forum in January of this year. After contacting hundreds of companies and organizations around the world, five guidelines were formulated:
- Provide direction: Governments must adopt science-based global targets to reverse nature loss by 2030 and recognize that we are facing a planetary emergency.
- Align, integrate and enforce policies for nature, people and climate: Governments should contribute to greater coherence in UN governance, include nature as a core part of public policies and ensure effective enforcement of environmental laws.
- Go beyond short-term profits and GDP: Governments must value and incorporate nature into decision-making so that governments at different levels, companies and financial organizations can make better decisions in the long term.
- Financing a socially just transformation: Governments should restructure subsidies and incentives to reward nature-positive actions, alongside innovative and circular business models; and promote nature-friendly financial solutions.
- Engage, empower and collaborate: Governments must encourage and join forces for nature so that the public and private sectors can implement solutions and empower society to participate.
