As the end of the year approaches, there is a proliferation of balance sheets, retrospectives, forecasts and corporate goals. Sustainability management is no different. With an eye on the horizon in 2020, a crucial year for the most urgent socio-environmental issues, large companies are calibrating metrics, planning investments and defining commitments that point to a better and fairer world. “The solutions to the main dilemmas already exist, but they need to be disseminated and scaled up, based on measurable goals, to be viable,” says Marina Grossi, president of the Business Council for Sustainable Development (Cebds), an organization that currently brings together 75 companies responsible for 40% of Brazil’s GDP.
In the Action 2020 initiative, the institution brings together academia and the production sector to achieve joint goals with the potential to support public policies that integrate sustainability and development, facilitating medium- and long-term projects. The platform aims to build an agenda of replicable businesses that need to be incorporated into the market in the next seven years for the country to reach a new level of sustainability by 2050. Each company must engage in at least one of the nine priority themes, from carbon emissions to drinking water conservation, soil nutrient balance, energy consumption and healthier living.
In Brazil, the agenda should be completed by the end of next year. “The focus should be on impacts directly related to the business and involve all corporate areas, including finance,” recommends Grossi, highlighting that “progress indicators stimulate competition between companies.”
“Nothing happens in management without addressing goals, which need to be continually reviewed,” emphasizes Jorge Soto, director of sustainable development at the chemical company Braskem. Three years after including the topic in the planning, the company realigned the agenda, expanding the range of objectives, including local development, among other points. More than 2,000 internal and external consultations were carried out, with the conclusion that the new commitments add value to the business and reduce risks.
“Guided by concrete objectives, the business community has done more than governments,” says the executive, who is also president of the Brazilian Committee of the Global Compact and leader of the “Architects of a Better World” initiative, aimed at bringing together the business world to advance the sustainable agenda after 2015, based on “inclusive prosperity.”
After analyzing the most relevant impacts, Braskem defined, for 2020, the goal of reducing carbon dioxide intensity by 20%, compared to 2009. To achieve this index, the plan is to increase efficiency and, mainly, capture greenhouse gases through the use of renewable raw materials. The expansion of green plastic, produced from sugarcane ethanol, is key. But increasing the scale depends on market demand.
“Financial results are one of the goals of sustainability,” argues Soto. He quotes Indian economist Pavan Sukhdev, author of the book “Corporation 2020,” in which he outlines the conditions for the development of more responsible companies and highlights the importance of economic viability. “We cannot wait until 2050 or 2100 to make changes in environmental performance; the transformations must occur in the next decade if we want to maintain the hope of building a sustainable economy.”
In its operations in Brazil, the multinational agribusiness Bunge achieved the global target of reducing carbon emissions per ton of product by 5%, reaching 23% between 2011 and 2013. “We have a cleaner energy matrix and metrics that allow us to delve deeper into projects to define changes, adapting technologies to the tropical reality as a competitive advantage,” explains sustainability manager Michel Santos.
At Dow Chemicals, targets are monitored by top executives and include at least three radical innovations every ten years. The plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5% per year by 2015, in addition to doubling sales of products derived from “green chemistry.” “It’s better to have a few, but challenging, indicators that make a difference,” says Christianne Canavero, sustainability director, admitting that production expansion forces a review of targets, such as energy efficiency.
“It is necessary to involve local suppliers”, recalls David Canassa, manager of the Votorantim group, which intends to map the life cycle of all products by 2020, from the extraction of raw materials to consumption.
“So many plans give the impression that we will reach the best of all possible worlds in seven years, but progress will only occur if the goals are built collectively and are at the service of something greater, connected with the local reality”, analyzes professor Paulo Branco, vice-coordinator of the Center for Sustainability Studies at FGV, in São Paulo.
“There is a lack of regional data to assess commitments, monitoring and social control mechanisms are weak and often only the goals achieved are reported,” warns Branco. He points out that failures in governance are currently the main obstacles to sustainability: “A good goal is ambitious, but feasible and measurable; it cannot block, but inspire, and it must speak to the global consensus on the limits of growth.”
“We want to double our size and halve our environmental impact by 2020,” says Ligia Camargo, Unilever’s sustainability manager. The company intends to contribute to a healthy planet by selling more products, especially those linked to socio-environmental aspects, increasing its annual revenue from 40 billion to 80 billion.
With antibacterial soap, for example, the plan is to encourage the habit of washing hands, which will have an impact on reducing infant mortality and improving the well-being of 1 billion people worldwide. The goals for the next seven years include using 100% of raw materials from sustainable sources (currently 36%) and doubling the portfolio of foods with sodium, sugar and fat levels recommended by the World Health Organization. “It’s not a business option, it’s the only choice,” he emphasizes.
From a social perspective, opportunities are opening up for the insurance sector. “We plan to serve the 83.21 million Brazilians who do not have access to the insurance system in Brazil,” says Fátima Lima, sustainability director at Grupo BB Mapfre. She emphasizes that financial security is a matter of well-being and that rising consumer spending and increased life expectancy have led to a greater search for protection. Demand is growing in light of the risks of climate impacts, such as natural disasters and crop failures, especially among small producers. “We need to design the future now,” says the director.
Article published in the newspaper Valor Econômico on 12/20/2013
