Article originally published in the newspaper Economic value
The year 2019 arrived with several challenges, countless questions and one certainty: the days when companies and governments could think only in terms of their results, without evaluating socio-environmental causes and consequences, are over. More than that, the results themselves now depend directly on this variable. And the situation is no different for the Public Authorities or for civil society. The issue of sustainability transcends the academic world, unceremoniously invades the main executive meeting rooms, in addition to being a competitive variable for countries to achieve better positions in the new global geopolitics.
Companies have already realized the value of this and are investing. A study by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) released at the end of 2018 showed that its member companies invested US$85.8 billion over the last two years in measures that contribute to reducing emissions from their production units. Most of this involved the use of energy efficiency technologies, process optimization and the search for low-carbon energy sources. Together, these projects were responsible for reducing 212.1 million tCO2e in the period, which corresponds to a volume equivalent to 27% of the total reduction target assumed by Brazil in the Paris Agreement by 2025.
Sustainability is now synonymous with good business in the corporate world and also in politics. The good news is that in the case of Brazil, we are already ahead of other countries. Not only do we have unique environmental assets, but we can also use the preservation of our forests as a competitiveness variable, making them models for the entire world, with advanced management techniques that are already common here but little known abroad. In addition, we have abundant renewable energy sources that are increasingly lower and more competitive, without requiring subsidies and offering countless investment opportunities.
For this reason, special attention is being paid to the first trip and first international speech by Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, at the end of January, during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. He will be among three thousand decision-makers from politics, business and science. Alongside his super-minister of the economy, Paulo Guedes, he will arouse curiosity about what he will have to say regarding the country's sustainable development policies, compliance with the Paris Agreement, combating deforestation and expanding the exploitation of the country's rich biodiversity.
Listing Brazil’s advantages in combating climate change is just as important as pointing out opportunities for investment in basic sanitation. Showing the world the efforts our companies have been making to increase their efficiency in water use, the growth of the renewable energy matrix, and the good experiences in addressing biodiversity and reforestation can attract investments and help “sell the country very well”. There is a bottleneck in infrastructure investments in Brazil, and it is time to show this space to attract resources and change scenarios that mean we still have one foot in the 19th century, such as the lack of access to basic sanitation, especially in the North and Northeast regions. And all of this is sustainability.
An international speech in such a select and qualified space as Davos serves as a practical platform for Brazil to explain its plans in the areas of trade, tax, digital, innovation, productivity, privatization and the fight against corruption. And all of this is directly connected to sustainability. After all, it is naive to think that this concept is not used either as a trade barrier or as an investment opportunity by governments and companies when making decisions.
It is worth noting that European companies were responsible for more than half of the jobs created in Brazil through greenfield investment from 2006 to 2015. The European Union is the second largest market for Brazilian agricultural products and has been the main investor in infrastructure in recent years. On the other hand, we know that the business generated by the new economy could result in US$1.4 trillion in economic benefits by 2030, creating more than 65 million jobs and preventing 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution, according to an analysis by the New Climate Economy. We need to combine these premises with our demands for a sustainable future that preserves our natural resources, but ensures a leap in the population's quality of life indicators.
Furthermore, we have urgent problems to solve: Deforestation figures are running counter to restoration efforts. According to the Imazon Institute, deforestation of the forest increased by 40% between August 2017 and July 2018. In 12 months, 300 thousand hectares were lost – which is what is intended to be replaced by the main tree planting project in the Amazon. More than environmental activism, this is a loss of natural and financial resources for Brazil. Measures need to be considered to stop this bleeding.
It is no longer about investing in sanitation or renewable energy; in biodiversity or combating deforestation; in recycling waste or cleaning rivers and oceans; in oil exploration or reforestation. All of this together is part of a universe of possibilities and new businesses, being carried out by companies, society and government, and generating profits. We cannot waste the chance to show the world our potential, the collection of successful experiences of our companies and the enormous possibilities of new businesses that can give rise to a strategic vision combining development and sustainability.
