In a year marked by many political and economic difficulties in Brazil and around the world, CEBDS, its member companies and a network of partners had an intense year, but with significant gains for the sustainability agenda and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Check out the highlights of CEBDS's performance in 2016!
Council of Leaders
Continuing the successful dialogue project between CEOs and senior executives of large corporations with the public authorities and society, the CEBDS Leadership Council presented, in May, the conclusions and concrete proposals of three studies: Financing for Renewable Energy: Obstacles, Challenges and Opportunities; Efficient Consumption of Electric Energy: An Agenda for Brazil. It is Study for the Improvement and Development of Cargo Transport Systems by Electrified Railway Network O event brought together civil society entities at the Environmental Museum, in Rio de Janeiro.
The proposals formulated by the Council of Leaders in the energy sector were presented in August by the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi; by the president and CEO of General Electric Brazil, Gilberto Peralta; by the CEO of Siemens Brazil, Paulo Stark; and by the executive superintendent of Santander, Linda Murasawa, to the Minister of the Environment, Sarney Filho, parliamentarians and around 150 people, in Brasília. The event was held in partnership with the Environmental Parliamentary Front.
In the second half of the year, the studies were also presented to the presidents of BNDES, Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, and of the Energy Research Company (EPE), Luiz Augusto Barroso. CEBDS was invited to join the hub energy efficiency together with EPE.
CEBDS at COP22
Preparations for COP22 in Marrakesh included a meeting promoted in October by the Business Initiative on Climate (IEC), with the participation of the director of the Climate Change department of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), Adriano Santhiago, in addition to preparatory meeting promoted by Itamaraty, in November, in Brasília. Both spaces served to present the agendas that would be debated in Morocco.
On the eve of the conference, CEBDS launched the COP22 hotsite, which aired around 40 video and text content pieces on the main events in Marrakesh, from the perspective of the Brazilian and global business sector. The Council was a protagonist in three events held at Espaço Brasil, with emphasis on the launch, during an event held in partnership with the MMA, of the study Carbon pricing: what the business sector needs to know to position itself, prepared by CEBDS in partnership with CDP and with the support of We Mean Business.
Access the COP22 hotsite and see full coverage.
Carbon Pricing
In addition to the launch of the study at COP22, mentioned above, other activities marked this agenda in 2016. In September, the Business Climate Initiative (IEC) has released its position paper on carbon pricing mechanisms, in São Paulo. The document advocates the definition of a carbon pricing methodology in Brazil, invites companies to engage in this debate and informs the government and society about its willingness to contribute to this agenda.
In October, CEBDS, CDP and the Center for Sustainability Studies of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (GVces) promoted a conversation circle on carbon management in supply chains. Around 40 people attended the conversation, held in the Schneider Electric auditorium in São Paulo, and more than 100 spectators followed online the lectures and the presentation of case from Braskem, one of the pioneering companies in Brazil in the management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory.
CEBDS, CDP and We Mean Business, with technical support from WayCarbon, also promoted, in October, a workshop in São Paulo to address carbon pricing and its importance in promoting the reduction of GHG emissions by companies.
Throughout the year, we also followed the work of the advisory board of the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) Brazil, a forum coordinated by the Ministry of Finance in which CEBDS has a seat. The highlight this year was the '1st Seminar of the PMR Brazil Project: Exploring carbon pricing instruments for Brazil', which took place in December, in Brasília (DF).
Green bonds
In June, CEBDS, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Skandinaviska Enskilda Bank (SEB), with the support of the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), organized the Sustainable Capital Market Symposium in Brazil – Paving the way for the green bonds. As a result of this agenda, Febraban and CEBDS launched, in October, the Guide for Issuing Green Bonds in Brazil 2016, with the aim of guiding participants and those interested in the Brazilian fixed income market in relation to the process of issuing these securities.
In December, the structuring of the Green Bond market in Brazil was the central theme of two workshops promoted by CEBDS in partnership with GIZ and SEB. The event, held in São Paulo, was attended by around 90 representatives from companies, the financial market, the public sector and universities.
Valuation of natural capital
In May, the Natural Capital Declaration — a global initiative led by financial institutions and structured by the UN Environment Programme, the Global Canopy Programme and the Emerging Markets Dialogue on Green Finance — has launched a pilot project to develop an analytical framework for stress testing to include economic resilience scenarios for globally important industries in the event of extreme droughts. The project will develop scenarios for five countries – Brazil, Mexico, China, the US and India – and has the support of CEBDS.
In July the Natural Capital Protocol was launched, prepared by Natural Capital Coalition and in which CEBDS participated in the entire elaboration process. On that occasion, some global companies were selected to present their cases application of the Protocol, including the Brazilian one Natura.
In August, CEBDS and Valuing Nature organized the workshop 'The Valuation of Natural Capital in Brazil', in São Paulo. The content revolved around the importance of assigning value to natural capital, existing methodologies, the progress brought by the publication of the Natural Capital Protocol and practical cases of companies Votorantim, Dow Chemical, Natura and Engie and TNC.
Logistics and transport
CEBDS opened the year coordinating the seminar “The Challenges of Urban Mobility”. The event was held by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and by the Municipal Development Company of Campinas (Emdec), in partnership with WRI Brasil Cidades Sustentáveis, to discuss sustainable solutions in urban mobility such as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), shared bicycles, electric mobility and car-sharing.
In November, the CEBDS announced the reorientation of the Thematic Chamber of Mobility (CTMobi), which was renamed the Thematic Chamber of Logistics and Transport (CTLog). As the transport sector is one of the main responsible for GHG emissions in Brazil and worldwide, and is therefore essential for achieving the mitigation targets set out in the Paris Agreement and the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), this CEBDS initiative aims at a more systemic and comprehensive action, focused on enabling new and effective ways to encourage sustainable logistics.
Water
At the beginning of March, the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi, took over the position of chair of the Sustainability Committee of 8th World Water Forum, one of the main forums in the world on this topic. O event will take place between March 25th and 30th, 2018 , in Brasilia (DF).
CEBDS also carried out the Water Forum 2016, also in March 2016 and in honor of World Water Day. The objective was to discuss the main challenges faced by the business sector in the management of water resources, as well as successful strategies to overcome them. The president of the World Water Council, Benedito Braga, and the general manager of articulation and communication of the National Water Agency (ANA), Antônio Félix Domingues, were present.
Another highlight of the year was the launch, in June, of the study Water Use Efficiency – Opportunities for Companies and Financial Institutions, carried out by CEBDS, in partnership with GIZ, the German government cooperation agency. The study highlights opportunities for both companies and banks to actively participate in the transition to a water-efficient economy, continuing the training program on natural capital for financial institutions, which began in 2014, in the CEBDS Thematic Chamber of Sustainable Finance.
Biodiversity
The CEBDS Thematic Chamber on Biodiversity and Biotechnology (CTBio) presented to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), in October, the difficulties encountered by companies in reporting information on biodiversity contained in the publication GRI Biodiversity Indicators – Analysis and proposals from the business sector. The presentation was made by the president of CTBIO, Mayra Abreu (Vale) and the vice-president, Moara Morasche (Eletrobrás), to the chairwoman of GRI, Christianna Wood, and to the director of Corporate and Institutional Relations of GRI, Nikki McKean-Wood.
The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) on Biodiversity, held in December, was closely followed by CEBDS, which brought analyses by the sustainability manager of Reservas Votorantim, Frineia Rezende, on the debates held at the Biodiversity and Business Forum, in addition to reporting on the main decisions and debates of the conference, held in Cancun. During COP13, CEBDS published an article in the publication Restoring life on Earth UN on the role of companies in the conservation and restoration of forests and native ecosystems through mechanisms such as payments for ecosystem services and carbon neutrality projects.
Social Impact
O Business Management of Social Impact Seminar, held in December, was attended by large companies such as Coke It is GE, Amil, Basf, L'Oréal Institute EDP It is Votorantim Cimentos, who presented their cases in this area. The seminar continued an initiative launched by CEBDS in July 2016, in which the following were studied: cases of four major economic sectors – finance and insurance; retail and services; consumer goods industry; and extractive activity and basic industry. The result was the publication Business Management of Social Impact .
Sustainable 2016
In October, the 8th edition of Sustentável 2016, which had a record attendance, bringing together more than 500 people in attendance and more than 520 views during the live broadcast of the event. Divided into four panels, the international congress brought together important national experts, among them the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, the president of the board of trustees of the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS), Israel Klabin, as well as international guests such as Kevin Moss, global director of the Business Center of the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The event set itself the challenge of not limiting the discussion to theory, bringing together inspiring examples of new practices that brought together companies, government, academia and civil society. Four panels were held: 'Sustainability in a crisis scenario'; 'A new relationship between business and natural resources'; 'The future of cities and sustainable mobility'; and 'Where we came from, where we are and where we are going'.
WBCSD
In April, with the theme 'From ambition to implementation', the biannual meeting of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), in Montreux (Switzerland), which brought together around 500 of the most important leaders in sustainability from around the world. CEBDS president Marina Grossi participated in the panel “Delivering through the Global Network”, addressing the advances of the Brazilian market in relation to the SDGs.
CEBDS represented Brazil at the meeting Chennai 2016 – WBCSD Council Meeting, the biannual WBCSD event, in Chennai, India. The event took place in October and was attended by 350 participants, including 40 CEOs of major global economic groups.
In December, WBCSD with the support of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), Ecodesk and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation launched the platform Reporting Exchange which provides more than a thousand requirements used in 30 countries for the production of environmental, social and governance reports. CEBDS has been participating in the Reporting Exchange pilot project since March last year.
Partnerships
In September, the partnership between CEBDS and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) resulted in the creation of the Brazilian Council for Sustainable Market Development which aims to develop and promote policy and market mechanisms to catalyze opportunities for green investments in Brazil. The Council brings together high-level representatives from Brazilian pension funds, public and private banks, insurance companies, local market institutions and key industrial sectors.
The partnership with GIZ and SEB, signed in April, was narrowed in December, to boost the Green Bond market, the so-called green bonds, in Brazil in 2017. The joint actions foresee workshops, lectures and technical training.
Throughout the year, CEBDS also actively participated in the agenda of initiatives such as We Mean Business; the IEC; the Low Carbon Technology Partnerships Initiative (LCTPi); the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Network; and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
Coalition
CEBDS is one of the founders of the Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition and helps lead efforts to implement the proposals. During 2016, the movement had important achievements such as the opening of the public consultation module in the Rural Environmental Registry System (Sicar), the invitation to lead a thematic chamber of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC), in addition to the publication of 29 positions and statements, debates at international conferences and various meetings with government authorities.
ODS
CEBDS, the Brazilian Global Compact Network and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) held four editions of the workshop 'SDGs – From theory to practice: SDGs guide for companies', with the support of organizations such as Enel Brasil, Sistema FIEMG, Itau It is OK.
You workshops trained companies to maximize their contribution to the SDGs and minimize negative impacts, guiding their strategies to create sustainable businesses. The pilot edition of the workshops took place in July of this year, in Niterói (RJ). The other editions took place in November, in Fortaleza (CE) and in the capitals of Minas Gerais and São Paulo.
In November, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Latin American members of its Global Network, including CEBDS, launched the publication 'Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals: the inclusive business approach'. The new publication addresses how inclusive businesses can deliver tangible business solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Habitat III
In October, the CEBDS participated in the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), held in Quito, Ecuador, where the New Urban Agenda was approved. The document contains approximately 175 principles that should guide sustainable urbanization over the next 20 years. The agenda will be adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN). In Quito, CEBDS also presented the publication 'Urban Sustainability: a new agenda for cities', which will be launched in Brazil in 2017.
Sustainability Reports
Between August and October, CEBDS, GRI and CDP carried out the 4th Cycle of the Working Group Pioneering Companies in Sustainability Reports. The event was divided into two meetings that aimed to improve the production of material sustainability information for the market.
