The general director of CEOE International and permanent secretary of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB), Narciso Casado, intervened at the presentation of the 2019 Annual Report of the Regional Center for the Private Sector in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in which sustainability, governance and corporate reputation, due diligence in human rights and the 2030 Agenda were discussed. The president of the Board of Directors of the Regional Center, Felipe Molina; its executive director, Diana Chávez; the UNDP-SIGOB senior advisor, who also served as moderator, María Eugenia Boza; the head of Economy and Business of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, Pablo Adrián Hardy; the global director of Corporate Affairs of AB InBev, Catalina García; the director of Sustainability for LATAM of said company, Marcela Cristo; ENEL Chile's Sustainability Manager, Antonella Pellegrini; and Walmart's director of Global Institutional Relations, Welby Leaman.
The president of the Board of Directors of the Regional Center for the Private Sector in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (CR / SP), Felipe Molina, highlighted the progress made by the center in 2019 and assured that the report is a summary of the platforms for the promotion and exchange of experiences of the private sector in the field of knowledge, sustainability and the 2030 Agenda, among other issues. Molina stressed that the world is going through a great challenge caused by the health and economic crisis and it is precisely at this point that companies must act as promoters of economic recovery, exercising sustainable and responsible leadership for the solidarity and comprehensive development of the society.
The executive director of the CR / SP, Diana Chávez, explained that the document is part of the corporate government and is an outline of the state of the art of how they see the situation in the Region, always through a firm commitment to multilateralism. The objective of the report is to reorganize and adapt to the new times some subjects of vital interest with the help of the partner companies of the center and institutions such as CEIB, SEGIB or FIJE (Iberoamerican Federation of Young Entrepreneurs). The lines of work have focused on sustainability, government and corporate reputation, due diligence on human rights and the 2030 Agenda, with the latter point (the Agenda) being the center of business strategy and an internal stabilization factor in Crisis times. In 2019, a series of events were observed that highlight the abrupt global changes, which represent a call to accelerate the incorporation of the 2030 Agenda at all levels of society. In this sense, Chávez made reference to the trade war between China and the United States, high levels of social inequality, social protests, expansion of the Covid-19 or the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Tasks for 2020
From the report it appears that the 2030 Agenda is a practical road map to get out of the world crossroads and set public and private strategies at the highest level; that sustainability is assumed as an integral factor and a requirement to guarantee competitiveness, encourage foreign investment and social innovation in the Region; and that the private sector is, without a doubt, a fundamental agent to leverage resources and mobilize its investment towards more responsible and sustainable scenarios. On the other hand, Chávez reported, at the beginning of this year the world economic projections had been revised downwards, due to trade tensions and geopolitical conflicts. In this sense, he continued, this situation represents an opportunity to understand the aspects that require a substantial investment to guarantee recovery and greater resilience in the future. In addition, the 2030 Agenda has allowed to decant and know the true essence of corporate culture in companies with operations in this part of the world. According to the report, the tasks for 2020 should focus on addressing informality in the labor sector and its relationship with social security systems; and delve into investments in sustainability, which help reduce vulnerability, backwardness in infrastructure and the region's dependence on imports, especially in technology.
Multilateralism and strengthening of the public-private relationship
The executive director of the CR / SP considered it essential that the private and public sectors work in an articulated manner in the 2030 Agenda, to distribute the development burdens adequately, establish their scope, monitor the effects of their activities and measure results. In addition, he stressed, to provide stability and invigorate the entire sustainability agenda requires the strengthening of Corporate Governance; and it is important to place the connection between the latter and Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability on the agenda of directors of Latino companies. Additionally, as reflected in the report, to lessen the effects of the pandemic, the 2030 Agenda should be used as a tool to work on economic, social and environmental sustainability. And finally, central banks can support fiscal stimuli, maintaining an accommodative stance that would also have a positive effect on the current conditions in financial markets.
2030 Agenda: to guarantee competitiveness, innovation and survival
The general director of CEOE International and permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado, stressed that in this situation that has come to be called "the great isolation", information is the best natural antidote that we have to adapt to the new times. A year ago, Casado recalled, the First Dialogue of Presidents and the 8th edition of the CEOE Business Forum were held at SEGIB headquarters, both serving as clear support for the SDGs and in which companies and their representative institutions have much what to say. The report has been defined as a roadmap formed by the exchange of experiences, and the 2030 Agenda, as the document points out, is an essential measure to guarantee competitiveness, innovation and survival. “A job for everyone, governments, institutions and companies, for which it is necessary to rethink strategies at all levels. Companies and entrepreneurs are already doing it, "he stressed.
The permanent secretary of CEIB mentioned concepts that are reflected in the report and in previous meetings, such as information, value and commitment of the institutions; public-private dialogue; innovation; sustainability; integration; trust; resilience; inclusion; and a fundamental one, inspiration. All of this, Casado pointed out, sounds a lot like a company, the women and men who create them and make them grow, and the environment of business organizations. Likewise, he added, these concepts are included in the SDGs, which need companies to carry them out, as well as the diversification, investment and review of public policies, fiscal frameworks and social dialogue. For this to become a reality "we already know what the recipe is: information, unity, solidarity and a lot of commitment to make more of the Region, more Ibero-America than ever," he concluded.
The head of Economy and Business of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), Pablo Adrián Hardy, assured that the central themes of the report: sustainability, the 2030 Agenda, Government and corporate reputation, and human rights, are closely related to the next Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Andorra. Last year, Adrián reported, the first event was held after the Guatemala Summit, which brought together 1,200 companies and in which key issues such as innovation and sustainability were addressed for the first time in depth, which will be the central themes of the next event in Andorra. In the period between summits, Adrián reported, SEGIB and CEIB are responsible for collecting the recommendations made by the private sector on these problems and it is clear from the meetings already held that the impact of companies' social investment must always accompany the public sector to get out of the crisis, and that there are issues that are becoming increasingly relevant and that must be taken into account by governments, such as public-private collaboration, innovation, SMEs or the Orange Economy, among others. "The joint work between both sectors is fundamental to defend and support multilateralism and guide countries to get out of the crisis," he said.
Business
The global director of Corporate Affairs of AB InBev, Catalina García and the director of Sustainability for LATAM of said company, Marcela Cristo, mentioned that their company is specialized in road safety and that its entire strategy revolves around sustainability and the SDGs. In this sense, they talked about the implementation of projects to reduce the number of accidents in the sector through public-private partnerships, identifying root causes, developing solutions and measuring the impact in countries such as Brazil, India, China, Mexico or the Dominican Republic. . In 2019 they also developed a toolbox for better management of road safety practices, which they intend to update this year taking into account the Covid crisis.
ENEL Chile's Sustainability Manager, Antonella Pellegrini, for her part, addressed the social conflicts that arose in Chile as of October 2019 and that revealed deficiencies that had to be solved in terms of education, basic services, or decent pensions. . In addition, it identified opportunities in urbanization, thanks to the electrification of cities (using clean energy) and the realization of sustainable cities. The energy transition, he assured, contributes to the development of sustainable communities and business continuity.
Walmart's director of Global Institutional Relations, Welby Leaman, explained that, in the face of the tripartite crisis, that is, the health, economic and social crisis, the search for better equality and justice is essential. The role of the private sector is irreplaceable, he considered, and it will not be successful if the effort is not made to square the businesses of the companies with the SDGs. The crisis, according to Leaman, aggravated inequalities that already existed previously, due to the lack of work, health or good operation of the industry. A very useful tool to find solutions and maintain all sectors is, without a doubt, digital transformation. The Regional Center, Leaman reported, represents a space for collaboration and an ally for companies and for initiatives to succeed.
Its executive director, Diana Chávez; The UNDP-SIGOB senior advisor, María Eugenia Boza, in her role as moderator, posed a crucial question: what does the Regional Center mean at the moment for its members? The answer, he pointed out, is that this body together with the 2030 Agenda are ideal tools to help companies to be in a better position in the face of the "perfect storm", taking into account the different scenarios and depending on the various sectors. Boza assured that we are facing a new sense of sustainability: "the hero is not the one who has more, but the one who does the most with what is within his reach," he concluded.
For more information: – Consult Annual Report 2019 full of CR / SP