Sustainable Businesses: A Global and Feasible Solution?

We would like to share with you all one of the secondary topic which is related with the main topic of this 6th edition: “Boosting our Actions in the New Decade”.

This topic is particularly focused on** how to carry out sustainable business in a region as complex as South America**. Two possible approaches to sustainable businesses are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), which are based in recognizing the company as a social actor that is capable of responding for the economic, social and environmental impact of its acts in the long run.

Three pillars identify them: a fair and beneficial practice for the community and region in which the business is settled (people), a positive, or at least harmless, impact on the environment (planet) and to take into consideration profit as the “real” economic value created by the company including the costs in human and natural capital as well as the social and environmental benefits in the surroundings (profit).

An example of sustainable business is the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura, which is defined as a firm with neutral carbon emissions because it offers products with a neutral emission of greenhouse gases during the process of manufacture. Another example is the case for Coop Konsum, a Swedish supermarket chain oriented towards the sale of organic products. In recent years, Coop Konsum has stopped selling eggs from hens in hatcheries, due to the overcrowding that was imposed on these animals leading to poor living conditions.

Under the current situation, the world asks how to ensure the commitment of companies to generate a sustainable development. Is the support of international public organizations the key to achieve this goal? Given the difficulties to reach a worldwide agreement: Can companies play a role in promoting a global solution? In what other way can companies commit with sustainability? Is sustainability the road for an optimal worldwide scenario?

We invite you to think on these topics! The other secondary topics of this year are: “Synergy: The Road to a Bigger Impact in Society” and “Citizen Participation: Assuming an Active Role in Change”.

In order to participate, you should enter to the online application form. Remember that you have time until May 9th!