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Pia Zevallos - Libélula General Manager
2025 looks to be a challenging and contradictory year. The beginning of the new Trump era and a new round of climate change negotiations based in Latin America are important milestones in this context. It is a good time to remember that science and reality are, or should be, immune to politics. The year 2024 will again break temperature records. We continue to push the planet's limits dangerously. What can we do to safeguard the social, environmental and economic stability needed for families, businesses and organizations to thrive?
A recent paper from the Corporate Governance Forum of the Harvard School of Law argues that although sometimes difficult to measure, the return on investment from sustainability extends beyond short-term financial gains, capturing long-term financial, environmental and social value. Yet few companies are capitalizing on the power of authentic and transparent sustainability communication to show results and gain traction toward real impact on business competitiveness and the state of the planet. It is time for more companies to capture this competitive advantage.
According to the report «CEO Study on Sustainability 2023», developed by the UN Global Compact and Accenture, which surveyed more than 2,600 global business leaders, 81% of CEOs believe their businesses are doing enough to contribute to sustainability goals. However, only 48% believe that the private sector as a whole is rising to the global challenges. Companies must ask themselves uncomfortable but necessary questions this year: How prepared is my business for the challenges of climate change? How closely are my sustainability areas aligned with finance and risk? What negative impact are we generating and how are we managing it? Are we ready to meet new standards? What innovations are we developing to reduce our carbon footprint? Are we training our teams on climate transition and sustainability?
As leaders, it is crucial to reflect and ask ourselves: are we prepared to integrate these innovations or will we wait until market pressure forces us? The future demands concrete action. More than ever, sustainability is not only an ethical obligation, but a strategic pillar to ensure the relevance and resilience of companies in a changing environment. The return on investment in efficiency, risk mitigation and access to new markets is waiting for companies that know how to integrate sustainability into their business.
Published in the newspaper Management.
