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Do you know why Rio 20 is so important?

Today 20 June 2012 begins in Rio de Janeiro Conference United Nations on sustainable development (DS) , better known as Rio 20.

Some friends, knowledgeable about my commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (RSC) I discussed with some sarcasm if I think that this meeting will serve for something given the current global situation. I advance that I think unfortunately we can not expect too effective agreements for 130 Presidents of countries are meeting today 20 June 2012 Rio. The current crisis plaguing Europe and the U.S. mainly limited to willful initiatives politically correct statements and reported no substantial practical results or regulations. Of course there will be no funding sources for the DS.

In any case I think that this meeting will be very important. Consider first its background.

a)    The Stockholm Conference on 1972starts the global concern for environmental issues,

b)     The UN Brundtland Report in 1987 who first coined the term sustainable development (DS) and defined it as"Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs",

c)     The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiros 1992 that delved into topics such as waste, promote public transport and warn water scarcity,

d)   From Protocolo Kyotos 1997 to reduce emissions and reduce greenhouse gases that affect climate change or global warming, or the more recent and

and)The controversialJohannesburgin the 2002.

These are the milestones that can be considered as capital in the development of the new concept of "sustainability" (In Spanish they say "sustainability" as the English translation "sustainability").

The emergence of civil movements like WWF, Greenpeace, etc; regulations for business as etc.000 or SA8000; OECD Guidelines , organizations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Global Compact, etc, etc, are eventetc.hat have contributed to this universal movement toward environmental responsibility as part of the broader concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (RSC).

Since the meeting of 1992 Rio, that accounted for the largest international awareness about global environmental problems, have passed 20 promising years and focused actions to the matters complained then: climate change, hunger and inequality, not only not diminished but have increased. But worst of all is that in the present circumstances and developed countries can, or emerging countries want to put any action to limit our energy consumption or otherwise. Just as we did during the fat years, to try now that thin cows and is expected to be skinny. Europe will make a good-cop role, as usual, with proposals that neither the U.S. nor the emerging accepted. And the representatives of the 193 home countries attending so happy march, even in the face of the media are all mourning and lost opportunity declaracionbes. Instead environmental organizations have put the outcry by the unambitious document "The future we want",which has been agreed to be endorsed today at Rio 20.

And is that what you would have to agree are impact measures such as the following:

  • Fiscal and budgetary reforms to contaminate or deplete natural resources more burdensome.
  • Legal reforms to prevent corporate relocations under savings because of the aforementioned environmental protections.
  • Public procurement to create demand for low environmental impact technologies.
  • Promoting investment in low-impact technologies such.
  • Promoting education from school, and implementation of sustainable development matters in all academic.
  • Enlarge consuming public communication (consumisables) sustainable development and the risks for themselves and their descendants the lack of awareness and lack of action.
  • Extend to countries that do not articulate the risk coverage schemes and development projects with public and private
  • Encouraging and promoting responsible investments (inversables)
  • Implement complementary indicators to GDP to measure progress in terms of sustainable development, public parameters and align with national regional and local
  • Developing for all organizations and companies from certain dimension, public and private, report "3 balances" (economic, social and environmental)

Then, friends say, if you think any of that is going to get, Why do you insist that the meeting will be very important?

Good, I say, is very important because its results following the Managers of companies, that is the issue that occupies me, may no longer be deaf and businesses should prepare for the new sustainable economy that will eventually come. According to Ernst & Joung many companies are already taking the right steps, but they need to have a globally defined rules that now exist. Companies must ask how it will affect. What impact will the benefits? How will it change the way you do business?Will it put at risk the viability of some of its divisions? These are questions to which we must be prepared. Each and every one of us (economies, countries, companies, people ...) have to portray us, define what our ecological footprint, and establish a system of taxation and prices for the products and the natural goods that are scarce. An economy that is not valued, without a price system without transparency, can not work.

Finally friends, other background considerations, Also very important is the simple fact of the meeting between 130 world leaders. Based on my experience, I can not say that all international events companies where I worked were fruitful or worth the enormous expense involving. However in all informal meetings, hallway conversations, the exchange of views with colleagues of similar level (now used the word in English "peers") have been very interesting and productive. Even private conversations face to face can lead to higher increments reputation or future promotions. This is one of the advantages of face to face meetings provided by new technologies such as teleconferencing, videoconferencing, Telepresence, etc.. We must strengthen the latter by saving time and costs and to increase communication, but without forgetting that there are certain meetings to be conducted in person. Forget is a serious management failure rather frequent in these times.

Therefore, friends, I insist that this meeting, to be face, can have enormous importance for formal and context.

Self-reflection:

Have you thought redefine your habits towards a more responsible?

Would you be willing to pay a little more for a certified product?

Do you take advantage face meetings for profit in meetings outside the official agenda?

Do you assess the need for some physical meetings off the tele / video conferences?

Do you use e-mail or chat with fellow corporate Query you could simply walk several meters clear in your workplace?


One Response to Do you know why Rio 20 is so important?

  1. Milena says:

    I love how you connect with your news past experiences.
    Definitely work majors must be hard, but I notice that pass by them you have a background in business culture and superior robustness analysis and synthesis.
    That of Rio 20, I rang to see on TV and in the press hardly knowing what it was. Your resume has updated me and lets me know where does the concept of sustainability and where it should go. Too bad as you say everything is going to be watered down. Poor results after thousands of people there, we all pay…
    But your orientation is correct: managers have to assume that the company, its products and its policies must be socially sustainable. So be…, someday.

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