The last 30 of January FIDE held, within the framework of ESG Forum, the session “Vision 2050. The moment of transformation”. As speakers, Juan Ignacio de Guzman, Director of Sustainability and Institutional Relations at Prosegur and German Granda Revilla, Director General of Forética and Member of the State CSR Council. Academic Advisor of Fide. The session was moderated by Carlos de la Torre Garcia, Partner in the Labor Area at Gómez-Acebo y Pombo (GA_P) and Labor Inspector on leave of absence. Academic Advisor of Fide and co-director of the Forum.
The objective of the session was to analyze the straight that Spain will face in 2050 in terms of sustainability, as well as the challenges that may arise in the future, detecting weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities.
The session highlighted a series of particularly relevant issues that will have a great social and business impact in the coming years, such as:
- The climate emergency.
- The loss of biodiversity.
- The increase in inequalities.
It is of special importance the detection of possible risks, based on the analyzes carried out by the World Economic Forum, that may arise and generate a shock that directly and transversally affects the whole of society, causing instabilities that cause possible setbacks in social, political and business aspects.
Some key ideas were raised for the transformation of companies following ESG criteria, among which are:
- A shared business vision: Despite the fact that the existence of a certain optimism and shared vision among companies in terms of sustainability and impact has been commented, the requirement of a greater clarity in the standardization and regulation criteria, which would help to advance in terms of sustainability. Therefore, both companies and institutions must advance criteria evaluation that can serve as transversal tools for the different areas of the company, as well as levers of change for future transformations.
- New transformation routes: restructure the governance of organizations to adapt them to new needs, achieving a more innovative and modern structure, according to new business needs and customer demands.
- Change to transform: transformation requires three radical changes: reinvention and recognition, resilience and regeneration. Three essential elements to achieve the improvement of the organizational structures of companies.
- Leadership to accelerate: the different areas of the company must integrate ESG criteria, achieving consistency in decision-making processes.
Regarding the application of the 2050 vision in the company, it was highlighted that sustainability has a direct implication with the fullfilment of security requirements business. Potential risks must be turned into business opportunities, paying special attention to the implementation of ESG criteria, in order to achieve a safer and more stable world. People, governance, the environment and work are essential for the proper functioning of companies that want to be relevant in ESG criteria. Another relevant issue was the need to balance out the acronym ESG to achieve a greater impact of the company both in employees and in society.
After the initial interventions, a round of debate was opened, in which issues such as the inequality, pointing it out as a factor that could mean a negative scenario for companies, highlighting what could be the applicable measures to address these risks and the possible ways to deal with this situation. On the other hand, the debate dealt with the need to confront integral in the management leadership the possible risks detected, leading the institutions, civil society and companies to act jointly. The Governance is another of the key issues that was analyzed in the session, indicating the need to glimpse New strategies companies that focus on ESG criteria when making decisions.
Summary prepared by Rubén Conde, Academic Coordination of Fide.
