Representatives of important companies and organizations spoke with Ámbito about the opportunities that planning from a sustainable point of view entails, both in environmental and economic matters.
THE BANKING COMMITMENT
In 2019, BBVA carried out a process of strategic reflection to continue deepening its transformation and adapt to the major trends that are changing the world and the financial industry, and incorporated sustainability as one of its six strategic priorities, focusing on fight against climate change and inclusive growth. “Today, sustainability is part of business management and, in this sense, it has been defined as one of our strategic priorities,” says Hernán Carboni, Director of Institutional Relations at BBVA in Argentina.
BBVA is a bank guided by a purpose: “To make the opportunities of this new era available to everyone. A purpose that seeks to have a positive impact on the lives of people, companies and society as a whole. At BBVA we intend to accompany and help our clients to move towards a greener and more inclusive future with a double focus: Climate action: promoting energy efficiency, the circular economy and the decarbonisation of the economy. Inclusive growth: mobilize investments towards inclusive infrastructures and promote financial inclusion and entrepreneurship”, adds Carboni and continues: “Banks play a very important role because they are catalysts towards the transition to a more sustainable world, mainly through 3 paths: financing: mobilizing capital to curb climate change (indirect impacts); committing: promoting sustainability by influencing stakeholders and managing risk: integrating sustainability into risk management procedures”
fintech sustainability.jpgMariana Coluccio, Banco Itaú's IR, Press and Sustainability Manager, believes that "in this new context in which we have all learned that solidarity is the key to getting ahead, we believe it is important to add to our entire value chain with proposals that Join our community of customers and suppliers. For example, the 'Donate' category in which our Iupp points program allows our customers to collaborate with different charitable causes. On special dates on which Itaú donates an amount equal to that donated by the client, to each of the foundations that are part of the program. At the same time, and in this same line of the value chain, the invitation to our suppliers to carry out responsible actions based on training initiatives”.
One of the bank's key fronts to advance in 2022 will be inclusion and financial education. "In this sense, we continue to guide the creation of inclusive financial products and solutions, with the aim of guaranteeing that each new client has basic tools to manage their accounts, savings and investments, as well as the training of entrepreneurs," says Coluccio.
THE FINTECH CHALLENGE
Fintech companies continue to gain ground in the market and are mostly concerned and busy with the triple whammy. The most committed certify as B companies. According to an IDB study, 79% of the companies considered the environmental issue as a priority or a high priority and 22% said they were analyzing deepening their commitment to sustainability.
In general terms, fintech companies, which link finance with technology, do not generate the direct environmental impact that other sectors of the economy do. "On the contrary, its development managed to reduce the physical and logistical resources allocated to the provision of financial services, while the possibilities of access to these multiplied," says Ignacio Plaza, president of the Argentine Chamber of Fintech. In other words, this segment seeks to minimize its impact on the environment and collaborate with the community through financial inclusion.
It should be noted that as fintechs are a recent phenomenon, the degree of maturation of responsible policies is still uneven. "Some companies have specific policies and metrics that have a positive impact on their carbon footprint, while others are in earlier stages," Plaza defines.
In this sense, he warns that "regardless of the disparity in the degree of development of the policies implemented by the companies that make up the Argentine Chamber of Fintech, all of them share the concern about global warming." The head announced that he is working on the formation of a group to specifically address sustainability in the sector.
corporate social responsibility.jpgNEW PARADIGMS IN HUMAN RESOURCES
“We are living in a time of change. The incorporation of the new generations in the market, either as workers or as consumers, makes these winds of change present in the social fabric filter through and shake the business culture. A new paradigm on ecology and care for the environment is emerging and encourages companies to take appropriate measures”, says Nicolás Rocha, regional director of Bumeran Selecta.
“Putting the focus on sustainable practices generates new jobs by promoting innovation and technological development in order to produce sustainable products, goods and services. Also, it strengthens the brand and improves its reputation by allying itself with local suppliers and positioning itself as ecologically responsible before consumers or users. Updating organizations can be one of the biggest challenges. Manage to run at the rhythm of these times so as not to look at the transforming processes from the outside. The opportunities for those who achieve it will be countless, since the benefits of changing the paradigm will not only materialize in an economic return and the expansion of the market, but also in being bearers of one of the voices of our time”, he concludes. Rock.
THE ROLE OF THE STATE
Escobar's party became a benchmark in the province of Buenos Aires in the implementation of sustainable public policies, which guarantee a balance between economic growth, care for the environment and social inclusion, "meeting the needs of the present, but without compromising the future of future generations,” says Ariel Sujarchuk, mayor of that town.
Through the Escobar Sustainable program, all the actions that make up the planned development of the district are channeled, in harmony with the natural environment and the preservation of resources. Different activities that promote healthy habits are carried out permanently, with the participation of neighbors who join the proposals of the Municipality to star in this change of consciousness.
“The environmental agenda is not right or left, but it is important that it be discussed as soon as possible in all areas, both government agencies and companies and the community. In Escobar we are already doing it. A concrete example is the construction of a municipal solar park with 3,700 panels in the town of Loma Verde, which will feed all the district's public facilities with clean energy and will serve to reduce the costs of the companies that settle in the Industrial Pole. ”, highlighted the communal chief of Escobar.
EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION
“At Grupo Petersen Foundations we promote programs that promote sustainability, prioritizing the needs of each region. Today, already celebrating our first 20 years, we are convinced that in 2022 we must continue working towards a more committed society, innovating to provide solutions to the new problems and challenges of the context in educational and cultural matters”, says María Cecilia Hancevic, general coordinator of Grupo Petersen Foundations.
Programs such as the Petersen Group Foundations Award for Educational Innovation, aim to accompany teachers and directors of secondary schools to go through an institutional transformation in various areas that promote innovation, critical thinking and meaningful learning. “From our virtual educational campus, more than 90 schools joined the proposal and have worked to develop innovative projects with school impact, linked to renewable energy and care for the environment. During the final stage of the program, 5 of these schools will obtain 1 million pesos, each, for the implementation of their projects in 2022; After that, they will compete with each other for the Grand National Prize, which will receive an additional 1 million pesos,” says Hancevic.
“We are proud to know that our contribution is sustained and that our programs continue year after year, leaving marks on those we accompany. We will continue working to raise awareness and modify individual and collective behavior towards more sustainable and transparent ways of life”, she concludes.
BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
“At Coca-Cola, sustainability is a variable that cuts across all areas and is central when making decisions because profitability is important to us, but not at any price. People matter. Our planet matters. In this sense, we understand that 2022 will be full of opportunities, more than challenges. Opportunities to continue working on those issues that are closely linked to the business and in which we can achieve a greater multiplier effect: sustainable packaging management, water care, and the development of the communities in which we operate”, analyzes Mariale Álvarez, director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability of Coca-Cola Argentina and Uruguay.
“We will remain focused on carrying out #UnWorldWithoutWaste, a global and holistic commitment focused on reducing our impact throughout the entire life cycle of the packaging, from its design to its collection, reuse and recycling. Under this initiative, we seek to recover and recycle the equivalent of 100% of the packaging that we put on the market by 2030. Currently, this indicator rises to 54% in Argentina thanks to the promotion of returnable packaging and the work that we carry out with organizations and allied entities of civil society to raise the levels of recovery and recycling of non-returnable containers. In parallel, we will continue to advance in the execution of our water security strategy to improve access to water in communities, preserve the resource in ecosystems and generate collective solutions with an immediate impact. And we will continue to encourage the economic empowerment of our value chain, from rural producers to small neighborhood businesses -which represent 90% of our clients in Argentina- also promoting the inclusion of young people with more comprehensive digital literacy proposals such as ProgramON Primer Envín and ProgramON Empreendos, two initiatives that we launched over the last two years”, concludes Álvarez.
sustainability education.jpgSUPERMARKETS
Carrefour Argentina's mission is to be a leader in the food transition, offering more and more accessible options for healthy eating and responsible consumption in harmony with respect for the environment.
With this objective, at the beginning of 2021 the company announced that it stopped selling single-use plastic tableware and utensils in all branches of the country, including its e-commerce. In its replacement, it will continue to expand its line of eco-friendly bazaar products, which has more than 350 reusable, recyclable, recycled, compostable or from biodiversity conservation and social inclusion items. Also this year Carrefour presented its "Recycled TEX" clothing line, which reuses raw materials in the production of each garment and offers a responsible consumption option for male and female clients. The chain will continue to expand its offer of Huella Natural fresh products, which is characterized by care throughout the production process to achieve optimum quality, including agro-ecological practices, animal welfare, seasonality of products and respect for biodiversity.
On the other hand, it has collaborated since its inception with the food rescue and donation circuit. Thanks to the articulated work between the teams of its 600 branches and national NGOs, in 2021 it has rescued more than 150 tons of food that is delivered to different dining rooms and picnic areas throughout the country. In addition, at a global level, the Carrefour Group set out to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. An objective that will be accompanied by a reduction in energy consumption, the incorporation of energy from renewable sources and the reduction of emissions resulting from the use of refrigerants.
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
The construction industry is also riding the sustainable wave. “In Argentina we look at the world because there are places that for different reasons have had extreme needs or understood sustainability as a way of life. Nowadays, an apartment with everything that being sustainable means is quoted between 8 and 18% more than the value of another that is not”, confesses Pablo Cianciarullo, director of Bresson Realty Buenos Aires.
“When building a house or a building, sustainability should not be thought of as just a floor or a roof, it is often confused a lot because it has become fashionable. Today the whole world is aware of the impact on the environment produced by certain constructions. The necessary changes must be achieved to save not only energy or resources such as water and gas. The first thing that began to be used were solar panels not only in houses but in buildings as well as wind energy, which is what is coming. Today no one thinks of building a house with a pool that is not heated by solar panels, gas pigs, architects are not used or used anymore, "says the businessman.
“Another important thing is the insulation of the materials to optimize the temperature of the environment, added to the home automation. Before, weekend houses were left heated, today through technology it is possible to heat the house with a phone application two hours before arrival. In building construction, what is being used by 2022 is in outdoor gyms. Different spaces that allow the practice of sports in the open air with equipment that resists the ravages of the weather. People no longer think of a building with amenities and a closed gym, but instead of open-air circuits, as well as that the parking lot has the necessary space for wiring and electric car chargers. It is a specific diameter that new buildings have on the way to 2022. Green terraces are also promoted through legislation, not only with grass and earth, but also with solar panels. The green spaces in the buildings allow not only the oxygenation of the environment but also the provision of energy for certain elements of the building and gardens with orchards to take advantage of the space. Not only vertical gardens but taking advantage of the terraces to make the space more livable”, closes Cianciarullo.
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AS PRIORITIES
Mariana Reñe, manager of Sustainability and Internal Communication at Unilever, remarks that “this year at Unilever we present our new sustainability strategy, reaffirming our commitment to improving the health of the planet, improving the health and well-being of people and contributing to a more sustainable world. fair and socially inclusive. In this sense, we will continue working on initiatives aligned with our commitments. As part of our goal to improve the health of the planet, two years ago we made specific commitments related to the plastics in our packaging. Since then, we've made progress on our goals to cut virgin plastic in half, collect more plastic than we use, and make all our packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable. However, we know that there is still a long way to go, so during 2022 we will continue working on new initiatives to further deepen solutions to the problem of plastic to contribute to a world free of waste”.
“In addition, in line with our purpose of contributing to the well-being of people, we will continue to develop projects that provide tools to empower our communities. During 2021, we continued with our Women in Action program, training more than 500 leading women from dining rooms and picnic areas on nutrition and food management issues, and we launched Enredadas, training 200 vulnerable women in the hairdressing trade. For next year, we hope to continue these projects and create new initiatives that benefit the community”, explains Reñe. He highlights that "under a difficult context that the pandemic brought to society as a whole, it brought us internal challenges that allowed us to rethink our value chain and how we can solve them, also contemplating the possibility of collaborating with our environment" and says that "that is why in the This year's edition of UniPyme, a program designed to create an ecosystem to support SMEs in Argentina, we incorporated the axis of sustainability so that they can reduce their impact. For the coming year, we will continue to assist our value chain to allow it to grow while protecting the environment around it.”