From diagnosis to action, from business to markets

By Luciano Martins Costa

The 2008 Ethos International Conference, which celebrates the 10^th anniversary of the Ethos Institute, also witnesses a shift in the corporate social responsibility movement’s strategy: from diagnosis to action, from assessments to partnership, from local movements to wider arenas.

Since the conference’s opening debate among journalists on the media’s contribution to the sustainable development of society, this year’s event was characterized by effective intervention proposals. The common denominator in all interventions, questions and debates was the perception that the obstacles to consolidating the sustainability values are well known.

The meeting of the media professionals, organized as a series of initiatives aimed at deepening reflection on the state of sustainability culture in the news and in the management of media companies, brought various and fragmented views on the theme proposed, but indicated the need to look ahead. Instead of discussing the models of traditional press and its resistance to – or difficulty in – taking on sustainability as a key subject, the meeting moved forward discussing the necessary leadership of media professionals and the potential of the new media to broaden, deepen and support the public debate on mankind challenges of the 21^st Century.

The debate on energy deepened the conflict between companies’ specific interests and against advocates of alternatives to the generation and distribution matrixes that attract large capital sums. On  the other hand, the disclosure of divergencies stressed the need for a look ahead that includes environmental conservation, social justice and the creation of models that can benefit more than the businesses themselves. The participants of the debate on “ethics for sustainability” managed to go beyond the limits that put the theme in basically mental niches, and addressed the issue from a broader perspective, considering the urgency of using ethical standards in the framework of regulations, contracts and processes involving companies and governmental organizations.

The theme education moved away from the usual diagnoses of deprivations and methodologies to address the need for the society to turn individuals into sustainability protagonists. The issue of global sustainability leadership, illustrated by the real case of Interface, Inc., provided the participants with the insight that the sustainable management challenge does not require amazing plans or superhuman leaders, but it is just a question of applying the best knowledge in a long-term strategy with practices and languages able to gather and motivate everyone involved in the business processes.

The debate on sustainable finance was surprising, from the availability of private financial sector representatives and the main national development bank to show up on a stage where they knew they would be on the hot seat. Spiced by the presence of a representative of the funds that consolidate the stock market, whose core value is sustainability, their remarks made everyone sure that there is something new going on behind the bank teller’s counter.

One of the high points of the conference, the roundtable on social cohesion accomplished the critical task of showing that the deepest concepts on sustainability can become down-to-earth ideas. The presence of Indian physicist Amit Goswami, one of the most respected quantum physics theorists, showed that the real economics is more comprehensive than the way it is represented by conventional business models, and that it is possible to create new meanings for the market.

This broad dialogue among specialists, protagonists, activists and investors results in a new challenge for the sustainability movement: expanding the action from the business units to the market, and leaving the diagnoses to reach effectively transforming action.

 

Source: Ethos Institute

 

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