Brazil’s advantage is still on paper

Although Brazil is considered the country of opportunities in the new international arena due to its great potential for clean energy, structural changes towards sustainability are still embryonic. During the plenary session “Economic agenda for sustainability”, Simon Zadek, chief executive of NGO AccountAbility, presented some results of an international study involving 108 countries on the relation between corporate responsibility practice and competitiveness in the international market.

Competitiveness was measured by a series of indicators that show how easy it is to do business in the countries surveyed. The AccountAbility report, to be presented on July 6th at the UN Global Compact meeting in Geneva (Switzerland), measures, for instance, the paperwork on importation and exportation processes totaling 21 sets of indicators about policies, business and society. In this study, Brazil is not listed among the 20 top countries showing good results. Yet, among the 12 “emerging” countries, Brazil ranks second, behind South Africa and ahead of Russia, India and China. “There are many markets still resistant to innovations. We need to create a network of collaboration and influence to change the market towards sustainability”, said Simon.

The British NGO study shows that several European countries have advanced in corporate responsibility. Brazil, China and India are at an intermediate stage, as beginners in the process. Other countries, such as Zimbabwe and Pakistan, are at the end of the list among those countries whose CSR-related competitiveness was assessed.