My visit to the Dubai Expo confirms to me that Sustainability, understood as living intensely in the present in a respectful way with the coming generations, is a path of no return. These are my main observations:
- The main transformations of the world are driven by citizens. The thousands of spontaneous messages of solidarity with Ukraine in their pavilion are a good example of the strength of the collective spirit.
- I have seen few references to the consequences of climate change, which I interpret as a positive sign: the diagnosis is accepted and internalized, now it is time to act.
- Some countries genuinely embed Sustainability into their strategy. A good example is the Netherlands, which promotes the application of decarbonizing technologies in a coordinated and transversal manner across different sectors. Its motto: “Water is food, food is energy, energy is life”.
- Other countries consider investment in oil, gas and natural resources to be a pillar of their development. The energy transition will have different speeds.
- Responsible water management and food waste elimination are the main circular challenges. Combining mindset and innovation is the solution.
Consistently with this unstoppable revolution, companies need to incorporate Sustainability principles to be viable in the future:
- Committed and generous leaders. Egocentrism and Sustainability are antagonistic concepts. In the new scenario, the quality of managers will be more holistically assessed, including aspects such as the future competitiveness of the business and their social impact.
- Responsible business models. The most competitive companies will combine economic and social benefit, without it being possible to differentiate one dimension from the other. Managing emissions is a necessary but not sufficient condition.
- People empowerment. Collaborators, clients and suppliers will partner and develop emotional links with Sustainable Companies to improve society through their work. It is about living the company, not surviving it.
- Collaboration with a capital letter. The new value chains will be more complex and circular, expanding their scope to all activities linked to decarbonization, such as agrifood and forestry. The current sectoral silos will give way to strategic alliances between governments, businesses, civil society and investors.
The emphasis on Sustainability is an opportunity to reinforce the role of companies as agents of change and economic and social engines.