The UN encourages employers to invest in sustainability
Best Growth Stock – The UN encouraged entrepreneurs around the world to embrace the principle of sustainability into their business strategies to deal effectively with the economic crisis, social and environmental affecting the planet.
“In these tumultuous times and uncertainty, we need to work together to find solutions for sustainability,” said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told delegates at a meeting today is on the business prospects and sustainable development .
This is a business summit held in New York that aims to gather ideas from the private sector for the Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20, to be held next June in Rio de Janeiro.
Ban stressed that the next conference in Brazil will be an opportunity to change course towards a healthier planet and with more social justice, so it is vitally important business sector commitment to sustainability.
The UN secretary general said in that sense that the principles of sustainability have not penetrated far enough into the strategies of the business, and he urged the private sector to incorporate them into the corporate culture.
“The incentive structures encourage sustainable behaviors. As a result, many companies limit their sustainable efforts to pilot programs that never take off, or worse still end up being a matter of public relations rather than operational,” said Ban.
The UN chief praised, however, nearly 7,000 companies in 140 countries have joined the so-called “Global Compact” launched by the UN, whereby companies agree to align their strategies with human rights standards labor, environment and anticorruption.
“Many argue that capitalism is in crisis. Others call it a crisis of globalization. What I see is a leadership crisis and a lack of urgency while the clock is running out how long,” Ban said.
He also highlighted other UN initiatives like the one launched in 2011 “Energy for All”, which currently mobilizes numerous companies to promote a more efficient energy economy and clean.
Ban also urged business leaders to help the world’s governments to create legal frameworks that encourage firms engaged in policies that respect the environment and social responsibilities.
This business meeting attended today the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, who highlighted the efforts of the Big Apple for promoting a more sustainable city and environment friendly.
Bloomberg stressed, for example, the commitment of construction by erecting buildings “greener” and said that one of his priorities is to make New York a sustainable city for a long time, while its population continues to grow.
The mayor stressed numerous environmental policies has taken place, such as planting half a million trees throughout the city over the past five years, expansion of parks, or an ambitious project to share the use of public bicycles soon starts.
All under the objective of reducing by 2030 the “carbon footprint” of New York at 30 percent over which the city had in 2007.
Rio +20 received this name because it held twenty years after the Earth Summit that the Brazilian city hosted in 1992 and will feature, in addition to heads of state and government, thousands of representatives of NGOs, academic, labor, business and indigenous communities, among others.
Category: Business News
