“We must direct the best of our efforts and entrepreneurial and business capabilities to developing actions that have a positive impact on society. We must, together, change the rules of the game. Recognize and value organizations that operate in this way, redefine the concept of corporate and business reputation based on the social and environmental impact that our organizations generate. For the future of the planet.”
In the context of the knowledge society, marked by globalization and the growing interdependence of countries and organizations, in a world increasingly organized as a network, the role of innovation is increasingly understood by everyone as critical in solving the great challenges of today's society.
Central themes for the development of contemporary society involve the issue of peace between people, human rights and justice, respect for diversity and the reduction of inequalities. Several important aspects for the future of humanity emerge strongly: climate change, food, water and clean energy emerge as essential factors for a minimum standard of quality of life and social stability, factors without which economic development itself does not seem to make sense. .
It is fundamental and urgent to develop new processes and technologies that allow us to contribute to addressing these challenges in a much more effective way, allocating fewer resources, with more sustainability and generating improvements in the quality of life for people, reducing the growing inequalities that characterize the world we live in. .
But, in this context, what is the role of companies, public and private? Almost impossible to know or anticipate what will come. At most, we can read some signs of the future and imagine some possibilities. The transformations will probably come on two fronts: (a) personal and social and (b) professional and business.
On the personal and social front, perhaps a new humanism will emerge, as an attitude towards challenges, as a new way of being in the world. Humanism as a new way of caring for each other. Think about the collective before the individual.
On the professional and business front, perhaps a new set of values will emerge to guide the actions of organizations, not only from social perception, but also new standards of business analysis, where the social and environmental impact of enterprises become as important as their results. financial. We can imagine a world where people are more responsible and aware of their role in society, where consumption is more conscious, where we can (and should) choose where to work, what to buy and who to invest in, according to values that are important to us. relevant. Global values, with a sense of common good and responsibility for the future of the planet.
Just as the great crisis of 1929 forever changed the way companies operate, are evaluated and audited, this crisis we experienced at the beginning of this decade could be a milestone for a new way of evaluating organizations and their role in society. There are many challenges that we must overcome as a society. You 17 UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) clearly indicate these challenges. What we must do is direct the best of our efforts and entrepreneurial and business capabilities towards developing actions that have a positive impact on society. Social impact and environmental impact. We must, TOGETHER, change the rules of the game. Recognize and value organizations that operate in this way, redefine the concept of corporate and business reputation based on the social and environmental impact that our organizations generate. For the future of the planet. For the future of our families and the society we live in.
Jorge Audiy is superintendent of Innovation and Development at PUCRS and Tecnopuc
The signed articles reflect the opinion of the authors
